Excel and PowerPoint
Link Excel to PowerPoint, and update the report with new data.
Slaide ties the numbers and charts of your report to an Excel workbook inside the document. When a new file arrives, you load it, check the preview and update the report. It is not a link to a file on your computer, more on that below.
Free account, no credit card. Previewing new data is free; applying it needs a paid plan.
A report that follows the numbers
- Numbers and charts point to cells
- Load a new file, check the preview, update the report
- Formulas, formats and column widths stay
- Undo through a saved version
The workbook lives in the document, not on your computer.
To link Excel to PowerPoint in Slaide, you tie the numbers and charts of a report to an Excel workbook inside the document. When new data arrives, choose “Load new data” with an .xlsx or CSV file, check the preview and click “Update report”: formulas and formats stay, and a saved version lets you go back. This is not a file link to your computer: Slaide does not watch files, and an exported PowerPoint shows the state at export.
How it works
From report to an update with new data.
Tie the report to a workbook
Attach your Excel file or let Slaide build a workbook, and ask for the numbers and charts to be tied to it. The pages then hold references to cells instead of typed numbers.
Load new data
Open the workbook's tab and click “Load new data” in the grid, or drop the file there. The dialog takes .xlsx, .csv, .tsv and .txt files up to 4 MB.
Read the preview
Under “What changes” you see changed, new and removed cells and which numbers and charts on which pages follow. Warnings appear here too. Looking changes nothing.
Update the report
Slaide first saves the previous state as a version, then loads the data. Numbers and charts on your pages show the new values right away. “Undo” takes you back.
Adjust the text and export again
“Adjust the text” puts a task in the message box so headlines and comparisons match the numbers again. Then you export the PowerPoint once more.
What is behind it
Tied, checked, and reversible.
Numbers tied to cells
A number on the page points to a cell, shown as currency, percent, integer or plain number. The text on the page is the fallback, and an error code such as #REF! never lands on your slide.
Charts from cell ranges
Column, bar, line, area, donut or pie. Slaide draws them again whenever the workbook changes, without an AI run.
Preview before applying
You see which cells change and which numbers and charts on which pages follow. A file that matches the workbook changes nothing.
Formulas and formats stay
Plain numbers never overwrite formulas. Formats, column widths, names and conditional formats stay, and chart ranges grow with the data.
Undo
Before every update Slaide saves pages and workbook as a version called “New data: file name”. “Undo” in the dialog restores it.
Excel and CSV
CSV exports from other systems work too: Slaide detects the separator, reads UTF-8 and Windows-1252 and understands German number notation such as 1.250,50.
The monthly report
Build it once, load new data every month.
Build it once. Attach the export file from your system and ask Slaide to use the key figures as live values. Numbers and charts then point to cells.
Load each month. Load new data, read the preview, update the report. Name sheets and columns the same way each month and Slaide matches them on its own. If a sheet has no counterpart, the dialog asks where it goes, or you choose “Don't use”.
Have the text checked. Numbers follow on their own, sentences do not. “Adjust the text” puts a task in the message box. When you send it, the assistant checks the pages with changed numbers and fixes text that no longer matches.
Or by request. You can attach the new file for the assistant and ask it to update the report. That is an ordinary request in the chat.
One month in the report
- New file: this month's export (.xlsx or .csv)
- Preview: which numbers and charts on which pages change
- Update report: version saved, numbers and charts new
- Adjust the text, then export the PowerPoint again
Layout and structure stay; only the data and the sentences around it change.
To try it
Three briefs that build the workbook too.
The briefs need no file: Slaide creates the workbook with sample data itself and ties the numbers to it. To start from your own spreadsheet, attach it after you sign up.
Monthly report
Key figures of an online shop
Create a monthly report for the management of an online shop: revenue, orders, return rate and margin, plus two charts. Put the numbers in an Excel workbook with sample data and tie the numbers and charts to it, so that I only have to load new data each month.
Sales
Quarterly review by region
Build a sales review for the quarter: revenue by region and product group, target against actual and a line chart across the months. Numbers and charts should be tied to a workbook with formulas, whose sample data I will replace with real data later.
Controlling
Plan against actual by cost center
Create a cost review for a company with five cost centers: plan, actual and variance per cost center, a bar chart and three sentences on the situation. The values should sit in a workbook with formulas, with the numbers and the chart tied to it.
What does it cost?
Looking is free, applying needs a plan.
Which step costs something, and when.
| Step | What applies |
|---|---|
| Preview “What changes” | Free on every plan. It changes nothing in the report. |
| “Update report” | A paid plan or a document you bought individually. On Free, the button opens the plan choice, and the file you picked stays in your browser meanwhile. |
| The dialog itself | Uses no AI and costs no credits. |
| Updating through the assistant | An ordinary request in the chat, charged like one. |
| “Undo” and versions | Part of the update: before every apply, Slaide saves the state. |
Plans and prices are on the Pricing page.
What Slaide does not do
The limits, stated plainly.
No connection to a file on your computer
The workbook lives in the document. Slaide does not read files from your drive, OneDrive, SharePoint or Google Sheets by itself and does not refresh on a schedule. New data comes in when you load a file or ask the assistant to. You can also paste cells from another spreadsheet into the grid.
PowerPoint's own link
PowerPoint itself can paste an Excel range or an Excel chart with a link to the source file, through Paste Special. If your numbers sit in a file that PowerPoint should pull from by itself, that is the route for it. Slaide does something different: the report is made in Slaide, the numbers come from the workbook inside the document, and you load new data there.
The export is a snapshot
An exported .pptx shows the numbers as they were at export and is not connected to the workbook. After an update you export again. Charts in the export are not embedded Office charts: there is no chart data sheet behind them in PowerPoint, you change the numbers in Slaide. You get the numbers behind the report as .xlsx through the “Excel” entry in the Export menu, as a copy without a connection.
Files and sizes
- The dialog takes .xlsx, .csv, .tsv and .txt up to 4 MB. Other formats such as .xls or .xlsm you save as .xlsx first.
- A sheet holds up to 10,000 rows and 256 columns. A larger sheet in your file is not used.
- Only the assistant can insert rows and columns in the grid. The tied numbers move along.
- If your file has plain numbers where the workbook has formulas, Slaide skips those cells and reports the sheet.
Keep reading
Common questions
Excel and PowerPoint, answered briefly.
How do I link Excel to PowerPoint?
In Slaide you tie the numbers and charts of a report to an Excel workbook inside the document: attach your .xlsx and ask Slaide to use the numbers as live values. Slaide does not create a link between a .pptx file and an .xlsx file on your computer. PowerPoint itself offers that when you paste with a link.
How do I update Excel data in a presentation automatically?
Not automatically in the sense of a schedule or file watcher. You load the new file with “Load new data” or ask the assistant, check the preview and click “Update report”. The numbers and charts then follow without an AI run and without credits.
How do I set up an automatic monthly report?
Build the report once with numbers and charts tied to the workbook. Each month you load the new export, read the preview, update the report and use “Adjust the text” to have headlines and comparisons checked. Name sheets and columns the same way each month and Slaide matches them on its own.
Will the update overwrite my formulas?
No. If your file has plain numbers where the workbook has formulas, Slaide skips those cells and reports the sheet, so no total is overwritten. Cells that hold values are replaced, and formats, column widths, names and formulas stay.
Can I load a CSV file?
Yes. The dialog takes .csv, .tsv and .txt as well as .xlsx, up to 4 MB. Slaide detects the separator, reads UTF-8 and Windows-1252 and understands German number notation such as 1.250,50. The sheets of the file are matched to the workbook the same way as with Excel files.
Does updating cost anything?
The preview is free on every plan. Applying needs a paid plan or a document you bought individually. The dialog uses no AI and costs no credits. If you ask the assistant to do the update, it is an ordinary request in the chat and is charged like one.
Does the exported PowerPoint stay connected to Excel?
No. The exported file shows the numbers from the moment of export. After an update you export again. You get the numbers behind the report as an .xlsx copy through “Excel” in the Export menu, also without a connection.
Can I undo an update?
Yes. Before every apply Slaide saves pages and workbook as a version called “New data: file name”. “Undo” in the dialog restores it right away, and later you find it in the version list. Changes you type into the grid yourself can be undone too.
Build a report that follows the numbers.
Describe your report, or take one of the briefs above. You see the plan before anything is built.
Free to start, no credit card. You create an account to begin. Applying new data needs a paid plan.