Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Embedding an Excel Worksheet.

Embedding an Excel Worksheet

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated February 5, 2025)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021

Word allows you to embed a worksheet directly from Excel. The link established between your document and the Excel worksheet can be updated whenever you desire. To embed a worksheet in your document, follow these steps:

Open the Excel worksheet.
Select the portion of the worksheet you wish to embed in your Word document.
Press Ctrl+C to copy the selection to the Clipboard.
Switch to the Word document.
Position the insertion pointer where you want the worksheet placed.
Display the Home tab of the ribbon.
Click the down-arrow under the Paste tool in the Clipboard group, then click Paste Special. Word displays the Paste Special dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Paste Special dialog box.

Select the Microsoft Excel Worksheet Object as the preferred method of pasting.
Make sure the Paste Link radio button is selected.
Click on OK. Word inserts the linked spreadsheet in your document.

When you later want to modify the Excel worksheet, simply double-click your mouse on it within your document. You can edit it using tools you are familiar with in Excel, and you can then click your mouse outside of the worksheet (elsewhere in your Word document) to return to regular Word editing. Any changes you make to the embedded spreadsheet are automatically saved in the original Excel spreadsheet.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (8518) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Embedding an Excel Worksheet.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Finding the Smallest Even Value

When processing data in a worksheet, you may have a need to know what the smallest (lowest) even value in a range is. You ...

Discover More

Changing Default Row Height

Changing the default row height used for a worksheet is relatively easy, as long as you don't mind the row height never ...

Discover More

Limiting Searching to a Column

When you use Find and Replace, Excel normally looks through all the cells in a worksheet. You may want to limit the ...

Discover More

Discover the Power of Microsoft Office This beginner-friendly guide reveals the expert tips and strategies you need to skyrocket your productivity and use Office 365 like a pro. Mastering software like Word, Excel, and PowerPoint is essential to be more efficient and advance your career. Simple lessons guide you through every step, providing the knowledge you need to get started. Check out Microsoft Office 365 For Beginners today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Unlinking an Excel Chart Automatically

When Excel charts are linked in a Word document, they update every time the document is opened. Here's how to unlink the ...

Discover More

Creating Documents that Don't Use Embedded Fonts

Creating a PDF file from a Word document is easier than it used to be. Getting that PDF to contain exactly what you want ...

Discover More

Converting a PDF File to a Word Document

PDF files seem to be everywhere; they are a standard way of exchanging documents with others. At some point you may want ...

Discover More

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is two minus 0?

2025-02-05 06:38:12

jamies

While the tip is to insert the workSHEET,

note the link that will get access to the entire workbook,

BUT beware of using SaveAs to save a modified version of the workbook -

the link will show text indicating the name of the workbook that the link was created for,
but the hyperlink that is not actually shown is (usually) to the version of the file that was last saved !

So when clicking on the displayed hyperlink description,
you may not get shown the content of the indicated file !

Same happens with all links, not just those for workbooks.

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.