PPT4: Embedded Microsoft Excel Chart Loses Data When Edited

• Microsoft PowerPoint for the Macintosh, version 4.0
• Microsoft Excel for the Macintosh, version 5.0

SYMPTOMS

In Microsoft PowerPoint, when you edit an embedded Microsoft Excel 5.0 chart on your slide, the data in the chart may be lost.

CAUSE

This behavior occurs when you create a chart object in Microsoft Excel on the same worksheet that contains the chart data, and you paste the object onto a slide in Microsoft PowerPoint. Initially, the chart appears correctly on the slide. However, when you activate the chart object in Microsoft PowerPoint, the worksheet that the chart object is located on appears "behind" the chart, but does not contain any data. Because the chart data no longer exists on the worksheet, the chart no longer displays any data.

Note that this behavior does not occur when you paste a Microsoft Excel chart object in a document in Microsoft Word.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. This problem was corrected in Microsoft Excel version 5.0a for the Macintosh.

WORKAROUNDS

Method 1: Insert in Excel as New Sheet, then Paste to Slide

In Microsoft Excel, insert the chart as a new sheet into the Workbook and then paste the chart onto your slide:

1. In Microsoft Excel, select the data that you want to use to create the chart.

2. Press the F11 key, or from the Insert menu, choose Chart, and then choose As New Sheet.

3. Copy this chart--do not exit Microsoft Excel.

4. Switch to PowerPoint and paste the chart onto your slide.

Method 2: Use Publish and Subscribe

1. In Microsoft Excel, select the Chart.

2. From the Edit menu, choose Create Publisher.

3. In PowerPoint, choose Subscribe To from the Edit menu, and select the Microsoft Excel edition that was just published.

Method 3: Copy and Paste the Original Data

Copy and paste the original data to the worksheet that the chart object references using the following steps:

1. Start Microsoft Excel, and open the workbook that contains the data that you used to create the chart object.

2. On the worksheet that contains the data, select the chart data and choose Copy from the Edit menu.

3. Switch to Microsoft PowerPoint, and activate the chart object.

4. Scroll on the worksheet that contains the chart object to display the range on the worksheet that should contain the chart data.

5. Select the chart data range, and choose Paste from the Edit menu.

Method 4: Import the Microsoft Excel Chart using Microsoft Graph

Microsoft Graph 5.0 can import a chart from a Microsoft Excel 5.0 Workbook. If multiple charts exist as sheets in the workbook, only the left-most chart will be imported into Microsoft Graph.

To import a chart:

1. If the chart in the Microsoft Excel Workbook exists as a separate sheet, skip to step e.

2. Select the embedded chart.

3. Press the F11 key, or from the Insert menu, choose Chart and then choose As New Sheet to create a new chart on a separate sheet.

4. Save the file.

5. In PowerPoint, choose Insert Microsoft Graph 5.0 Object.

6. On the toolbar, click the Import Chart button.

7. Locate the Microsoft Excel Workbook on the HD and select Import.

Method 5: Import the Microsoft Excel Data Using Microsoft Graph

Microsoft Graph 5.0 can also import data from a Microsoft Excel 5.0 Workbook.

To import data, do the following:

1. Select the range of data in the Microsoft Excel 5.0 Workbook.

2. From the Edit menu, choose Copy.

3. In PowerPoint, choose Insert Microsoft Graph 5.0 Object.

4. From the View menu, choose Datasheet.

5. Position the cursor in the upper-leftmost cell.

6. From the Edit menu, choose Paste. If you want to link the datasheet to the Microsoft Excel 5.0 workbook, choose Paste Link instead.

Method 6: Create the Microsoft Excel Chart Object Within PowerPoint

1. From the Insert menu, choose Object.

2. Select Microsoft Excel 5.0 Chart.

3. The window that appears is a Microsoft Excel Workbook that contains two sheets titled Chart1 and Sheet1. To change the data represented in the chart, click the Sheet1 tab. Click back on the Chart1 tab to review your changes.