How to Link Excel Cell to Word for Automatic Update

Excel is one of the most used spreadsheet applications to work with numbers and data. Microsoft Word, on the other hand, is a leading word-processing application. These two applications have very different purposes. But linking them together can be a smarter way to increase your efficiency. So, it is essential to know how to link Excel to Word for automatic updates.

For example, you can use Excel to record the total monthly sales of different stores and update them as days go by. On the other hand, you can use Word to create a monthly sales report. What if you link the two documents? Then your sales report will update automatically when you open it at the end of the month. This will save you a lot of time and effort. In this article, we will show you how to do that.

How to Link Excel Cell to Word for Automatic Update: Step-by-Step Procedures

Assume you have the following Excel dataset containing store-wise sales. You update this dataset daily until the end of the month as the sales increase.

Now you need to link this dataset to your monthly sales report created in a Word document. You want the sales report to update automatically when you open it at the end of the month. Follow the steps below to be able to do that.

Step 1: Enable “Update Automatic Links at Open” for Word Document

First, open the Word document containing the sales report. Then go to File >> Options or press ALT + F + T to open Word Options.
Next, go to the General section in the Advanced option.
After that, check the Update automatic links at open checkbox and click OK.

Step 2: Copy Excel Cell or Dataset

Now open the Excel document containing the sales record. Then select the particular cell or range that you want to link to your sales report. Next, right-click and copy the cells or press CTRL + C to do that.

Step 3: Paste Link and Use Destination Style in Word Document

After that, go back to the word document and place the cursor where you want to link the data. Then right-click and go to Paste Options >> Link & Use Destination Styles (L) as shown below. Alternatively, you can choose the Link & Keep Source Formatting (F) option if required.

After that, the sales report will look as follows. Now save and close the Word document.

Step 4: Update Data in Excel Cell

Now go back to the Excel dataset and update the sales as required.

Step 5: Reopen Word for Automatic Update

Then reopen the word document containing the sales report. After that, you will see the following warning asking if you want to update data from the linked Excel document. Select Yes to confirm the update.

After that, the word document will update automatically according to the changes you made to the Excel document.

How to Link Excel Chart to Word for Automatic Update

Now suppose you have created the following Column Chart in Excel using that dataset.

You want to link this chart to that sales report. But you need the chart in the report to update automatically when you make changes to the dataset in Excel. Follow the steps below to be able to do that.

First, copy the chart in Excel and open the Word document containing the sales report. Then place the cursor where you want to place the Excel Chart.
Next, go to Home >> Paste >> Paste Special as shown below. Alternatively, you can use the ALT + CTRL + V shortcut for that.

Now mark the radio button for Paste Link in the Paste Special dialog box, choose the Microsoft Excel Chart Object option, and click OK.

After that, the sales report will look as follows. Save the Word document.

Now change the dataset in Excel as required. Suppose the Excel Chart changes as follows due to the change in source data.

As a result, the chart in the Word document will update automatically.

Note: Sometimes the chart may not update as expected. In that case, right-click on the chart and select Update Link.

Things to Remember

Make sure that the Update Automatic Links at Open option is enabled for the Word document.
Select Yes every time you reopen the Word document to confirm the automatic update.

Download Practice Workbook

You can download the practice workbook from the download button below.

Link Excel Cell to Word.xlsx

Conclusion

Now you know how to link Excel cell to Word for automatic updates. Do you have any further queries or suggestions? Please let us know in the comment section below.

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