Inserting a Google Sheet into a Google Slides presentation is a valuable way to bring data, tables, and charts from Google Sheets directly into your slides. This process of inserting Google Sheets into Google Slides is simple, even for those new to Google Workspace programs.
In this article, we will walk through the step-by-step process of inserting Google Sheets into Google Slides. You will learn how effortless it is to insert Google Sheets into Google Slides with a few clicks.
Our guide will cover how to find the Google Sheets you want to insert, select a specific sheet or range of cells to insert, adjust sizing, and edit the inserted sheet so it fits and functions perfectly in your Google Slides presentation.
Whether you want to insert a data table or chart from Google Sheets to support your slide content, you’ll find the entire process easy. Read on for the details of how to seamlessly insert Google Sheets into Google Slides.
Why Insert Google Sheets into Google Slides
Inserting Google Sheets into Google Slides presentations has some great benefits. Let’s look at some of them below.
1. Display Up-to-Date Data
Inserting a Google Sheet links that spreadsheet directly to your slide rather than copying static data. This means if your data in Google Sheets updates, it will also automatically update in your attached slides. With this, you don’t have to update numbers, charts, tables, etc manually.
2. Save Time Copying & Pasting
Rather than toggling between Sheets and Slides to copy and paste data over, the direct link inserts data in just a couple of clicks. Thanks to this, you skip the tedious work of re-copying updated tables, charts, and values when the data changes.
3. Organize Complex Data
Google Sheets allows users to organize complex datasets with features like sorting, filtering, formulas, pivot tables, and more. Inserting Google Sheets enables you to easily harness organized data in your slides without learning formatting in Slides.
4. Insert Different Sheet Elements
When inserting Google Sheets, you can insert an entire sheet, a single table or chart, or even a cell range. This level of customization lets you insert exactly what you need and omit unnecessary data.
Important Privacy Note
When a Google Sheet is linked to Slides, anyone who can view the Slides file can also see the linked Sheet data. This remains true even if those viewers don’t have permission to access the Sheet. So keep this in mind when linking sensitive data.
Copy Sample Google Slide File
If you want to follow along with today’s tutorial, you can access our sample Google Slide document via the link below.
Insert Google Sheets into Google Slides: The Step-By-Step Process.
Now that we’ve covered the fundamentals of inserting Google Sheets into Google Slides, it’s time to get hands-on with the step-by-step process. Whether you’re a beginner just getting started or someone with a ton of experience navigating Google Workspace apps, you should be able to seamlessly insert Google Sheets into Google Slide after reading the steps we are about to show you.
Read on as we go over the steps together.
We will start by showing you how to insert a table from Google Sheets into Google Slides.
Insert Data Table Into Slides
Step 1: Open Your Google Slides Presentation
To insert a table from Google Sheets into Slides, you first need to open the specific Google Slides presentation where you want the sheet to appear. If you haven’t created your presentation yet, simply navigate to slides.google.com to build one from scratch. Click on the multicolored “+” icon to open a blank slide canvas.
If you already have existing Google Slides presentations, go to slides.google.com and click on the presentation file you want from the menu on the left. This will open the deck so it’s ready for you to embed sheet content.
For this guide, we will start a slide from scratch. Here is what it looks like:
Step 2: Insert a Blank Table
With your Google Slides presentation open, click on the “Insert” menu at the top. In the dropdown options, select “Table” to insert a blank table onto your slide.
Note: Even if your spreadsheet table is larger, select the 1×1 dimension as the initial insert size. Google Slides will auto-adjust the table once you connect your Sheet data.
A 1×1 table will look like a single empty cell when first inserted. This small size makes linking easier than starting with a large table. The inserted table will expand to show all the linked data soon.
After inserting the table like we showed you, you should have something like this:
Step 3: Copy Your Google Sheet Table Data
Now, switch over to the Google Sheet file containing the data table or chart you want to insert. Select the full cell range encompassing the entire data set you want to bring into your presentation by clicking and dragging your cursor.
For example, if your table data occupies cells from A2:D14 of the sheet, you would select that full A2:D14 range.
With your desired table data range highlighted, right-click inside the range and choose “Copy” from the menu. This copies the spreadsheet range so you can paste it into your slide presentation.
Step 4: Paste Your Copied Sheet Data into the Slides Table
Now, switch back to your Google Slides presentation file with the blank 1×1 table inserted and waiting. Make sure to click directly inside the boundaries of the inserted table placeholder to place your cursor there.
Right-click within the table borders and select “Paste” or use the keyboard shortcuts CTRL+V (Windows) or CMD+V (Mac). This will paste the copied Google Sheet cell range you selected earlier into the table in your presentation slide.
Once pasted, the single cell will automatically expand to the size of your entire data range from Google Sheets, filling in all the information seamlessly.
Here is what ours looks like:
Now that you have your Sheet data inserted as a table. Let’s look at adding a linked sheet chart next to our Google Slides file.
Add Chart From Google Sheets to Google Slides
In addition to inserting data tables, you can also add charts and graphs from Google Sheets directly into your Slide presentations. After walking through how to embed a full Sheet data range as a connected table, let’s look at the simple process for importing a standalone Sheet chart.
Let’s go over the steps together:
Step 1: Open Target Slide in Google Slides
Start by navigating to the specific slide in your Google Slides presentation where you want your chart from Google Sheets to appear.
You may want to insert a simple text box or other slide title to mark the placement spot for your chart if the rest of your slide design is already complete.
Having the destination slide open makes it easy to paste the chart directly into the existing slide layout right where you want it positioned, among other elements.
Step 2: Insert> Chart > From Sheets
With your target slide open, go to the ‘Insert’ menu and click on it to reveal a dropdown menu. Within this menu, you will find the ‘Chart’ option; select it to proceed. A submenu will then appear, where you should choose ‘From Sheets.’
This action will open a new window displaying a list of your available Google Sheets. From here, select the specific sheet and the chart that you wish to insert into your presentation.
Step 3: Select Your Google Sheet Source File
After selecting the “From Sheets” chart type in the previous step, a new window will open, listing available Google Sheet files that contain charts. Select the specific sheet with the chart you want to insert.
Step 4: Select Chart and Click “Import”
Once in your source Google Sheet file, click on the chart you want to insert from among the outlined chart options. This will select the chart.
Make sure the “Link to Spreadsheet” checkbox below the chart is enabled with a checkmark. Leaving this on creates a live, updating connection between the chosen Sheet chart and the slide presentation chart copy.
- With the link enabled, any data or styling changes later made to the original Sheets chart will automatically sync to the Slides version.
- If you do not want this connection, click the box to remove the checkmark and unlink the charts.
Finally, click the yellow “Import” button to complete the process.
This will insert a copy of the selected chart on the target presentation slide, now linked dynamically to the Google Sheet source.
Step 5: Check You Slides
Having executed the previous step as we showed you, the selected chart should be instantly imported to your Google Slide presentation.
Here is what ours looks like:
From the screenshot above, you can see that we have successfully imported our Google Sheets chart into Google Slides, following the steps we detailed above. That wasn’t too complicated, was it?
Key Points to Remember When Using Google Sheets with Google Slides
Understanding how to insert Google Sheets into Google Slides is excellent, but there are a few more things to keep in mind:
- Ease of Displaying Information: Linking a Google Sheets file to your presentation is beneficial. It allows you to show essential data without copying and pasting everything manually.
- Automatic Updates: One of the best things about linking your Sheets is that the data in your presentation stays updated automatically. This means your presentation will always have the latest information, making it more effective.
- No Need for Manual Formatting: When you import data from a spreadsheet into your slideshow, Google Slides handles the formatting. Meaning, you don’t need to create tables or charts manually, as it’s all done for you quickly and efficiently.
- Google Sheets vs. Excel: If you’re considering using an Excel spreadsheet, remember that it might not integrate as smoothly as a Google Sheet. The data from Excel won’t update in your presentation on its own.
- Using Excel with Google Slides: If you need to use Excel data, a good approach is to first copy it into a Google Sheet. Then, link this Google Sheet to your Slides. This method is easier and more secure than directly linking an Excel file.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I Update An Inserted Sheet Chart Or Table In Google Slides?
Yes, inserted tables and charts maintain a linkage to their source Sheets file. In Slides, click the inserted chart/table, open the “Linked sheet options” menu, and select “Refresh data” to pull updated data from the Sheet.
What Are The Benefits Of Linking Google Sheets To Google Slides?
Linking allows your presentation to display dynamically updating data, charts, and tables without manual copying and pasting every time the Sheet content changes. It also seamlessly formats the elements and saves layout time.
Do All Links Between Sheets And Slides Update Automatically?
If the “Link to spreadsheet” option is selected when inserting a chart or table, then it will automatically pull new data when the source Sheet changes. Some insertions don’t enable linking by default but can be linked manually later.
Can I Import A Google Sheet Into Google Slides?
Yes, you can directly import Google Sheets tables, charts, ranges, or entire sheets into a Google Slides presentation. Simply open the target Slides file, go to “Insert > Chart > From Sheets,” select your source Sheet file and specific element to insert, and click “Import.” This dynamically links that Sheet content to your presentation.
How Do You Turn A Google Sheet Into A Slide?
To fully convert a Sheet tab into a slide, open your presentation, go to “File > Import Slides,” and select the Google Sheet file. Choose the specific tab name you want as a new slide. This will insert a screenshot of the sheet as an image onto a new presentation slide.
Final Thoughts
Inserting Google Sheets into your Google Slides presentations unlocks valuable opportunities to display dynamic, updating data visualizations. By linking charts, graphs, and tables from an existing spreadsheet, you save immense time otherwise spent manually building visuals and recopying content.
In today’s guide, we showed you exactly how to insert Google Sheets into Google Slides without stressing. Even if you haven’t done this before, we are sure today’s guide has simplified the entire process.
Now that you know how to add tables, parts of Sheets, whole Sheets, and charts step by step, your presentations will be way more interesting.