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Charts linked to a spreadsheet

Put a chart on a slide, link it to a range in one of your spreadsheets, and refresh it whenever the figures change.

All plansUpdated

A chart on a slide can draw its figures from one of your PlexiiSheets spreadsheets. You link it to a range of cells once, and when the figures change, one click brings the chart up to date. Use it for a deck you present again and again, such as a weekly update, so the chart never has to be rebuilt.

Before you start

  • Linked charts are on every plan.
  • Open a deck in PlexiiSlides, or click inside a Slides widget on a desk. See PlexiiSlides overview.
  • Have the figures in a spreadsheet, on its first tab. Set them out as a block: labels down the first column, a heading at the top of each column of figures, and numbers underneath. See PlexiiSheets overview.
  • Note the range of the block, such as A1:C5: the top-left cell, a colon, and the bottom-right cell.
  1. Open the slide and choose Insert > Chart. A bar chart appears with sample figures and the title "Chart (sample data — link a sheet)".
  2. With the chart selected, click Link a sheet range… in the inspector. The Link chart to sheet data window opens.
  3. Under Spreadsheet, choose the spreadsheet. The chart reads its first tab.
  4. Under Range, type the range, such as A1:C5.
  5. Leave First row = series names and First col = categories ticked if your block has headings at the top and labels down the side. Untick either one if it does not.
  6. Click Link data.

The chart redraws with your figures. If it still had the sample title, it takes the spreadsheet's name as its title. The inspector now shows Linked to and the range.

For example, with months in A2 to A5 and two columns of figures headed "Online" and "In store" in B and C, the range A1:C5 gives a chart with the months along the bottom and one series for each of Online and In store.

Bring the chart up to date

When the figures in the spreadsheet change:

  1. Click the chart on the slide.
  2. Click Refresh from sheet in the inspector.

The chart reads the range again and redraws. A line above the slide says Chart refreshed from sheet.

Change the chart

With the chart selected, the Chart section of the inspector has:

  • Chart title: type a title, or clear it.
  • The type list: Bar, Line, Area, Pie or Scatter.
  • Stacked: for a bar or area chart, stacks the series on top of each other instead of side by side.
  • Link a sheet range…: link to a different spreadsheet or range.

Move and resize the chart like any element, and use the rest of the inspector for its frame, shadow and animation. See Format elements with the inspector.

How the figures are read

  • The chart uses what each cell shows, so a cell with a formula is charted by its result.
  • A cell that is not a number is charted as 0.
  • With First row = series names unticked, the series are named "Series 1", "Series 2" and so on. With First col = categories unticked, the labels are "Row 1", "Row 2" and so on.

Common questions

The window says there are no spreadsheets. You need at least one spreadsheet first. Create one in Office, add your figures, then link the chart. See Create a document, sheet, deck, diagram, design or artwork.

Link data is greyed out. Choose a spreadsheet and type a range in the A1:C10 style. The window shows Use an A1:C10 style range. until the range is in that form.

My figures are on another tab. A linked chart reads the spreadsheet's first tab. Copy the figures onto the first tab, or keep the figures for the deck in a spreadsheet of their own.

The line above the slide says it could not refresh. The spreadsheet may have been deleted, or the range no longer holds what it did. Click Link a sheet range… and link the chart again.

Does the chart go into an exported file? Yes. In a .pptx file it becomes a chart you can edit there, with the figures from its last refresh. A scatter chart is saved as a line chart. In a PDF it is drawn as it looks on the slide. See Import and export PowerPoint and PDF.

Can I chart figures inside a spreadsheet instead? Yes. See Charts and sparklines in a sheet.

Still need help? Contact support at [email protected].