Microsoft Office

Sharing Data with Other Applications 29
If you paste the data by using the Paste Link option in the Paste Special dialog box, you can make changes
to the source document, and those changes appear in the destination application. You can test these
changes by displaying both applications on-screen, making changes to the source document, and watching
for them to appear in the destination document.
You can break links rather easily. If you move the source document to another directory or
save it under a different name, for example, the destination document’s application isn’t able
to update the link. In such a case, you need to re-establish the link manually.
CAUTION
Figure 29.3 shows Word’s Paste Special dialog box when an Excel range has been copied and the Paste Link
option is specified. Note that, with one exception, these options are the same ones available when you select
the Paste option. The only format that isn’t available for pasting a link is Picture (Enhanced Metafile).
FIGURE 29.3
Word’s paste link options for an Excel range.
When an Excel chart is on the Clipboard, you can also choose the Paste Link option in Word’s Paste Special
dialog box.
When you paste an Excel chart to Word using the Microsoft Office Graphic Object option,
only the chart’s data is linked. All other modifications (such as formatting or changing the
chart type) aren’t reflected in the copy pasted in the Word document. When you activate the chart in Word,
you can use the Chart Tools context menu to make changes to the chart.
NOTE
To edit (or break) a link, choose Office ➪ Prepare ➪ Edit Links To Files in Word, which displays the
Links dialog box shown in Figure 29.4. Select the Source File from the list, and click the Break Link button.
After breaking a link, the data remains in the destination document, but it’s no longer linked to the source
document.
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