'%3e%3cpath%20d='M8%200C12.4183%200%2016%203.58172%2016%208C16%2012.4183%2012.4183%2016%208%2016C3.58172%2016%200%2012.4183%200%208C0%203.58172%203.58172%200%208%200ZM11.6162%204.38379C11.2257%203.99337%2010.5927%203.99338%2010.2021%204.38379L8%206.58594L5.79785%204.38379C5.40732%203.99334%204.77429%203.99329%204.38379%204.38379C3.99331%204.77429%203.99335%205.40733%204.38379%205.79785L6.58594%208L4.38379%2010.2021C3.99348%2010.5927%203.99341%2011.2257%204.38379%2011.6162C4.77426%2012.0066%205.40734%2012.0065%205.79785%2011.6162L8%209.41406L10.2021%2011.6162C10.5927%2012.0066%2011.2257%2012.0067%2011.6162%2011.6162C12.0067%2011.2257%2012.0066%2010.5927%2011.6162%2010.2021L9.41406%208L11.6162%205.79785C12.0066%205.40735%2012.0066%204.77429%2011.6162%204.38379Z'%20fill='%23080E17'%20fill-opacity='0.46'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3cdefs%3e%3cclipPath%20id='clip0_3761_713'%3e%3crect%20width='16'%20height='16'%20fill='white'/%3e%3c/clipPath%3e%3c/defs%3e%3c/svg%3e)
Fix Excel-Linked Figures Shrinking in PowerPoint
Question details
The user wants to prevent linked Excel tables and charts from drastically shrinking when updating links in a presentation.
- Product
- PowerPoint, Excel
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Updating multiple linked Excel figures within a PowerPoint presentation, which takes a very long time.
- Observed behavior
- The linked figures shrink significantly while maintaining their aspect ratio, and the updating process takes up to 25 minutes.
Ensure you save a backup copy of your presentation before updating links, so you can easily revert if the objects resize unexpectedly and ruin your slide layout.
Open the Source Excel Workbook Before Updating
Opening the source Excel file beforehand helps the presentation software communicate better with Excel, often preventing the resizing bug during the link update process.
This resizing issue is a known behavior in certain versions of Microsoft Office when PowerPoint tries to render updated OLE objects in the background without Excel being fully active.
Locate and open the original Excel workbook that contains the linked tables and charts before launching your presentation.
Launch your PowerPoint file. If prompted with a security warning to update links upon opening, click 'Update Links'.
If you are not prompted automatically, go to File > Info, click 'Edit Links to Files', select all the linked Excel objects from the list, and click 'Update Now'.
Lock the Aspect Ratio and Size
Adjusting the object formatting settings can prevent PowerPoint from automatically altering the dimensions of the linked figures.
Prevent Object Resizing with WPS Office
WPS Office handles OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) smoothly between WPS Spreadsheets and WPS Presentation, ensuring your charts and tables maintain their exact dimensions and update efficiently.
- 1. Copy from WPS Spreadsheets: Highlight your table or chart in WPS Spreadsheets and press Ctrl+C.
- 2. Paste Special in WPS Presentation: Open WPS Presentation, go to the Home tab, click the dropdown arrow under Paste, and choose 'Paste Special'.
- 3. Create the Link: Select 'Paste Link' and click OK. WPS Presentation will securely link the data without arbitrary resizing upon future updates.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do my Excel charts change size in PowerPoint when updating?
This typically occurs due to an OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) scaling bug in Microsoft Office. It often triggers when the source Excel file is closed, causing PowerPoint to incorrectly calculate the display resolution of the updated data.
How can I speed up the 25-minute link update process in PowerPoint?
To drastically reduce update times, always keep the source Excel files open before updating. Additionally, ensure both files are stored on a fast local drive rather than a slow network folder, and break links for any figures that no longer require live updates.
How do I break links to stop figures from shrinking?
Go to File > Info, click 'Edit Links to Files' at the bottom right. Select the links you want to remove and click 'Break Link'. This converts the live figures into static pictures, permanently preventing them from resizing or updating.
