Edit a chart's data
Change the numbers behind a chart in its data sheet, and understand the labels that show whether the chart and sheet match.
Every chart's numbers live in a data sheet, like a small spreadsheet. You change the numbers there, and the chart on the slide follows.
- Click the chart once to select it.
- Click the Format options button Format options at the right end of the toolbar.
- Under Chart, click Edit data.
The chart's data sheet opens. Change the numbers, labels, or series names, and the chart updates to match.
You can also double-click the chart and click Edit data in the Edit chart window.
Where the data sheet lives
The first time you click Edit data, Pitchcrow makes the data sheet from the numbers already in the chart.
The data sheet belongs to the deck. It's called "deck name — chart data", and each chart gets its own tab. It doesn't show up in the space's file list, so you always open it from the chart. If you rename the deck, the data sheet's name follows.
What the label under Edit data means
Under Edit chart and Edit data, a short label shows whether the chart and its data sheet match. A chart whose data sheet hasn't been made yet shows no label.
| Label | What it means |
|---|---|
| Linked to data sheet | All good. The chart follows the numbers in its sheet. |
| Data differs from sheet | You restored an older version of the deck, and the chart's old numbers don't match the sheet. The chart stops updating until you choose which numbers to keep. |
| Can't read the data sheet — fix its header row | The chart's tab isn't laid out the way the chart needs, so the chart keeps its last numbers. Click Edit data. The banner above the sheet says what to fix. See What is a chart's data sheet? |
| Linked sheet missing | The chart's tab was deleted. The chart still shows its last numbers. Click Recreate data sheet under the label to make a new tab from them. |
Fix "Data differs from sheet"
Say you restore Monday's version of a deck. On Monday the revenue chart showed $150M for 2025. Since then, someone changed the sheet to $162M. Now the chart and the sheet disagree.
A panel opens that shows both numbers side by side. For each chart, choose:
- Keep sheet data to update the chart to the sheet's numbers ($162M).
- Use restored data to write the chart's restored numbers ($150M) back into the sheet.
If you close the panel without choosing, the chart stays as it is and stops following the sheet. Click Edit data on that chart to open the panel again.
Good to know
- You need to be an Admin or Editor of the space to edit chart data. See Space roles.
- Charts pick up sheet changes while the deck is open. If nobody has the deck open, the chart catches up the next time someone opens it.
- Football field, scatter, and waterfall charts each lay out their data in their own way. If you switch a chart to or from one of them in the Edit chart window, the chart gets a new tab laid out for its new type. The old tab stays as it was.
- When you copy a chart or its slide, the copy gets its own tab in the data sheet. Changing one chart's numbers doesn't change the other.
- If the chart's block in the sheet has formulas, Use restored data replaces them with plain numbers. Pitchcrow asks first, and you can undo it in the sheet.