How to Embed a File in Excel
(Document & Attachment)

Excel lets you embed files from different platforms which helps in maintaining project documentation, organizing extensive data sets and streamlining access to documents.

You can consolidate all related information in one place easily. This is best suited for professionals who need to present long and comprehensive reports with supporting material 📄

In this tutorial, we will see how you can embed files in Excel and present them in different ways. Download our sample workbook here to practice alongside the guide.

Table of Contents

• Types of files that can be embedded
• How to embed a file
  • Embed existing file
  • Embed existing files as an icon
  • Embed existing file as a link
  • Embed a new file
  • Embed a new Excel spreadsheet

  Types of files that can be embedded

  There is a variety of files that can be embedded in Excel to help you create a comprehensive document. Some of these are as follows:

  PowerPoint Presentations

  PowerPoint Presentations often referred to as PPTs enhance your files with additional context when embedded in a document. By linking PPTs you can show slides, graphs or videos you related to your data to make your report more authoritative and authentic.

  Word Documents

  You can add a small snippet of Word in your Excel file to look for quick notes or guidelines. If you have some data in Microsoft Word that you want to show in Excel, instead of copying that from Word to Excel and wasting time in formatting, you can simply embed the file in Excel 📗

  Excel Files

  You can embed another Excel file into your current file to compare and contrast the data in both files. This way you can combine the individual reports to create a larger file with all the data.

  Word Pad Document

  Word Pad documents can also be embedded in Excel as you select from the options. You can add your side notes here or point you want to analyze later 🧾

  Image

  You can also embed images in Excel just like any other file – in fact, inserting an image is easier. However, you can only upload JPG and PNG-type images and not GIF, etc. If you want to use GIFs, you will have to convert them first and that would potentially lower its quality.

  PDF

  PDF is like an electronic image of a document that can be shared in any way and it won’t deform. Embedding a PDF in an Excel file, you can add documents, images, and other stuff 📸

  However, since Excel does not support the creation of PDF objects within the application, you cannot create a new PDF-type object. But you can embed a previously existing PDF document.

  How to embed a file

  You can embed a file in Excel in various ways. Whether you want to insert a new file in Excel or embed an existing file as a display icon, a link or a simple object – you can achieve all that.

  We use the Object feature in Excel for this – the process is straightforward. Let’s look into it below.

  Embed existing file

  We want to embed a simple PPT file that already exists with some text in it to see how it works.

  Step 1) Select the location in the sheet where you want to insert it ◀

  Since the data in the file is displayed when it is embedded, make sure the position you set your cursor to is sufficient to fit the data of the file to be embedded.

  

  Kasper Langmann , co-founder of Spreadsheeto

  Step 2) Go to the Insert tab and click on the Object button next to the Text box from the Text section.

  

  Step 3) The Object dialog box will appear.

  Step 4) Since we want to embed an existing document, go to the second tab “Create from File”.

  Step 5) Under File name, click Browse next to the box.

  Step 6) The Browse window will appear.

  Step 7) Select the file you want to embed – we selected the PPT.

  Step 8) Press Ok 👍

  Step 9) The file path will appear in the File name box.

  Step 10) Press Ok.

  

  Ignore the checkboxes beneath.