Get Shift Done: Tips and Tricks

Executives and clients often like to see a visualization of the numbers you are presenting, and they certainly can help tell your story clearly.

Google documents can include a chart to best illustrate what you are trying to say. However, a simple copy from a Google Spreadsheet and a paste into your Google Doc doesn’t work; at a minimum you have few controls over the display. The import feature from Google Sheets to a Google Doc is a better way to go.

The first step is to create a chart in the Google spreadsheet. After selecting the data to display, click the “Insert” menu item and choose “Chart.” Google shows a list of options; play around with your data and chart types to discover which chart works best for your purpose. In other words: Customize the chart (and its colorfulness) in Google Sheets, not in Google Docs.









Once you have the chart just the way you want it, go to your Google Doc. Place your cursor where you want your chart to appear. Click the “Insert” item in the menu, then select “Chart” followed by “From Sheets.”





Next, select the Google Spreadsheet in which your chart resides from the list of spreadsheets Google provides.





Select the chart to inserted into the Google Doc. You can tell the chart to update dynamically by selecting the “Link to Spreadsheet” option; thereafter the chart data changes every time the spreadsheet numbers change.





Now your Google Doc includes a visually appealing chart that appropriately illustrates what it is you are trying to say in your document.





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