I am using Powerpoint and Excel XP (2002). I have a very
large excel spreadsheet with many charts. I use
powerpoint to convert the charts into a presentation. I
build the same presentation every month but with
different excel data.

To keep ppt file size small, I copy the charts and paste
them as pictures -- each one done seperately. I would
prefer to use the ppt link feature, update the excel
spreadsheet, update the links in ppt, and be done.
However, this makes the ppt file too large (and I don't
want to provide the spreadsheet to those who get the
presentation).

Is there an quick and easy way to break all the links in
the presentation and then compress the pictures that are
created?

Thank you,
Harvey

> To keep ppt file size small, I copy the charts and paste
> them as pictures -- each one done seperately. I would
> prefer to use the ppt link feature, update the excel
> spreadsheet, update the links in ppt, and be done.
> However, this makes the ppt file too large (and I don't
> want to provide the spreadsheet to those who get the
> presentation).

What you've described is *embedded* OLE objects, not linked ones.
This is what you get when you copy/paste from Excel normally.

Instead, select the Excel content, copy, then in PowerPoint choose Edit,
Paste Special and put a check mark next to Link.

This leaves the Excel data external to PPT (as in: smaller files, data not
available to others unless you choose to provide it)

The next question is how to to make that chart link using PasteSpecial in
VBA. Linked ranges work just fine with this Excel code:

Sheet15.Range("Table4").Copy
Set Pasted =
PPTApp.ActivePresentation.Slides(4).Shapes.PasteSpecial(Link:=msoTrue)

but I have to resort to this for charts:

Sheet17.ChartObjects("chart 4").CopyPicture
Set Pasted = PPTApp.ActivePresentation.Slides(9).Shapes.Paste

For some reason the chart object that's copied in Excel using a plain
"ChartObjects...Copy " is not the right data type to do a linked
PasteSpecial, and I get this error: "Shapes (unknown member): Invalid
request. The specified data type is unavailable." I've tried AddOLEObject
and every kind of data-type specification I can imagine, but nothing works.
Does anyone know the magic word?

Bruce Cooley


"Steve Rindsberg" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
: > To keep ppt file size small, I copy the charts and paste
: > them as pictures -- each one done seperately. I would
: > prefer to use the ppt link feature, update the excel
: > spreadsheet, update the links in ppt, and be done.
: > However, this makes the ppt file too large (and I don't
: > want to provide the spreadsheet to those who get the
: > presentation).
:
: What you've described is *embedded* OLE objects, not linked ones.
: This is what you get when you copy/paste from Excel normally.
:
: Instead, select the Excel content, copy, then in PowerPoint choose Edit,
: Paste Special and put a check mark next to Link.
:
: This leaves the Excel data external to PPT (as in: smaller files, data not
: available to others unless you choose to provide it)
:
:
:
: