When working with data in Excel, you would often have a need to copy some tables from Excel into an MS Word document.
While there is no built-in option in Excel to convert an entire Excel file to Word, you can easily copy and paste the data from an Excel document to Word.
In this tutorial, I will show you multiple ways to copy data from an Excel Worksheet into a Word document.
Copying data from Excel into Word is a common task many of us have to do regularly
Whether you are creating reports, proposals, presentations or some other documents, there may be instances where you need to take data from an Excel sheet and paste it into a Word document.
In this complete guide, I will cover different ways you can copy an Excel table into Word, so you can choose the method that best suits your needs.
Why Insert Excel Tables in Word
Here are some common reasons why you may need to copy Excel data into Word
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To create reports in Word using Excel data. For example, sales reports, inventory reports, financial statements etc.
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To create a formatted table in Word using Excel data. For example, a pricing table for a proposal.
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To create presentations in PowerPoint by copying tables from Excel
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To do mail merges in Word where data comes from an Excel table.
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To create charts and graphs in Word using data from Excel.
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To copy only a particular value or dataset from a large Excel workbook into Word. For example, copying only a KPI value or a summary table from a large Excel dashboard/report.
Ways to Copy an Excel Table into Word
When copying data from Excel to Word, you have a few options available.
In this section, I will show you how you can insert Excel data into Word in different ways.
1. Copy/Paste as Plain Text
This is the easiest way to copy an Excel table into Word. It pastes the data as plain text, without any formatting.
Here are the steps to copy Excel data as plain text in Word:
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In Excel, select the cells you want to copy.
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Press Ctrl + C to copy the selected cells.
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Switch to the Word document and place the cursor where you want to paste this table.
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Press Ctrl + V to paste the copied data from Excel.
This will paste the data as a table in Word, without any formatting.
You can then select the table in Word and apply formatting such as borders, font style, etc.
2. Copy/Paste as Formatted Text
This method also does a copy-paste, but it pastes the data along with the formatting from Excel.
Here are the steps:
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In Excel, select the cells you want to copy.
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Press Ctrl + C to copy the selected cells.
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In Word, place the cursor where you want to paste this table.
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Go to the Home tab and click the down arrow next to Paste. Select Keep Source Formatting from the dropdown.
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The Excel data will be pasted with the same formatting.
3. Copy/Paste as Picture
If you want the Excel table to be inserted as an image in Word, use this method.
Here is how to do this:
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In Excel, select the cells you want to copy.
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Press Ctrl + C to copy the selected cells.
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In Word, place the cursor at the location where you want to insert the image.
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Go to Home tab and click the down arrow next to Paste. Select Picture from the dropdown.
The selected Excel data will be pasted as an image that you can then resize and position as required.
4. Copy/Paste as Linked Object
This method inserts the Excel data into Word as a linked object. This links the copy in Word with the original Excel worksheet.
Here are the steps to do this:
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In Excel, select the cells you want to copy. Press Ctrl + C to copy.
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In Word, place the cursor where you want to paste the data.
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Go to Home tab and click the down arrow next to Paste. Select Paste Special from the dropdown.
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In the Paste Special dialog box, select Paste Link and choose Microsoft Excel Worksheet Object. Click OK.
This will insert the Excel data as a linked object. If you now update the original Excel worksheet, the linked data in Word will also update.
5. Embed Excel in Word
With this method, you can insert a part of the Excel file into the Word document. Here are the steps:
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In Excel, select the cells you want to copy and press Ctrl + C.
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In Word, place the cursor at the point where you want to embed the Excel data.
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Go to Insert tab and click on Object.
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In the Object dialog box, select Create from File and choose the Excel file. Click OK.
This will embed the copied data into the Word document. You can even double click the table to edit it directly in Excel.
6. Copy/Paste as Unformatted Text
If you want to strip all formatting when pasting from Excel to Word, use this method:
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In Excel, select the cells and press Ctrl + C to copy.
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In Word, place the cursor where you want to paste the data.
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Go to Home tab and click the down arrow next to Paste. Select Keep Text Only.
This will paste the Excel data into Word without any formatting.
As you can see, Word provides multiple options to insert an Excel table. You can choose the right method based on how much formatting you want to retain and whether you want the tables linked or embedded.
Things to Remember When Copying Excel Tables into Word
Here are some important things to keep in mind:
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If you paste the Excel table into Word as an image, it will be static and not editable. But it is easier to work with since you can resize and position it easily.
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When you copy-paste as unformatted or formatted text, you can edit the table contents in Word. But inserting and positioning the table is a little difficult.
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Linking gives you the flexibility of keeping the Excel and Word table connected. But you need to keep the Excel file in sync for the link to not break.
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For embedding, the Excel data is inserted into the Word file itself. So you don’t need to maintain two separate files.
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By default, when you copy Excel tables into Word, they lose many Excel features such as formulas. Only when linking or embedding tables, can formulas retain functionality.
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If the Excel data has a lot of formatting that needs to be retained, paste it as a formatted table.
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To retain formatting but have the flexibility of editing table data, insert it as a linked object.
Useful Tips and Tricks
Here are some additional tips that can help when inserting Excel tables into Word:
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You can directly copy Excel charts also and paste them into Word documents. Use the same copy-paste or insert picture method.
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To copy a large Excel table in Word, you can paste it in parts. Copy first few rows and paste in Word, then next few rows, so on.
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If you don’t want gridlines from Excel to show in Word, select the No Gridlines option when pasting.
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In case you want linked tables to be updated automatically, right click the table in Word and select Update Link.
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If you want to paste only the values from Excel (without formulas), copy cells and use the Values Only paste option in Word.
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When embedding large Excel files in Word, it can make the Word document size very large. Insert only what you need.
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You can directly copy charts, shapes, images from Excel and paste in Word. The insert picture method works best for these.
Hopefully, this gives you a good overview of the different ways and options to copy Excel data into Word documents. Inserting tables and ranges is something we all need to do regularly. So do try out these methods and choose the one that works best for you.
Copy Paste Excel Table as Plain Text in MS Word
If all you want is to copy and paste a table from Excel to Word, you can do that with a simple copy paste.
It allows you to get the static table in Word, where you can then format it (and change it if you want).
The downside of this method is that in case there are any formulas in the data, that won’t work. And since this is static table, any changes you make in Excel will not get reflected in the table you copied to Word.
But in most cases, this is exactly what you want.
Let’s see how to do this.
Suppose you have a dataset as shown below and you want to copy this data from Excel and insert it into Word.
Below are the steps to do this:
- Select the data in Excel that you want to copy to Word
- Right-click and then click on Copy (or use the keyboard shortcut Control + C in Windows or Command + C in Mac)
- Open the Word document where you want to insert this data
- Place the cursor where you want this data in the Word document
- Go to the Home tab in Word and click on Paste (or use the keyboard shortcut Control + V)
The above steps would copy the data from Excel and paste it as a static table in the Word document.
Once you have the table in Word, you can format and work with it just like any other table that you insert in Word.
A couple of things to note when using this method:
- If there are any formulas in the table in Excel, they won’t be copied. In my example, I have the formulas in the Total row, but when copied to Word, these are static values. If you make any changes to any data, you will have to manually adjust the formula values as well
- If you don’t want to get copy the formatting from Excel and would rather want to use the formatting of the Word document, you can use the option Use Destination Style option. It shows up when you click on the Paste Options icon after you have pasted the table in Word.
Embed Excel Table into Word (as a Linked Object)
In the above method, we copied the data from Excel and inserted it as a static table into Word.
Another option that you can use is to copy and paste the table into a Word document and keep the two tables linked.
This way, if you make any changes in the Excel table that you copied, you will see that these are reflected in real-time in the table in Word as well.
This is quite useful when there is a possibility that you may have to update the data in Excel and it would also need to be updated in Word. By having the linked table, you only need to make changes in Excel data and these would automatically get reflected in the table you copied to Word.
Let me show you how this works.
Suppose you have a table as shown below and you want to copy it from Excel to MS Word and keep this linked.
Below are the steps to do this:
- Select the data in Excel that you want to copy to Word
- Right-click and then click on Copy (or use the keyboard shortcut Control + C)
- Open the Word document where you want to insert this data
- Place the cursor where you want this data in the Word document
- Go to the Home tab in Word and click on Paste drop-down (click on the small inverted arrow below the Paste Special icon)
- In the options that show up, click on Paste Special
- In the Paste Special dialog box, select the ‘Paste link’ option
- Select Microsoft Excel Worksheet Object from the listed options
The above steps would insert the copied table in Word, where it’s still linked to the original table in Excel.
Now, if you go and make any changes in the table in Excel, you will see that the same is reflected in the table in Word (in real-time).
If for some reason your data doesn’t update in real-time, right-click on the table and click on the ‘Update Link’ option
Here are some things you need to know about this method:
- Since the two files are linked to each other, you will have to keep these together. If you’re sending the Word file to someone, you will also have to send them the Excel file, or the link would be broken and the data in Word would not update.
- Whenever the Word file opens, it will check for any updates in the Excel table. This works even if the Excel file is closed.
This method is best suited for situations where you have a large Excel file that has a lot of calculations/data/dashboards. By using this method, you can only copy a small part of the Excel file, while still being able to update the table when values change in Excel.
How to Paste an Excel Spreadsheet Into Word
FAQ
How do you copy a table from Excel to Word?
How do I paste an Excel table into Word and make it fit?
How do I copy an entire table from Word to Excel?
How to copy data from Excel to word?
Go to the Home tab in the ribbon and select Paste from the Clipboard group. From the Paste options, select Paste Special. A Paste Special dialog box will appear. Select Unformatted Unicode Text and click on OK. You can see all the copied data. Read More: How to Copy Excel Table to Word with Gridlines Open the Excel dataset. Select the data.
How to transfer a table from Excel to word?
We’ll transfer this table from Excel to Word. Select the entire data range from the table Book List and right-click on it. A context menu will appear. Select Copy. You can also use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + C. Open the Word file. Click where you want to insert the table. Right-click and select Paste (A) the Paste Options.
How do I copy a table in Microsoft Word?
Copy the table with Ctrl + C or choose the Copy option from the right-click context menu. Open a new Microsoft Word document. Go to the Home tab in the ribbon and select Paste from the Clipboard group. From the Paste Options list, select Paste Special. A Paste Special dialog box will appear. Select Paste link.
How to paste a table into a Word document?
It shows up when you click on the Paste Options icon after you have pasted the table in Word. In the above method, we copied the data from Excel and inserted it as a static table into Word. Another option that you can use is to copy and paste the table into a Word document and keep the two tables linked.
