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Capturing a Screen

Summary: A picture is worth a thousand words, but getting the picture—particularly a screen shot—into a workbook may seem daunting. Here's a couple of easy ways to get the picture you need. (This tip works with Microsoft Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, Excel 2003, and Excel 2007.)

There may be times when you need to include a screen shot within your Excel worksheet. The easiest way to do this is as follows:

  1. Set up your screen to look the way you want it to.
  2. Press the PrintScreen key. This copies the screen to the Clipboard.
  3. Start Excel (if it is not already started) and select the cell closest to where you want the screen to appear.
  4. Press Ctrl+V to paste the contents of the Clipboard.

This action results in the entire screen being pasted in your worksheet. If you wanted, instead, to only copy and paste a single dialog box or the active window, simply use Alt+PrintScreen in step 2.

If either of these methods still does not fit your needs (for instance, you want to include only a small part of the screen), you can use the following:

  1. Set up your screen to look the way you want it to.
  2. Press the PrintScreen key. This copies the screen to the Clipboard.
  3. Start the Paint accessory (or some other graphics program) and maximize the screen.
  4. Press Ctrl+V to paste the contents of the Clipboard into the program.
  5. Use the program's editing tools to change the image as desired.
  6. When complete, press Ctrl+C to copy the image to the Clipboard.
  7. Start Excel (if it is not already started) and select the cell closest to where you want the screen to appear.
  8. Press Ctrl+V to paste the contents of the Clipboard.

You should understand that once the screen is placed in your workbook, you can move and manipulate it the same as any other graphic. Also note that adding quite a few graphics to your worksheet can dramatically increase the size of the file in which your workbook is saved.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2205) applies to Microsoft Excel versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

More Power! For some people, the prospect of creating macros can be scary. Those who conquer their fears, however, find they become much more confident and productive once they learn how to make Excel do exactly what they want. ExcelTips: The Macros is an invaluable source for learning Excel macros. You are introduced to the topic in bite-sized chunks, pulled from past issues of ExcelTips. Learn at your own pace, exactly the way you want.
 
Check out ExcelTips: The Macros today!