Spreadsheet Design:
Object: Embed

Title: Jan's Illustrated Computer Literacy 101
Did you want Working with Numbers: 2007,2010,2013,2016  or españolIcon: Change web

An embedded object in a document looks like it is just a normal part of the document. You can edit it, however, with the original program using all the original's toolbars. This is a major convenience. You don't have to switch programs and re-paste the changed material. Just double-click on the object and it pops up in a small window, ready for editing. You are not editing the original source.

Click on illustrationClick on the illustration to see how an object (Grade Calculator) that is embedded in Word  changes when you double-click it to switch to editing.

Embedded Excel table

Sheet embedded in Word document

If nothing happens when you click, you can view the  images on this page.

The embedded object looks a little different from the sheet in Excel. The row and column headings do not show. The Final Average cell E13 shows 2 decimal places to the right instead of just 1. After the edit window closes, the cell goes back to 86.5. An odd quirk.


Where you are:
JegsWorks > Lessons > Numbers

Before you start...

Project 1: Excel IntroTo subtopics

Project 2: Excel BasicsTo subtopics    

Project 3: Format & ArrangeTo subtopics

Project 4: Groups & FormulasTo subtopics

Project 5: Design
    Analysis To subtopics
    What If...To subtopics
    Logical TestsTo subtopics
    Sharing Data To subtopics
    FootprintEmbed
    FootprintLink/Icon
    FootprintPicture
    FootprintDocument Properties
    Summary
    Quiz
    ExercisesTo subtopics

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Glossary  
Appendix
Icon Step-by-Step

Step-by-Step: Embed

  Icon Step-by-Step

What you will learn:

 to embed a sheet in a Word document
to open an embedded object
to edit an embedded object

Start with: Class disk trips37.xls (saved in previous lesson)

You will create a Word document that illustrates the ways you can share data from Excel in another program.

  1. Open trips37.xls to the sheet Tickets Sold Chart.
     
  2. Select the chart by clicking on it and Copy.
    Leave Excel and trips37.xls open.
     
  3. Class diskOpen Word with a new blank document. Save it as  sharedata.doc  in the excel project5 folder of your Class disk.

Embed: Create object

  1. Dialog: Paste Special - Excel chartOn the first line type  Sharing Data from Excel to Word  and apply Heading 1. Press ENTER for a new blank line. On line 2, type  Embed . Press ENTER. Apply Heading 2 to this new line.
     
  2. Select  Edit  |  Paste Special… 
     
  3. Choose Paste and As: Microsoft Excel Chart Object.
     Excel 97In Excel 97 check Float over text. Click on OK.

    Tip If you do not see the same Paste Special dialog as in the illustration, you did not get the chart copied to the Clipboard. Go back and try again. Be sure you are selecting the chart itself and not just part of it or cells on the sheet around the chart.

    Tip The choices shown in the As: box change depending on what kind of material you have copied to the clipboard and from what program.
     

  4. Word- embedded objectResize the chart by dragging the bottom right corner up to the left until the chart is only as wide as the title in line 1 up to the W. (With this size chart, the whole set that you are going to create will fit on one page.)
     

Embed: Open in Excel for editing

You have two options for working with an embedded object- back in the original program or in place. Which you choose may depend on how much space you need to work with. In place editing has a window that is the size of the object.

First let's look at how you can edit back in the original program.

  1. Popup Menu: Chart Object | OpenRight-click on the chart. From the popup menu select  Worksheet Object  or  Chart Object  and  Open .

    Worksheet in sharedata.docExcel opens and shows a window titled Worksheet in share data.doc or Chart in share data.doc. You can edit the chart here.
     
  2. Embedded object after editRight click on the chart's bars and choose  Format Data Series .  
     
  3. Select the Patterns tab and choose Yellow for the fill. Click OK to close the dialog.
     
  4. On the menu choose  File  |  Close & Return to share data.doc .

    5. Notice that the File menu has different items on it from usual.

    If necessary, switch back to Word. You will see the revision in your Word document. Your changes apply only to this document, not to the source that you pasted from originally. It can get confusing!

Embed: Edit in place

Next you will see how to edit "in place". The advantage is that you do not have to switch windows.

  1. Right click on the worksheet or chart object and choose  Edit  from the popup menu.

    Click on illustrationClick on the illustration below to see the changes. The chart appears to gain a corded border. Toolbars change. The Formula bar appears below the Formatting bar.

    Word window with embedded chart

    You can now edit in place. The full workbook that the chart came from is available in this little window. You can work with all of Excel's commands. You can even change sheets using the sheet tabs.

    You are only changing the embedded document, not the original source.
     

  2. Embedded chart with tan barsFormat the data series to use Tan bars.
     
  3. Click on the page but not on the chart. The toolbars return to Word's bars and the revised chart shows.
     
  4. Class diskSave. [sharedata.doc]
     
  5. Check the original file in Excel. What color are the data series bars?
     

Icono: Problema Problem: File is too large to fit on disk

Cause: Microsoft documents tend to grow beyond the minimum as you work, partly due to Undo and Tracking information. The more changes you make, the bigger the file.

Solution: (Covered later in Document Properties) Save the file with a new name. At this point your file should lose all that extra data and be much smaller.