How does linking Excel data to slides work?

Video introduction

See the introduction video and an example of how to implement the feature here:

Background

Linking Excel data lets you connect a chart or table on a slide to a worksheet in an Excel file stored in SlideHub. Once the two are linked, SlideHub keeps the slide in sync: whenever you update the Excel file, the linked charts and tables on every slide refresh automatically. You set the link up once, and from then on you only ever edit the numbers in Excel.

Example: you keep your quarterly revenue figures in an Excel workbook. A chart on your company overview slide is linked to the "Revenue" worksheet in that workbook. Next quarter you update the workbook with the new figures, and SlideHub rebuilds the chart on the slide for you — no need to re-paste data or rebuild the chart by hand.

How to use Excel linking

Follow these steps to link a chart or table on a slide to an Excel worksheet. Every label in bold is exactly what you'll see on screen.

1. In SlideHub, open the slide you want to work on and go to its Placeholders & Identifiers view. SlideHub scans the slide and lists what it finds.
2. Scroll to the Charts & tables section. SlideHub lists every chart and table it detected on the slide. Anything not yet connected shows a grey Not linked badge.
3. Find the chart or table you want to connect and click Link to existing Excel. A dialog opens on the Select Excel file step.
4. (Optional) Use the filters and search at the top to narrow the list of Excel files. Click the card of the workbook you want. The dialog moves to the Select or create sheet step, headed Where to link the current chart.
5. Choose where the data lives. Select Link to existing worksheet and pick one from the Select worksheet list, or select Create new worksheet and link and type a name in the field beside it.
6. Click Preview. Under Preview the implications of linking, SlideHub draws the chart or table with the worksheet's data applied, so you can check the result before anything is saved.
7. Click Confirm & link. The badge turns to a yellow Linking…, then to a green Linked. (If you chose Create new worksheet and link, there is no preview step — the button reads Confirm & link straight away.)

Tip: If you don't have an Excel file for this chart yet, click Create new Excel instead of Link to existing Excel. SlideHub builds a brand-new Excel file from the chart's current data, asks you for a Tab name, and links the two automatically.

Linking runs in the background, so you can safely leave the page once it has started — it keeps going and finishes on its own.

Which charts and tables can I link?

Most of them, but two kinds are not supported yet:

• A chart managed by think-cell shows a think-cell badge. Linking think-cell charts to an Excel source isn't supported yet.
• A table embedded from an Excel file shows an Embedded badge. Linking embedded Excel tables to an Excel source isn't supported yet.

Everything else SlideHub detects shows Not linked until you connect it.

How it works

There are three stages to keep in mind.

• Linking: You connect one chart or table on a slide to one worksheet in an Excel file. SlideHub remembers which shape on the slide maps to which worksheet. The link itself doesn't change your slide or your Excel file — it just records the connection.
• Editing: You make your changes in Excel and upload the updated file to SlideHub the way you normally update any file.
• Syncing: When the updated Excel file is saved, SlideHub finds every slide linked to that file and refreshes their charts and tables with the new data in the background. Each refreshed slide is saved as a new version, so the previous one is kept in the slide's history.

You have two ways to create a link from the Charts & tables section:

• Link to existing Excel: Connect the chart or table to a worksheet in an Excel file that already exists in SlideHub. This is the right choice when your data already lives in a workbook.
• Create new Excel: Build a brand-new Excel file from the chart or table's current data and link it in one step. Use this when you don't have a source workbook yet and want one to start editing.

(Please note that when you choose Create new worksheet and link, the worksheet is added to the Excel file straight away, seeded with that chart or table's current data.)

Can two charts use the same worksheet?

They can, but they will always show the same numbers. If you link more than one chart or table to the same worksheet, SlideHub warns you with Multiple charts or tables share a worksheet and names the worksheet involved. Give each chart or table its own worksheet if they should show different data.

How do I create a new Excel file from a chart or table?

In the Charts & tables section, find a chart or table that shows the Not linked badge and click Create new Excel. A dialog titled Create a new Excel file asks you for a Tab name. Click Create. SlideHub reads the data currently in that chart or table, creates a new Excel file from it, and links the two automatically. When it finishes, the badge turns to Linked, and See linked Excel takes you to the new file.

What happens when I update a linked Excel file?

When you replace a linked Excel file with a new version, SlideHub shows you which slides are affected before you confirm. Charts and tables whose worksheet is still in the file are listed as ones that stay in sync, and you can unselect any you no longer want linked. Any whose worksheet is no longer in the file are listed separately and will be unlinked. Once you confirm, SlideHub updates the file and refreshes the linked slides in the background.

Renaming or removing a worksheet that a slide points at is the usual reason a link breaks, so it is worth keeping worksheet names stable once something is linked to them.

Can I undo a link?

Yes. On a linked chart or table, click Unlink. SlideHub asks you to confirm with Unlink Excel data? and tells you which worksheet and which file the element will stop syncing with. Unlinking only removes the connection — it doesn't change the slide or delete the Excel file. You can link it again at any time. To point the same chart at a different worksheet instead of removing the link, use Change linking.

How do I find which slides use an Excel file?

Open the Excel file in SlideHub. Files that feed one or more slides are marked Slides are linked to this Excel file, and the file's Linked slides panel lists them, with See all to open the full list. On the slide side, a linked chart or table is marked Table/chart linked to Excel, and the slide's Placeholders & Identifiers view shows a Linked Excel section listing each connection. From a linked chart or table, See linked Excel opens its workbook directly.

To see every linked workbook in one place, open the Automation tab and choose Excel Linked Data. The Excel files with linked slides view lists each workbook that feeds a slide, and how many slides it drives.

Who can link Excel data to slides?

Anyone who can manage the slide in your company library can link, change, and unlink its charts and tables, and create Excel files from them. If you open a slide and can't see these options, you don't have permission to manage that slide — ask an account Owner to make the change or to grant you access.

The slide and the Excel file also have to be in the same library. You can't link a slide in one team's library to a workbook in another, and if either side is later moved or copied to a different library, the link is removed.

Linking Excel data is one of a few ways SlideHub keeps slide content in sync with a source of data. If your goal is to fill text and image placeholders from a prepared list rather than to keep a chart in sync with a workbook, see How do I use a Data Table to fill a slide? instead.

Updated on: 11/06/2026