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Hello, my coworkers often create Word documents containing many Excel
charts based on same/similar data. Each chart has its own copy of the
data, so maintenance is a nightmare. Can I *easily* embed a master
Excel data sheet and show multiple charts based on that? Is there a
best practice for managing data in reports this way?

I ask for an *easy* method because I found a very complex and
potentially unreliable way to do it. It was something like embedding
an Excel sheet but having its data linked in from another Excel file
on the hard drive. There must be an easier way that my coworkers
could maintain and which wouldn't break easily.

[Cindy M.]

Hello, my coworkers often create Word documents containing many Excel
charts based on same/similar data. Each chart has its own copy of the
data, so maintenance is a nightmare. Can I *easily* embed a master
Excel data sheet and show multiple charts based on that? Is there a
best practice for managing data in reports this way?

I ask for an *easy* method because I found a very complex and
potentially unreliable way to do it. It was something like embedding
an Excel sheet but having its data linked in from another Excel file
on the hard drive. There must be an easier way that my coworkers
could maintain and which wouldn't break easily.

You'd have to maintain the data and charts externally and link the
charts in. That would be the most straightforward approach.

There's no way multiple embedded objects can "share" and embedded data
source - the linking mechanism isn't supported. And embedded Excel chart
or worksheet always contains an entire workbook.

A possible alternative would be to put the data in the document, then
use MSGraph charts, linked to that. That's about as "simple" and you can
get and have it all within a single Word document.

Cindy Meister
INTER-Solutions, Switzerland
http://homepage.swissonline.ch/cindymeister (last update Jun 17 2005)
http://www.word.mvps.org

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