Insert an Excel Chart or Table into Word: Link or Embed

You want a chart or table from Excel to appear in a Word document, and you need to decide whether it should update when the spreadsheet changes.

Why: Linked charts can refresh from the source Excel file. Embed Workbook includes a separate, editable copy of the whole workbook inside Word; changes to the original Excel file do not update that copy. Other sheets and data can travel with it, so review the entire workbook before distributing the document. Picture includes a static image without the embedded workbook.

Step 1: Copy the chart or table in Excel

1. In Excel, click the chart (or select the cell range for a table).
2. Press Ctrl+C to copy.

Step 2: Paste into Word and choose link or embed

1. In Word, click where you want it, then open the Paste Options dropdown (the small arrow under the Paste button on the Home tab, or right-click and look at the paste icons).
2. Choose the option that matches what you want:
   • Use Destination Theme & Link Data — links to the workbook and restyles the chart to match your Word document. This is the default for charts.
   • Keep Source Formatting & Link Data — links to the workbook but keeps the chart’s Excel styling.
   • Use Destination Theme & Embed Workbook — embeds the whole workbook, styled to match Word.
   • Keep Source Formatting & Embed Workbook — embeds the whole workbook with its Excel styling.
   • Picture — pastes it as a static image you can’t edit or refresh.

For a table, the equivalent linked choices are Link & Use Destination Styles and Link & Keep Source Formatting.

Choose Link for a report that should follow the source workbook. Choose Embed only if the complete workbook is suitable to include; Edit Data can change its embedded copy. For sharing just the displayed chart, use Picture or copy it from a separate workbook containing only the data you intend to share.

Step 3: Update a linked chart later

When the Excel data changes, the linked chart in Word doesn’t always refresh on its own.

1. In Word, click the linked chart.
2. Go to Chart Design > Refresh Data.

The chart redraws using the latest numbers from the workbook. (Keep the Excel file in the same place — if you move or rename it, the link breaks.)

FAQ

My chart in Word didn’t update after I changed Excel. An embedded chart uses its own workbook copy; a linked chart may need Chart Design > Refresh Data. Check the paste type and source path if refresh fails.

The chart says it can’t find the source. The linked workbook was moved, renamed, or deleted. Restore the file to its original path, or re-paste the chart from the workbook’s new location.

I want a fixed chart for sharing — which option? Use Picture. An embedded workbook does not follow edits to the original, but remains editable inside Word and may include data beyond the visible chart.

Sources: Microsoft Support — Insert a chart from an Excel spreadsheet into Word

Additional sources: Microsoft — chart linking and whole-workbook embedding