Forum Discussion
renee_crozier
Dec 23, 2024Brass Contributor
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.
- Patrick2788Silver 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_crozierBrass 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?
- Patrick2788Silver 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.
- NikolinoDEGold 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.