Working with Spreadsheets in PowerPoint
In the spreadsheet module a
spreadsheet was defined as the
electronic version of a ledger pad. Further, it was stated that a
spreadsheet can be used anytime you have information that is best
organized in a row and column format, and at least some of the
data is to be manipulated mathematically (although mathematical
manipulation is not a requirement!).
You may wish to review the spreadsheet module before working
with spreadsheets in PowerPoint. If so, click here
now.
If you need to know how to create a spreadsheet to place on a
slide in PowerPoint, click on Creating a Spreadsheet below.
If you know how to create a spreadsheet but are unsure how to
modify or enhance it, click on Working with a Spreadsheet
below. If your spreadsheet is created and modified, but now you
need to resize or reposition it on the slide, click on Resizing
a Spreadsheet below.
Lastly, once you have added a spreadsheet to the slide, you
will probably want to animate it. A worksheet is simply another
object on a slide and as such can be animated as described in the
Transitions and Builds section.
Creating a Spreadsheet
First Change the Slide Layout
- move to the slide on which you want to add a table
- if you have not done so already, switch to
- Slide View
if
you are using PowerPoint 97/98
- either Slide Viewor
the Tri-Pane View if you are using PowerPoint 2000/2001
- to change the layout of a slide, choose
Format
Slide
Layout or click the Slide Layout button
or
on the toolbar
- in PowerPoint 97/98/2001, the Slide Layout button is on
the Standard toolbar
- in PowerPoint 2000, the Slide Layout button is under
[Common Tasks] on the Formatting toolbar
- the Slide Layout dialog box will appear
- select the appropriate layout and then click the
<Reapply> button.
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PowerPoint
2000: Since
you are inserting a spreadsheet, you would select any of
the numerous layouts that include an object
placeholder |
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PowerPoint
2001: Since there are no object
placeholders, you can select an appropriate layout and place the
spreadsheet on top of another placeholder. If the spreadsheet is
the only thing on the slide, other than the title, you can use the
Table layout. |
Now Create the Spreadsheet
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starting the process in
Windows
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- the placeholder in the slide layout will have a button that
says “Double-click to add object”; do so
- the Insert Object Dialog Box will appear
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|
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- click the radio button “Create new”
- select Microsoft Excel Worksheet from the scrolling list
- click
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starting the process in
Macintosh
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- click on the <Insert Microsoft Excel
Worksheet> button on the Standard Toolbar
- from the drop-down list, select the number of rows and
columns desired in your worksheet
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continuing the process for either
platform
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- Microsoft Excel will start and you will be presented with a new, blank worksheet (the
starting of Excel will be transparent in Windows)
- you can now enter data into the worksheet
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when
you enter the data, be sure to format the worksheet
(borders, colors, data alignment, column width, etc.),
add any formulas or functions, and so forth, just like
you would for any Excel worksheet |
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now turn off the display of the worksheet gridlines
- choose ToolsOptions
(Windows) or ToolsPreferences
(Macintosh)
- click on the [View] tab
- under [Window Options], uncheck
“Gridlines”
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- to now place the worksheet on your PowerPoint slide
- Windows: you need only click anywhere on the
PowerPoint slide outside of the worksheet
- Macintosh: choose FileClose
or FileClose
& Return (2001) or FileQuit
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PowerPoint Windows Users!
You MUST “hide” any unused rows and columns before actually
placing the worksheet on the slide. To hide unused columns,
“grab” the center object handle along the right border of the
worksheet and drag to the left one column at a time until only
the used columns are visible. To hide unused rows, “grab” the
center object handle along the bottom border of the worksheet and
drag up one row at a time until only the used rows are visible.
Now when you click on the slide as directed above, the worksheet
will automatically resize to fill the object placeholder.
|
Working with the Spreadsheet
Now that you have created a spreadsheet and entered data
…
- double-clicking on the worksheet in the slide will return
you to Excel
- you may now
- edit the data
- add any formatting desired that you may have
forgotten
- etc.
- or you may Right-Mouse Click (Windows) or Ctrl-Click
(Macintosh) and make selections from the pop-up contextual menu
Resizing and Repositioning a Spreadsheet
Since a spreadsheet is simply an object on a PowerPoint slide,
it can be resized or moved before or after it has been formatted.
To do so:
- click on the spreadsheet to select it
- to resize
- “grab” one of the handles and drag as needed
to increase or decrease the size of the spreadsheet
- note that if you drag one of the corner handles, the
aspect ratio of the spreadsheet will be maintained
automatically
- to reposition
- click anywhere inside the table and drag
- or use one of the cursor keys to “nudge” the
table in the direction of the arrow
Worksheet Gridlines
The default setting in an Excel worksheet is to display the gridlines. A
worksheet inserted into a PowerPoint presentation that is still displaying its
gridlines will, of course, not look too good! Thus, whenever you insert an
Excel worksheet into a PowerPoint presentation you should (i) turn off the
display of gridlines and (ii) set your own borders as necessary. To turn off
the display of gridlines:
- choose ToolsOptions (Windows)
or EditPreferences
(Macintosh)
- click on the [View] tab
- in the section “Window” options, uncheck [Gridlines]
What you must remember is that when you insert an Excel worksheet, you are “displaying”
that worksheet on a PowerPoint slide. Thus, to turn off the gridlines, you
must change the View options.
Copyright © 2003
last updated
August 13, 2003