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renee_crozier's avatar
renee_crozier
Brass Contributor
Dec 23, 2024

Embed SharePoint Document in Excel

In a SharePoint library, I have an Excel document and a Word document. The Excel document refers to the Word document quite a bit so instead of opening two windows to view the documents and toggling back and forth, I wanted to embed the Word document into an Excel sheet so it will update whenever the Word document updates.

 

I found Insert > Object (in the Text section of the ribbon) but that only seems to embed a hard copy of a Word document from your computer and not from an online source.

 

I was thinking something like this:

 

I don't want to just add a link to the Word document, so if this isn't possible, oh well.

  • Embedding a SharePoint-hosted Word document directly into an Excel sheet such that it updates dynamically is not natively supported in Excel…so far I know.

     

    Here what you can try as workarounds…maybe its works some of them in your digital environment.

     

    a)You can try to add a dynamic link that will always open the latest version of the Word document in SharePoint.

    1)Get the SharePoint Link:

    Navigate to the SharePoint library where the Word document is stored.

    Copy the document's link (use the "Copy Link" option).

    2)Insert a Hyperlink in Excel:

    In Excel, go to the cell where you want to add the link.

    Right-click the cell and choose Hyperlink.

    Paste the link into the address field and provide a meaningful display name (e.g., "View Word Document").

    This ensures that clicking the link always opens the most up-to-date version of the Word document from SharePoint.

     

    b) Embed the Document with OneDrive Sync

    If the document is synced via OneDrive for Business:

    1)Sync the Document Locally:

    Use OneDrive to sync the SharePoint library containing the Word document.

    Ensure the document is accessible as a local file on your computer.

    2)Insert the Word Document as a Linked Object:

    Go to Insert > Object > Create from File in Excel.

    Browse for the synced Word document.

    Select Link to file to ensure updates in the Word document reflect in the embedded object.

    Important: The local sync ensures updates are fetched automatically from SharePoint.

     

    If you need more sophisticated functionality, consider using Power Automate.

     

    I hope that I was able to help you with your plans.

  • Patrick2788's avatar
    Patrick2788
    Silver Contributor

    I think it is possible but would defeat the purpose of storing both files in SharePoint.  The reason I don't recommend it is embedding an object will disable AutoSave and prevent co-authoring.

    • renee_crozier's avatar
      renee_crozier
      Brass Contributor

      The word document is used in other places and referenced separately. Are you saying that, even though the both files are hosted on SharePoint, I would be the only one to make changes to either?

      • Patrick2788's avatar
        Patrick2788
        Silver Contributor

        Anyone with edit rights to the files can still modify them.  With AutoSave off, it then becomes a situation where only one person may edit the file at a time.  You would have to communicate this to those accessing the files and it really is a setup that needs require check out to be turned on.  The issue with that is require checkout is enabled at the library-level.

        The workaround is to link to the other file and not embed it.

  • NikolinoDE's avatar
    NikolinoDE
    Gold Contributor

    Embedding a SharePoint-hosted Word document directly into an Excel sheet such that it updates dynamically is not natively supported in Excel…so far I know.

     

    Here what you can try as workarounds…maybe its works some of them in your digital environment.

     

    a)You can try to add a dynamic link that will always open the latest version of the Word document in SharePoint.

    1)Get the SharePoint Link:

    Navigate to the SharePoint library where the Word document is stored.

    Copy the document's link (use the "Copy Link" option).

    2)Insert a Hyperlink in Excel:

    In Excel, go to the cell where you want to add the link.

    Right-click the cell and choose Hyperlink.

    Paste the link into the address field and provide a meaningful display name (e.g., "View Word Document").

    This ensures that clicking the link always opens the most up-to-date version of the Word document from SharePoint.

     

    b) Embed the Document with OneDrive Sync

    If the document is synced via OneDrive for Business:

    1)Sync the Document Locally:

    Use OneDrive to sync the SharePoint library containing the Word document.

    Ensure the document is accessible as a local file on your computer.

    2)Insert the Word Document as a Linked Object:

    Go to Insert > Object > Create from File in Excel.

    Browse for the synced Word document.

    Select Link to file to ensure updates in the Word document reflect in the embedded object.

    Important: The local sync ensures updates are fetched automatically from SharePoint.

     

    If you need more sophisticated functionality, consider using Power Automate.

     

    I hope that I was able to help you with your plans.

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