# Update a report with new Excel data

Slaide Help · Create and edit · Last checked: 2026-11-11 · 8 min read
URL: https://help.slaide.de/update-report-with-new-excel-data
Documentation index for agents: https://help.slaide.de/llms.txt

> In Slaide, the numbers and charts of a report can be tied to an Excel workbook inside the document. When your data changes, choose **Load new data**, check the preview of what changes and click **Update report**: the figures on your pages follow, formulas and formats stay, and a saved version lets you go back. This is Slaide's own mechanism, not a link between a PowerPoint file and an Excel file on your computer.

## What is a living report?

A living report is a document whose numbers and charts are tied to a workbook inside the document. A number on a page is not typed text but a reference to a cell, for example `Sales!B7`, and a chart reads its data from a range of cells. When a cell changes, the pages that use it change with it, without a new AI run.

- **Numbers on pages**, shown as currency, percent, integer or plain number. The text on the page is the fallback: if a cell cannot be found or a formula returns an error, that text stays and no error code such as #REF! appears on your slide.
- **Charts** as column, bar, line, area, donut or pie. Slaide draws them again from the cell range every time the workbook changes.

**Example request to tie a report to a workbook:**

> Use the numbers from the attached sales workbook as live values in the report, so the report follows the workbook when a number changes.

> **Not a link to a file on your computer:** The workbook lives inside the document. Slaide does not watch files on your drive or in a cloud folder and does not refresh on a schedule: you load the new file yourself. A PowerPoint file you export shows the numbers as they were at that moment, so after an update you export it again.

## How do I load new data into my report?

### Step 1: Open the workbook

Switch from the **Document** tab above the page to the tab with the workbook's file name.

### Step 2: Choose the new file

Click **Load new data** in the grid's toolbar or drop the file onto the grid. The same entry is in the menu of the workbook's chip in the message box. The dialog takes .xlsx, .csv, .tsv and .txt files up to 4 MB.

### Step 3: Read what changes

The preview under **What changes** lists changed, new and removed cells and says which numbers and charts on which pages move. Warnings appear here too. Previewing changes nothing.

### Step 4: Match the sheets if asked

If a sheet in your file has no counterpart, **Where does each sheet go?** lets you pick the workbook sheet for it, or choose **Don't use**.

### Step 5: Click Update report

Slaide saves the previous state as a version first, then loads the data. The numbers and charts on your pages show the new figures right away.

### Step 6: Check the text

**Adjust the text** puts a task in the message box so the assistant re-reads the text around the changed numbers, and headlines and comparisons match again. Not what you wanted? **Undo** restores the previous data.

> **Tip:** For a monthly report, the layout stays and only the data changes. Name sheets and columns the same way each month and Slaide matches them on its own.

## What changes and what stays?

Slaide compares your file with the workbook value by value, not by spelling, so an unchanged file changes nothing. Sheets are matched by name, by being the only sheet, or by similar column headers.

| In your file | What Slaide does |
| --- | --- |
| A value that is the same | Stays untouched. |
| A changed or new value | Replaces the cell. Formats, column widths, names, conditional formats and formulas stay, and chart ranges grow with the data. |
| Plain numbers where the workbook has formulas | Skipped and reported, so no total is overwritten. |
| A formula whose fixed range ends at the old last row | A warning says it will not count new rows. |
| Columns to the right of the file's last column | Stay exactly as they are. |
| A sheet without a counterpart | Not used, unless you assign it a workbook sheet in the dialog. |
| A number whose cell no longer exists | A warning. The text on the page stays. |

> **Note:** CSV files are read the way you meant them: Slaide detects the separator, reads UTF-8 as well as Windows-1252 and understands German number notation such as 1.250,50.

## Is it free, and can I undo an update?

Previewing is free on every plan. Applying the new data needs a paid plan (Plus, Pro or Max) or a document you bought individually, see [Plans and pricing](https://help.slaide.de/plans-and-pricing). On Free, the update button opens the upgrade prompt, and the file you chose stays in your browser during checkout, so you do not have to pick it again. The dialog does not use the AI and costs no credits.

Before every update, Slaide saves the previous state as a version named **New data: your file name**, with the pages and the workbook. **Undo** in the dialog restores it right away. Later you find it in the Versions tab, see [Versions and restore](https://help.slaide.de/version-history). Changes you type into the grid yourself have **Undo** and **Redo** buttons too, or press Ctrl+Z or ⌘Z.

## Can the assistant load the new data for me?

Yes. Attach the new file to the message box and ask. The assistant matches sheets the same way as the dialog, can show what would change before it changes anything, and is set up to revise the text around the numbers that moved. Use this route when the file is larger than the dialog allows or when you want the text adjusted in the same step.

**Example request:**

> Update the report with the attached file. First show me what would change, then load it and fix any text that no longer matches the new numbers.

> **Note:** This is an ordinary request in the chat, so it is charged like one. See [Credits explained](https://help.slaide.de/how-credits-work).

## Can I download the numbers as an Excel file?

Yes. Open the Export menu and choose **Excel**, the numbers behind this report as an .xlsx file, or click **Excel** in the grid's toolbar. For a workbook you uploaded yourself, the Export entry appears once the report shows numbers from it. The file contains your formulas, and Excel recalculates them when you open it.

> **Note:** The downloaded file is a copy, not a live link. To bring a changed file back into the report, use **Load new data**.

## What are the limits?

- **Not automatic.** Slaide does not read files from your computer, OneDrive, SharePoint or Google Sheets by itself, and there is no schedule. Loading a file is your step, or a request to the assistant. You can also paste cells copied from another spreadsheet into the grid.
- **Charts are not embedded Office charts.** Slaide draws them from the cells. In a PowerPoint export there is no chart data sheet behind them: change the numbers in Slaide and export again.
- **File type and size.** The dialog takes .xlsx, .csv, .tsv and .txt up to 4 MB. Other formats such as .xls or .xlsm are not accepted: save them as .xlsx first.
- **Sheet size.** A sheet holds up to 10,000 rows and 256 columns. A sheet in your file that is larger is not used.
- **Rows and columns.** The grid has no button to insert them. Ask the assistant, and the linked numbers move along.

## Frequently asked questions

### How do I update a PowerPoint from Excel with Slaide?

Tie the numbers and charts of your report to an Excel workbook, or attach your own .xlsx and ask Slaide to use its numbers as live values. When your data changes, click **Load new data**, check the preview, click **Update report** and export the PowerPoint again. The export shows the figures as they are at that moment and is not connected to the workbook.

### Can I link an Excel file to PowerPoint so it updates automatically?

Not in the sense of a live connection to a file on your drive. In Slaide the workbook sits inside the document, and the report follows it. New data comes in when you load a file or ask the assistant to. Slaide does not watch files or run on a schedule.

### How do I set up an automatic monthly report?

Build the report once with numbers and charts tied to the workbook. Each month, load the new export with **Load new data**, check **What changes**, click **Update report** and use **Adjust the text** so headlines and comparisons match. The layout stays; only the data and the text around it change.

### Will the update overwrite my formulas?

No. If your file has plain numbers where the workbook has formulas, Slaide skips them and reports the sheet, so no total is overwritten. Cells that hold values are replaced, and formats, widths, names and formulas stay.

### Can I use a CSV from my accounting or shop system?

Yes. The dialog takes .csv, .tsv and .txt as well as .xlsx. Slaide detects the separator, reads UTF-8 and Windows-1252 and understands German number notation such as 1.250,50. The sheets of the file are matched to the workbook the same way as with Excel files.

### What if the sheet names or columns in my new file differ?

Slaide matches sheets by name, by being the only sheet, or by similar column headers. If a sheet still has no counterpart, the dialog asks **Where does each sheet go?**, and you pick the workbook sheet or choose **Don't use**. Columns to the right of the file's last column stay as they are.

## Related articles

- [Build, edit and download Excel models](https://help.slaide.de/spreadsheets-and-excel-models.md): Ask Slaide for an Excel model with working formulas, edit the cells in a grid, download the .xlsx file and use your own spreadsheet as a source for a deck.
- [Create charts and tables from your data](https://help.slaide.de/create-charts-and-tables.md): Give Slaide data for charts and tables, choose the right comparison, request corrections and understand what stays editable in PowerPoint exports.
- [Version history: see and restore earlier states](https://help.slaide.de/version-history.md): See what creates a version in Slaide, what it contains, how to preview and restore one, whether a restore can be undone and how long versions are kept.
- [What stays editable in the PowerPoint export](https://help.slaide.de/powerpoint-export.md): What you can edit in an exported .pptx: text, shapes, pictures, tables and notes, how charts and effects arrive, and which animations come along.