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HOW TO PUT AN EXCEL GRAPH IN A WORD DOC

Garrett Carty offers advice on integrating a chart from Excel into your Word document.
(c) 2012 UC Regents, Garrett Carty, September 10, 2012.

Often times it is necessary to include charts, tables, or graphs in a Word document. Whether youre creating a business proposal, a lab write-up, or a research paper for your sociology class, here we discuss easy and efficient ways to put Excel data into a Word doc. There are two ways to include an Excel chart in a Word document. The first well address is for if you already have a spreadsheet with your data and graph prepared. The second method is easier if you are planning on making a chart on the fly and is accomplished using the Insert tab on MS Word 2010.

1. Inserting a graph from a pre-existing spreadsheet. As an example, we will use a simple xy- scatter plot, seen below (still in its spreadsheet).

Getting the graph onto your word doc is as simple as copy + paste. Go to the Excel file and copy the desired graph. Now go to your document, place the cursor at the end of the sentence you want the graph to come after, and hit enter. Paste your graph into the document. Mission accomplished! The graph in Word is linked to the one in Excel, meaning that if you make changes to the data or the graph itself in Excel, it will be automatically changed in Word for you!

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2. Inserting a graph using the Insert tab. If you prefer to make your graph on the fly, MS Word 2010 has a built in functionality that allows you to do so. Simply click on the Insert tab in the toolbar, then click on the Chart functionality, as seen below.

A window will pop up, giving you many options as to what kind of chart youd like to create. Picking an appropriate graph-style will prompt a new spreadsheet to open, side by side with your existing word document.

The spreadsheet will allow you to enter x- and y-values, plotting them on your graph as you go. The graph will already be in your word document, so this method doesnt require you to cut and paste anything. Also, when you use this function, three new tabs will appear in the toolbar at the top of the page, allowing you to customize your chart while still in Word.

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3. Now that you have your graph on your word doc, you might want to move it around or fiddle with the alignment. Youll find that the Text Wrapping function is particularly helpful in such tasks. To use this function, left click somewhere other than the graph to deselect the graph. Then, right click on the graph and you will see a dropdown menu like the one displayed below.

The default text wrapping will be In Line with Text, which doesnt allow much leeway if you want to be able to drag the graph around. (If you go ahead and try, youll notice that moving the chart messes with the line spacing.) Depending on how you want your document to look, different text wrappings work best in different circumstances. Fiddle around with it and find which one you like best. The undo function will be helpful while youre testing different text-wrappings (shortcut: Ctrl + z on PC, command + z on Mac).

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