Tables with datasheets

Open a table's datasheet

All tables in think-cell are data-driven, so they have element datasheets. To open a table's datasheet, right-click the table to open the context menu, then select Open Datasheet .

Whenever you change or add data, your think-cell table will reflect this. You do not need to manually add additional columns or rows.

In the same way, you can simply delete cells, rows or columns from the datasheet to remove them from the table.

Create tables from elements on your slide

Create a table with an element datasheet or a link to Excel from selected elements on your slide. You can create a table from the following elements:

• Text boxes (see Text boxes)
• Rounded rectangles (see Rounded rectangles)
• Harvey balls (see Harvey balls)
• Checkboxes (see Checkboxes)
• Images linked to a URL in Excel (see Add images from Excel)

Create tables with datasheets from elements on your slide

To create a table with a datasheet from elements on your slide, follow these steps:

1. Select the elements that you want in the table.

2. Right-click your selection to open the context menu, then select Open Datasheet . An element datasheet opens that contains a linked cell for each selected element.

   The position of the selected elements determines which cells in the datasheet they link to. For example, elements that are aligned next to each other will link to adjacent cells in the datasheet.

3. To finish creating the table, edit the datasheet's contents—for example, enter a value. On the slide, the selected elements group together as a table.

   To cancel creating the table, close the datasheet without making any changes.

To revert the table back to its individual elements, follow these steps:

1. Right-click the table to open the context menu.
2. Select Discard Datasheet but Keep Element(s) .

The elements that made up the table keep their contents and stay grouped. To ungroup the elements, right-click an element in the group to open the context menu, then select Ungroup .

Create tables linked to Excel from elements on your slide

To create a table that's linked to an Excel workbook from elements on your slide, follow these steps:

1. Select the elements that you want in the table.
2. In Excel, select the range of cells that you want to link to the table.

3. In PowerPoint, right-click the selected elements to open the context menu, then select Establish Excel Link . The elements group together and link to the selected Excel cells.

   The linked Excel cells are empty by default. To use text from your element in the linked Excel range, enter the text in Excel manually.

To learn how to manage the data in tables that are linked to Excel, see Manage data links.

To break a table's link to Excel, follow these steps:

1. In PowerPoint, right-click the table to open the context menu.
2. Select Break Excel Link .

The table's link to Excel breaks but the table stays in your presentation. If you updated the table with data from Excel before breaking the link, think-cell keeps the data in the table's datasheet (see Update linked elements without Excel data sources).

Match table formatting to Excel

Match specific formatting options in your think-cell table to your Excel table, or recreate your entire Excel table and its formatting in your presentation.

• Match element formatting to the linked data range
• Insert tables with Excel formatting
• Insert images of tables

Edit table text on the slide

Edit text in a table cell directly on the slide by breaking the link between the table cell and the datasheet or linked Excel workbook. To do so, follow these steps:

1. In the table, select the text that you want to edit to open the mini toolbar.
2. On the lower-right corner of the mini toolbar, select Convert.

3. Edit the text on the slide.

When you edit table text on the slide, the link between the table cell that contains the text and the corresponding cell in the datasheet or Excel range breaks. A red exclamation mark appears next to the edited table cell, indicating the broken link. The rest of the table stays linked to the datasheet or Excel range.

If you later make changes to the datasheet or Excel cell that was linked to the edited table cell, the changes won't appear in the table cell until you restore the broken link. To restore the broken link, follow these steps:

1. Select the text in the table cell to open the mini toolbar.
2. On the Label Content dropdown menu, select Text from Datasheet.

To learn more about restoring broken data links, see Reestablish data links.

Duplicate chart data as a table

With an Excel sheet or a slide datasheet, use the same data to create both a chart and a table below the chart. The chart's series labels are also the table's column headers. To create a table with data that you can move between the chart and the table, see Charts with data tables.

To add a chart's data as a table below the chart, follow these steps:

1. From Excel or the slide datasheet, create your chart (see Create charts from Excel or Slide workbooks).
2. In the sheet, select the chart data, leaving out the category labels.
3. On the ribbon, on the Insert tab, select Link to PowerPoint > Table with Formatting.

4. In PowerPoint, insert your table below the chart.
5. Align the table columns with the chart's category labels (see think-cell alignment guides).

6. Format the cell contents as needed (see Format tables).

Add Harvey balls, checkboxes, and images to tables

Instead of text, table cells can also contain Harvey balls, checkboxes, and images. You can control these elements' states dynamically in the table's datasheet or linked range in Excel.

To display a Harvey ball, checkbox, or image in a table cell, select the cell to open its mini toolbar, then choose one of the following:

• Harvey Ball
• Checkbox
• Picture from Online Service

In the datasheet or Excel range, the cell that is linked to the element must contain the following:

• Harvey ball: A number between 0 and the maximum number of segments (by default, 4), indicating how many segments should be filled.
• Checkbox
  • To display a check: v, o, or 1
  • To display an X mark: x or 2
  • To display an unchecked box: Space or 0
• Image: The image's URL. To obtain the URL, in your browser, right-click the image and select Copy Image Link or Copy Image Address.

If the linked cell doesn't contain the required content—for example, if the cell is linked to a Harvey ball and contains text—a red exclamation mark appears next to the cell, with a tooltip that explains the error.

Additional resources

• Harvey balls and checkboxes
• Resize, crop, and align images