PowerPoint.Advanced.Presentation.Techniques [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Using Excel Charts

Throughout this chapter I've assumed that you're going to be using Microsoft Graph, but in reality, you may find it more helpful to create a chart in Excel and then bring it over into PowerPoint. Excel's charting tools are more feature-rich, and you can base your chart on the results of formulas and functions.

There are several ways to get an Excel chart into PowerPoint:

Create the chart in Excel and then use Copy and Paste to bring it into Excel. This results in a static, embedded copy of the chart that PowerPoint that can be edited with Excel's tools.

Paste the chart with Paste Special and specify Picture (Enhanced Metafile) as the file format, or place the chart on the Office Clipboard (Clipboard task pane) and paste it from there into PowerPoint. This results in a static copy of the chart that PowerPoint treats as a graphic.

Paste the chart with Paste Special and specify a link to use OLE to link the original chart to your PowerPoint presentation. See Linking and Embedding Excel Data in Chapter 6 for details. If the chart changes in Excel, it will change in PowerPoint too. (You'd edit the chart in the original Excel file.)

Embed a new Excel chart on the slide. This process is similar to the one described in Chapter 6 for embedding a new Excel datasheet. When you double-click the embedded chart, Excel's tools open for you to edit it. This is my favorite method in terms of convenience, but it can make the PowerPoint file much larger.

Here's a quick review of the process for embedding a new Excel chart:

Display the slide on which you want to place it, and then choose Insert Object.

Click Create New, select Microsoft Excel Chart, and click OK. A default chart appears.

Click the Sheet1 tab at the bottom of the chart window to switch to the datasheet, and replace the sample data with your own data.

Click back to the Chart1 tab and view the results. Then use the Excel menus and toolbars to format and edit the chart. Your primary tools will be the Chart toolbar (floating) and the Chart menu's commands.

When you're done, click the PowerPoint slide away from the chart to return to PowerPoint.

The embedded Excel chart appears as a graphic object on the slide, and you can move and resize it like any other graphic. To reenter it for editing with Excel, double-click it.