How to create a dynamic presentation

PowerPoint 365
If you have a presentation with some charts and reports you never know how often you will need to update it. E.g., you create a quarter performance report and receive a new data every hour. In this case, instead of PowerPoint tables and charts it is better to embed Excel object. The information automatically updates after updates in the Excel table.
Excel chart in PowerPoint 2016

See funny and amusing charts for your next presentation in Excel.

To create a slide in the PowerPoint presentation with automatically updated data, do the following:

   1.   Select a chart or a table in Excel, that you want to add to the presentation and do one of the following:

  • Click Ctrl+C
  • On the Home tab, in the Clipboard group, click on the Copy button:
    Excel copy in PowerPoint 2016
  • Right-click on the selected object and then choose Copy in the popup menu.

   2.   Open the presentation slide, where you want to inset the Excel object and then, on the Home tab, in the Clipboard group, choose on the Paste dropdown list:

   2.1.   If you try to paste a chart:

Paste Options in PowerPoint 2016

In the Paste Options list, choose:

  • Paste Option 1 in PowerPoint 2016 - Use Destination Theme & Link Data or
  • Paste Option 2 in PowerPoint 2016 - Keep Source formatting & Link Data

    Use Destination Theme will take on the theme colors, fonts, and effects of the destination presentation that you are pasting to. The source colors, fonts, and effects will be changed.

    Keep Source formatting will maintain the theme colors, fonts, and effects of the presentation that you are copying from. All colors, fonts, and effects will be the same, as in the source workbook.

    Link Data is what you'll use if you want the information in the chart or spreadsheet to be automatically updated when the source data is updated. A Link is created to the original and changes to the source will make the changes in the destination document.

Caution! Because this method creates a link to a specific Excel spreadsheet, if you move or delete the source file, you won't be able to update the chart.

Note: See the description for other buttons below.

Excel table in PowerPoint 2016

   2.2.   If you would like to insert a table, click Paste Special...:

Paste special in PowerPoint 2016

Note: Any other paste option doesn't create a link to the source file, so, any changes in the Excel table doesn't update the table in PowerPoint.

In the Paste Special dialog box, check the Paste link checkbox and click OK:

Paste special dialog box in PowerPoint 2016

Now, then you change anything in the chart or in the table, you will see changes in the PowerPoint presentation:

Dynamic chart in PowerPoint 2016

Other options for pasting an Excel chart:

  • Paste Option 3 in PowerPoint 2016 - Use Destination Theme & Embed Workbook
  • Paste Option 4 in PowerPoint 2016 - Keep Source formatting & Embed Workbook

    Embed Workbook will create a copy of the data and embed it into the destination document. Future changes in the source will not be reflected. You can manually change the chart by double-clicking on it and making changes in the mini-spreadsheet that opens inside the destination document. Changes you make in the destination document also will not affect the source data. Embedding the chart and its source data is useful for sharing documents between viewer's and your own computers. However, it can create very large files.

  • Paste Option 5 in PowerPoint 2016 - Picture – the object form the source file will be shown like a picture. Any changes in the source doesn't change this picture. You can then edit the image like any other, but you will not be able to change or open the source data or change the chart.

See also this tip in French: Comment créer une présentation dynamique.

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