Is it possible to use a relative path for object linking from Excel to PowerPoint in Microsoft 365 in 2024?

Question

Hello,

I'm Amaresh, and I work in an organization where I create presentations for clients. I need to manually update the object sources in PowerPoint that are linked to an Excel file each day. Could you please let me know if it is possible to use a relative path for this in Microsoft 365 in 2024?

Best regards,

Amaresh

Answer 1

Hello Amaresh,

Links to images can be relative, but links to Excel use Object Linking & Embedding (OLE) technology. Unfortunately, OLE *insists* on full paths; it doesn't permit relative paths.

Assuming that your PowerPoint file and any linked Excel files are on a local or network hard drive (ie, NOT in the cloud/in SharePoint/etc), what *should* happen is:

PowerPoint will look first for the linked file along the full path to the file that's part of the link.

If it doesn't find the file there, it will look in the current directory (ie, the same directory/folder as the PowerPoint file is stored in. Usually.)

There's one oddity to this in some (all?) versions: if you open the PowerPoint file in nearly any way (doubleclick its icon, choose File | Open etc) PowerPoint will set the current directory to the directory the file's in. BUT in some cases if you use the recent files list to open the file, the current directory doesn't get set and will be something random.

So basically, if you need to update the linked Excel data and still retain a copy of the old version:

Make a backup copy of the original (say, with the date as part of the file name), put the original in the same folder as the PowerPoint file and edit away.

Answer 2

Hello, Amaresh Reddy

Welcome to Microsoft Community.  

I realize that I know you want to use a relative path to link to an Excel file in PowerPoint so that you don’t need to manually update the object sources. Please feel free to correct me if my understanding is wrong. 

We fully understand your expectation for this feature and the inconvenience this may has caused.

However, I'm sorry to tell you that currently there is no built-in option to use a relative path to link to an Excel file in PowerPoint app on Windows.  You can also refer to this post: Added relative hyperlinks in powerpoint - Microsoft Community.

I sincerely suggest you make your suggestions by filing a report through Excel · Community (microsoft.com). Click Send feedback and share more about your issue there.

I’m fully aware of the inconvenience caused to you by the absence of this feature. I hope that the Office development team can add this feature in the future.

Thanks for your understanding and cooperation.

Best wishes,

Lucia Wu - MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist