Unfortunately, numbers don't always speak for themselves. You can make Excel spreadsheets more comprehensible by accompanying them with a written interpretation in the form of a Word document. However, this solution leaves you with two separate files: a Word document that contains the theory and summary of the spreadsheet values and an Excel spreadsheet that contains the calculations and values themselves.

A simpler alternative is to incorporate the key numerical figures--the bottom line, so to speak--from the Excel spreadsheet in your Word document. You can configure pasted Excel data to update automatically in your Word document using Word's Paste Link feature. Copy the data from the Excel spreadsheet that you want in your Word document.

Switch to Word and place the insertion point where you'd like the linked object to appear. Choose Edit | Paste Special from the menu bar and select the Paste Link option. Select Microsoft Excel Worksheet Object from the As list box then click OK. The data you selected appears in the Word document. This data updates automatically whenever you have both files open and you modify the Excel source file. To manually update the link, choose Edit | Links and click the Update Links button, then click Close.

To change the wrapping style around the linked data, right-click on it and select Format Object from the shortcut menu. In the Format Object dialog box, click on the Layout tab. Select a wrapping style from the Wrapping Style area and click OK. Then drag the object to its final location.

Created Date: 12/11/2001  Last Reviewed: 12/11/2001  Rev. Date: