Excel to PowerPoint – Edit after Paste

In the last  post, we saw the video. It was a fast paced video. In this post, I will explain the same thing in a step by step manner – with some additional details.

The objective is to copy from Excel, Paste it in PowerPoint, Edit it in PowerPoint and then display it properly (in adequately large size) on the slide.

The concept is simple. Pasting data can be done in many formats. Table format allows editing, and Picture format allows easy resizing of the image. We have to use both these formats in this case.

Steps

1. Copy the data from Excel as usual
2. Paste it in PowerPoint and choose – Keep Source Formatting option
   
3. The data looks very small in PowerPoint and you cant edit it.
   Why so? Because in Excel we usually use a higher level of ZOOM and in PowerPoint we have a lower level of ZOOM. While copy pasting the ZOOM level is NOT copied. That is why it looks so small and unreadable.
4. This paste is in Table format (Look at the top menus and notice Table Tools tab)
5. Zoom in to the table by using CTRL and Mouse wheel
6. Edit the content and zoom out
7. Run the slide show to notice that the size of the data is still small
8. We need to increase the size of the data. However, it is still a table. and it will not resize properly
9. Now we need a picture.
10. That is simple. Copy this edited table first.
11. Paste it and choose Picture format
12. Now you can resize it (remember CTRL and drag from corner)
13. That’s it. We got best of both worlds

In case you want to edit the data again, you cannot use the picture. Delete the picture. The edited table is still available there. Edit it and repeat the process.

Remember, Copy Paste is about answering two questions:
Where to Paste ? and How to Paste?

If you answer these questions correctly, Office will give you the desired results immediately. If you do not provide clear instructions while copy pasting, Office uses default behavior which may not be what you intended.

In the next article we will see when to use Paste Link, Embed and Insert Object.

If you have time, view the video in the previous post and tell me which method you prefer. Video (short and crisp) or step by step instructions (takes longer to read).