How to Open Excel Files in Word

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You can learn a few tricks to opening Excel in Word.

Even though Microsoft Excel and Word are made by the same company, the two programs are different. If you try opening an Excel file in Word, the resulting document is full of machine language rendering it unreadable. You can use Word's Object command to open a spreadsheet in a document or you can copy and paste between the two programs. If the Excel file is too large to copy or Excel is not loaded on the computer, there are free file converters available to convert an Excel file into a format Word can open.

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Insert Object Command

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Step 1

Open Word and your document. Move your cursor to where you want the Excel spreadsheet to be located. Click on the "Insert" tab in the Ribbon, and then click on "Object" in the "Text" tab.

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Step 2

Click on the "Create from File" tab in the Object dialog box. Click on "Browse" and navigate to where your file is located.

Step 3

Click on the Excel "File Name" and click "OK" to insert it into Word. To save space in the Word document, you can check the "Display as an Icon" checkbox. To link to the file, check the "Link to File" checkbox and changes made to the Excel file are updated in the Word file automatically.

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Copy and Paste

Step 1

Open Excel and the document to move to Word. Select the Excel file by pressing the "Control" key and the letter "A," the shortcut for "Select All." Press the "Control" key and the letter "C," the shortcut for "Copy."

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Step 2

Open Word and the document where you want to move the Excel information. Move the cursor to where you want the Excel information.

Step 3

Press the "Control" key plus the letter "V," the shortcut for "Paste." The Excel information is pasted into the Word file as a table. You may need to adjust the page orientation prior to inserting an Excel spreadsheet in Word.

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Online File Converters

Step 1

Use your Internet browser to go to either Convert XLS to Doc Online or Zamar. These are free online file converter websites which can be used to convert an Excel file.

Step 2

Click the "Browse" button and find the Excel file on the hard drive. Click "Open" to upload the file to the website. If you are using Zamzar, choose "RTF" to as the file conversion choice. Word can read Rich Text Format (RTF) files and Zamzar does not offer to convert to DOC.

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Step 3

Fill in the email field on Zamzar to have the file download instructions sent to you. On the Convert XLS to Doc site, click either the web browser or prompt radio buttons to have the converted file appear as a web page or saved to the hard drive when the modification is complete.

Step 4

Convert the file by clicking on the conversion button on the either site. Zamzar sends an email when the file is modified with instructions on how to download the transformed file. On the Convert XLS to Doc site, the transformed file either appears in the web browser or you are prompted to save or open the file in Word.

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