How to display an Excel spreadsheet on a TV screen

Last updated July 13, 2026

An Excel spreadsheet can reach a TV screen in three ways: casting from a laptop, opening the file in the TV's browser, or connecting it through digital signage software. Casting and TV browsers depend on a device staying awake; signage software reads the file itself, refreshes it on a schedule, and a dedicated player stick recovers on its own after a reboot, which is why it is the standard choice for a screen that runs all day.

With Screenbird, for example, you connect your Microsoft account or paste a public link, choose your spreadsheet, and push it to any paired screen. Once your screen is paired, the whole setup takes about two minutes.

Regional Sales Q3
Auto-synced from your spreadsheet
Liveยท Updated 2 min ago
Tickets Sold
12,480
+8.2%
Online Orders
8,932
+5.6%
Sell-through
94%
+3.1%
Monthly ticket revenuex EUR 1,000
128
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSep
Sales by channel
Website
6,240
Box office
3,180
Partners
1,860
Resellers
1,200

The end result, live on your TV.

What you need

  • A TV or monitor with an HDMI input
  • A media player: Amazon's Signage Stick and the Fire TV Stick 4K are the simplest plug-and-play options; smart TVs and Windows, Mac, or Linux devices work just as well
  • A Screenbird account (free trial, then EUR 15 per screen per month)
  • The Excel file you want to display, either stored in OneDrive or SharePoint under your Microsoft account, or shared as a public link

Can't I just cast it?

You can get a spreadsheet onto a TV in a few quicker ways, but they all break down for a screen that has to run unattended:

  • Casting from a laptop or phone works fine for a quick meeting, but the source device has to stay powered on and connected. Close the laptop, and the screen goes dark.

  • The TV's own browser needs no extra hardware, but TV browsers do not refresh on a schedule, fall asleep, and cannot be managed remotely.

  • A DIY kiosk (Raspberry Pi or mini-PC) runs unattended, but you build and maintain it yourself: no remote management, no scheduling, and nobody restarts it when it hangs.

Digital signage software exists for exactly this job: it connects the spreadsheet once, refreshes it on a schedule, lets you manage the screen from anywhere, and on a dedicated player like Amazon's Signage Stick, recovers on its own after a reboot or an outage. That is the route in the steps below.

Step-by-step with Screenbird

For the full click-by-click walkthrough, see the Screenbird Knowledge Base.

1

Create your free account

Sign up for Screenbird in your browser. No installs needed on your computer, and the trial starts right away.

2

Pair your screen

Install the Screenbird player on your TV or stick. It shows a 6-character pairing code. Enter that code in your dashboard to connect the screen.

screenbird
K7P2QM
Scan with your phone or visit screenbird.app
Connected
Device ID: A1B2-C3D4
3

Add the Excel app

In My files, click New and choose New app. Then pick Excel from the app browser.

New
New folder
Upload files
New app
New design
New split screen
Apps
Search apps
AllStandardGoogleMicrosoftSocial
Weather
Clock
YouTube
Excel
Cancel
4

Connect your account and pick the spreadsheet

Sign in with Microsoft, or paste a public link. Then choose the spreadsheet you want to show.

Connect and configure
App name
Regional Sales Q3
Source
you@company.com
Disconnect
Or use a public link โ†’
Spreadsheet
Regional Sales Q3.xlsx
ChangeClear
Display
Background color
#FFFFFF
Behavior
Refresh (min)
5
Regional Sales Q3Preview
Full HD (1920x1080)
RegionOrdersRevenue
North3128,940
South2486,720
East1965,310
West1744,880
Revenue by region
North
South
East
West
Previous
SavePush to screen
5

Check the live preview and set the refresh

The setup form shows a live preview of exactly what will appear on screen. Set how often it refreshes, from every 1 to 60 minutes, then save.

Check the live preview
Regional Sales Q3Preview
Full HD (1920x1080)
RegionOrdersRevenue
North3128,940
South2486,720
East1965,310
West1744,880
Revenue by region
North
South
East
West
6

Send it to your screen

Click push, choose the screen, and the spreadsheet appears within seconds. It keeps refreshing on its own from here.

Send to screen
Push to screen
PermanentTemporary
Lobby TV
Break Room
CancelSend

The result

Your spreadsheet is now a live screen. Anyone who updates a cell updates the board, without anyone touching the screen itself.

Sales dashboard

A sales or budget tracker, always current, on a screen the whole team can see.

Price list

Edit prices in the spreadsheet, and the menu board or rate card on screen updates at the next refresh.

Roster & schedule

Shift schedules, class timetables, or room bookings, published straight from a spreadsheet.

Questions people ask

You choose the interval when you set it up, anywhere from every 1 to 60 minutes. The screen only re-reads the file at that interval, it does not need a constant live connection in between.
When it turns back on, the player reconnects and loads the spreadsheet again on its normal schedule. During a brief connection drop on modern platforms it can keep showing the last loaded view.
First check the refresh interval in the app settings; the screen only re-reads the file at that interval. If it still lags, confirm the player is online and that the file's sharing setting has not changed (a revoked link or a disconnected Microsoft account stops updates). A quick way to force it: push the app to the screen again.
Yes. Share the file as a public link and paste that link into the setup form instead of connecting your Microsoft account.
Yes, using Split Screen. Divide the screen into zones and assign a different Excel file, or a mix of Excel and Google Sheets, to each zone.
No. Once it is configured, the screen runs on its own from the paired device. Nothing needs to stay open on your computer.
Yes. The same signage-software approach works for Google Sheets too, using a separate app that also lets you pick a tab and cell range.

See everything the Excel integration can do.

See the Excel integration page

Try it for free

ยฉ screenbird.app