Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Embedding an Excel Chart in a Word Document.

Embedding an Excel Chart in a Word Document

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 19, 2023)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365


1

Most of the time, Microsoft Office applications work fairly well together. For instance, you might be creating a report for a presentation, and you need to include a chart along with the report. Fortunately, you can embed an Excel chart directly within a report you happen to be creating in Word. This is done in the following manner:

  1. Select the Excel chart you wish to embed in your Word document. (Make sure you select the entire chart, and not just a portion of it.)
  2. Press Ctrl+C to copy the chart to the Clipboard.
  3. Switch to the Word document.
  4. Position the insertion pointer where you want the chart placed.
  5. Click the down-arrow under the Paste option in the Clipboard group of the Home tab of the ribbon, then choose Paste Special. The Paste Special dialog box appears. (See Figure 1.)
  6. Figure 1. The Paste Special dialog box in Word.

  7. Select the Microsoft Excel Chart Object option.
  8. Make sure the Paste Link radio button is selected.
  9. Click on OK. Word inserts the linked chart in your document.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (10427) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Embedding an Excel Chart in a Word Document.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Searching for Wildcards

Wildcard characters can be used within the Find and Replace tool, but what if you want to actually search for those ...

Discover More

Coloring Cells with Formulas

Easily seeing where all the formulas are in your worksheet can be handy. Here are some ideas on different ways you can ...

Discover More

Hiding Rows Based on Two Values

It's easy to use filtering to hide rows based on the value in a cell, but how do you hide rows based on the values in two ...

Discover More

Solve Real Business Problems Master business modeling and analysis techniques with Excel and transform data into bottom-line results. This hands-on, scenario-focused guide shows you how to use the latest Excel tools to integrate data from multiple tables. Check out Microsoft Excel 2013 Data Analysis and Business Modeling today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Locking Graphic Annotations to Chart Data Points

Sometimes it is helpful to add annotations to your charts in order to explain the data displayed. This tip provides ...

Discover More

Missing Bounds Options for a Chart

When your chart contains dates along one axis, you can set bounds on the way the chart is displayed. What causes, though, ...

Discover More

Exporting Black and White Charts

Excel's charts are normally created in color, but you can print them in black and white. You may be looking for a way to ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is 2 + 2?

2020-06-16 03:23:30

Richard Curtis

Does this process rely on the Excel & Word documents remaining in the same respective folders? Our documents, especially those generated using Word, are stored in a document management system not a folder structure. Can a linked Excel chart survive this?


This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.