WD: Word Link to Microsoft Excel Shows Unexpected Information

• Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 6.0, 6.0a, 6.0c
• Microsoft Word for Windows 95, version 7.0
• Microsoft Word 97 for Windows
• Microsoft Word for the Macintosh, versions 6.0, 6.0.1
• Microsoft Excel for Windows, version 5.0

SYMPTOMS

If you have linked information from Microsoft Excel into Word, and you then insert rows or columns in or near the linked area in Excel, Word may not show the expected results.

For example, if you copy the following material from Excel:

   a    b    c
   d    e    f
   g    h    i

However, if you insert a row above the copied area in Excel, so that the information in Excel looks like this

   new text
   a    b    c
   d    e    f
   g    h    i

   new text
   a    b    c
   d    e    f

CAUSE

By design, a Word link always refers to the same area in Excel. If the cell range you originally linked from Excel included cells B2 through F5, Word always refers to this same range, regardless of where you add rows or columns. You can see which part of the worksheet Word is referring to by choosing Links from the Edit menu.

WORKAROUND

If you will be adding rows above or below the linked area or if you will be adding a column to either side, you must redo the link from Excel to Word.

However, if you will be adding rows or columns inside the linked area in Excel, you can work around this problem by using a range name in Excel. A range in Excel expands if rows or columns are added inside its boundaries. To name a range in Excel, follow these steps:

1. Select (highlight) the cells that you want to link.

2. On the Insert menu, click Name.

3. Click Define.

4. In the Names In Workbook area, type the name you want to give this area, such as "Sales" or "Earnings" (without the quotation marks).

5. Click OK.