Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, 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: Excel Charts in PowerPoint.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 21, 2026)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Excel in Microsoft 365
If you do a lot of presentations, you may deal with many large data reports that include charts and graphs that summarize data for your audiences. Sometimes you may need to add these charts and graphs to PowerPoint presentations.
The problem with doing a simple copy and paste of a chart from Excel to PowerPoint is that although you only see the chart in the PowerPoint slide, the entire workbook is copied into PowerPoint as well. If someone double-clicks the chart in the slide, PowerPoint will open the entire Excel workbook.
This poses a couple of problems. First, unless the PowerPoint file has been password protected (not really an option for mass distribution) a user could easily adjust the data feeding into the chart and corrupt accuracy.
Secondly, since the entire Excel workbook is copied into the PowerPoint file, this can dramatically increase the total size on the PowerPoint file, possibly making it too cumbersome for distribution.
One simple solution is to modify how the pasting into PowerPoint is done. Follow these steps:
Figure 1. The Paste Special dialog box in PowerPoint.
This time, only the image of the chart is pasted into the slide. This maintains the accuracy and security of your chart and significantly reduces the size of your PowerPoint presentation.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (13109) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, and Excel in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Excel Charts in PowerPoint.
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Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024, 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:
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