Excel and PowerPoint: Friends at last

Q. What is the best way to paste an Excel chart into PowerPoint 2010?

A. After selecting your chart in Excel and copying it (Ctrl+C) in PowerPoint, select “Click to add text.” This puts the chart inside the placeholder when you paste (Ctrl+V).

You will see a Paste Options box in the lower right corner of your pasted chart. In Office 2010, you get Paste Preview icons instead of menu choices as words in 2007.

The first two icons allow you to embed the entire workbook. The next two allow you to link the workbook to the original file. The last option, Picture, pastes just an image.

If the workbook is very large, you might want to consider linking it instead of embedding it. However, updates will not be made if the recipient doesn’t have access to the original workbook. It will simply contain the last, best version of the chart.

Finally, if you don’t want to link it, embed it or allow any changes to it, then choose Picture. Destination formatting options will use colors from your PowerPoint chosen Theme.

Source formatting will have it looking exactly as it did in Excel.