Sometimes, you wish to include the data on an Excel spreadsheet in your Microsoft Word document. There are a couple of ways to do this, depending upon whether you want to keep a connection with the source Excel sheet. Let’s take a look.

What’s the Difference Between Linking and Embedding?

You really have three alternatives for consisting of a spreadsheet in a Word document. The very first is by merely copying that information from the spreadsheet, and then pasting it into the target document. For the many part, this just works with truly simple data because that data just ends up being a basic table or set of columns in Word (depending upon the paste choice you choose).

While that can be beneficial often, your other two options– connecting and embedding– are much more powerful, and are what we’re going to reveal you how to do in this short article. Both are pretty comparable, in that you wind up placing a real Excel spreadsheet in your target document. It will look like an Excel sheet, and you can utilize Excel’s tools to control it. The difference can be found in how these 2 choices treat their connection to that initial Excel spreadsheet:

There are advantages to both approaches, obviously. One advantage of connecting a document (besides maintaining the connection) is that it keeps your Word file’s file size down, due to the fact that the data is primarily still kept in the Excel sheet and only displayed in Word. One downside is that the initial spreadsheet file requires to stay in the very same area. If it does not, you’ll need to link it once again. And since it relies on the link to the initial spreadsheet, it’s not so useful if you require to disperse the file to individuals who do not have access to that place.

Embedding a file, on the other hand, increases the size of your Word file, since all that Excel information is really embedded into the Word file. There are some distinct advantages to embedding, however. For example, if you’re dispersing that file to people who might not have access to the initial Excel sheet, or if the file needs to reveal that Excel sheet at a specific time (rather than getting updated), embedding (and breaking the connection to the initial sheet) makes more sense.

So, with all that in mind, let’s take a look at how to link and embed an Excel Sheet in Microsoft Word.

How to Link or Embed an Excel Worksheet in Microsoft Word

Connecting or embedding an Excel worksheet into a Word is really quite straightforward, and the procedure for doing either is nearly similar. Start by opening both the Excel worksheet and the Word file you want to modify at the very same time.

In Excel, choose the cells you wish to link or embed. If you wish to connect or embed the entire worksheet, click on the box at the point of the rows and columns in the leading left-hand corner to choose the entire sheet.

Copy those cells by pushing CTRL+C in Windows or Command+C in macOS. You can also right-click any selected cell, and after that choose the “Copy” alternative on the context menu.

Now, switch to your Word file and click to put the insertion point where you would like the linked or embedded material to go. On Home tab of the Ribbon, click the down arrow below the “Paste” button, and then select the “Paste Special” command from the dropdown menu.

This opens the Paste Special window. And it’s here where you’ll discover the only functional various in the procedures of connecting or embedding a file.

If you wish to embed your spreadsheet, choose the “Paste” alternative over left wing. If you wish to link your spreadsheet, select the “Paste Link” alternative rather. Seriously, that’s it. This procedure is otherwise identical.

Whichever option you select, you’ll next choose the “Microsoft Excel Worksheet Object” in the box to the right, and then click the “OKAY” button.

And you’ll see your Excel sheet (or the cells you picked) in your Word document.

If you connected the Excel data, you can’t modify it straight in Word, however you can double-click anywhere on it to open the initial spreadsheet file. And any updates you make to that initial spreadsheet are then shown in your Word file.

If you embedded the Excel data, you can modify it straight in Word. Double-click anywhere in the spreadsheet and you’ll stay in the same Word window, but the Word Ribbon gets replaced by the Excel Ribbon and you can access all the Excel functionality. It’s sort of cool.

And when you wish to stop modifying the spreadsheet and go back to your Word controls, simply click anywhere outside the spreadsheet.

Note: If you working on a Word file and want to include a spreadsheet that you have not produced yet, you can. You can actually insert an Excel Spreadsheet right from the Table dropdown menu on the Ribbon.