Welcome to Excelling with Excel 2007

More Basics

Linking
when you complete this page and the assignment (remember to email me for the assignment), you are ready to move on to step 3 Working Smarter. This is where you will begin to work with the "heart" of what Excel can do.

In this exercise you will link data from Excel to Word. Remember, the power of Excel is when you change any of the data, Excel updates all the formulas based on this information automatically. NOW, let's say you have some information in Excel that will constantly have changes (example: sales report). You have been asked to create a word document with this data in the document.

What to do? You could copy the Excel data and then open a Word document and paste. BUT, every time a change was made to the Excel data, you would have to go back to Excel, copy the data and paste it again into the Word document. Not much fun if you have to do this several times a week or month.

But wait, there is an easy way to do this. You can LINK the data between Excel and Word. What happens when you link is that when you work on the Excel data and make changes, that information will AUTOMATICALLY be updated when you open the Word document. Yes, that is true and just pure magic! If you have linked the data between Excel and Word, when you make changes in Excel and then open the Word document it will ask you if you want to update the information. Naturally, you will say YES!

How to link information between Excel and Word:

• select the Excel data you want to appear in the Word document
• copy this information: copy icon, HOME tab - Copy, or Ctrl+c
• open Word to a new document
• do not be too quick with this part: you are in Word
• go to the HOME tab and select PASTE SPECIAL
• a dialog box appears
• start at the left of this dialog box and select PASTE LINK
• LOOK to the right now
• with luck Microsoft Office Excel Worksheet Object will be highlighted
• if not, then select Microsoft Excel Worksheet Object by clicking on the words Microsoft Excel Worksheet Object
• click OK and you have linked the two documents

To test this:

• go back to your original Excel document
• make a few changes in the numbers and SAVE
• close Excel
• open the Word document that you did the PASTE SPECIAL
• check it out - Word asks you if you want to update the information
  in some cases the data is just updated without you being asked anything
• say YES and the magic happens - the data is automatically updated

Practice:

• In Excel - key in this data in cell A1:B2: (cells A1,B1) 123, 456 and then 789, 456 (cells A2,B2)
• copy the data
• open Word and do a paste special (see above)
• close Word
• go back to your Excel data and change cell A1 to 789 and cell B2 to 123
• save
• now, open your Word document and watch what happens

Email me the assignment and I know I am ready to learn about working smarter.

Diagram:

Email me the assignment and I know I am ready to learn about working smarter.