Changing linked and embedded data

If you've imported from an Excel file and chosen to maintain a link to the original, how do you change it?

Blocks of Prism data linked to a text file or linked to an embedded spreadsheet (Windows only) appear with a border around them. These are called data objects. You cannot edit these values within Prism. When you click on any cell within a block, you select the entire data object. The figure below shows a data object that occupies rows 2-5 of the second column.

Double-click anywhere on a block of linked data to bring up the Import and Paste Special dialog. Then click Open File to Edit Data. This will open your original Excel file. After editing and saving the spreadsheet, return to Prism and press Update to close the dialog.

Double-click anywhere within the object to bring up the Import and Paste Special dialog. Click the Unlink button on the bottom of that dialog. The values will remain on Prism’s data table, but will no longer be linked to an external file or to an embedded spreadsheet.

Click anywhere on the data object to select it. Select the Cut command from the Edit menu. Move the insertion point to the cell that will become the new upper-left corner of the data object. Then select Paste from the Edit menu.

Click once on the data object to select it. Pull down the Edit menu, and select Copy. Go to the other table, and click to position the insertion point. Pull down Edit and select Paste.

Double-click on the data object in Prism to bring up the Import and Paste Special dialog. Press the Update button on that dialog. This is only necessary if you didn't check the option to automatically update on the Source tab.

If you accidentally linked to the wrong part of a linked spreadsheet, the simplest approach is to unlink the data object, then start over.

An alternative approach is to change the region linked within Prism. Click on the linked data object, then pull down the Edit menu and choose Links.

You will see a list of each linked data range on the current Prism table, with the region you selected already highlighted. Press Change Source, to bring up a second dialog.

At the bottom of that dialog, you'll see the current linked range in the field labeled Item Name. With Excel, this range is formatted in an unfamiliar way. R1C3:R100C4 goes from the first row of column 3 to the 100th row of column 4.

If you accidentally embedded the wrong part of a spreadsheet, you'll need to copy and paste again. You can't simply delete the data object and start again, because the object contains the embedded Excel table. If you don't have the original spreadsheet file, you need to save it from Prism. To do this, open the embedded spreadsheet from Prism, and then use Excel's File..Save Copy As command to save the spreadsheet as a file. Then you can delete the data object, and start over.

It is difficult to select a single cell within a data object. If you click on a cell in a data object, you will select the entire object. To select one cell within an object, click on a cell near the object, but outside of it. Then use the arrow keys to move the selection inside the object to the desired cell.

If the linked text or Excel file no longer exists, Prism tries to find it. It knows the relationship between the original location of the file and the location of the Prism file at the time the link was established. If the Prism file has moved, it looks for the linked file at the same relative position. If you keep the linked files in the same folder with the Prism file, Prism will always be able to find it – even if you move the files to a different computer. If it can’t find the file, it notifies you, and you can either locate the file using a File Open dialog or you can choose to unlink the data.

Prism stores the imported values in its file, not just the name of the linked file. If the linked file is deleted or renamed, Prism will not be able to update the data table. However, the imported values remain in the Prism file. You don’t lose any data if the link is broken.