Exporting a Graphics Group

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated May 22, 2020)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

1

It is not unusual to spend a good amount of time to get your Excel charts looking just the way you want them too. After putting in the time for the desired result, you may want to export a graphics group as a single GIF file so you can use it in other programs or on the Web.

Unfortunately, there is no way to do this in Excel. Even in VBA the group cannot be exported as a graphic. (Individual objects can, but not the group as a whole.) The only workaround that we could come up with seems rather old-fashioned. Follow these steps:

  1. Display the worksheet containing the graphics group you want in the GIF file.
  2. Make sure the Excel program window is maximized.
  3. Choose Full Screen from the View menu. Excel hides many of its menus and toolbars.
  4. Drag any stray toolbars to the side so that they don't obscure any portion of your graphics group.
  5. Press the Print Screen key on your keyboard. The entire image of the screen is copied to the Clipboard.
  6. Minimize or exit Excel.
  7. Start your favorite graphics editing program. (My favorite is Paint Shop Pro.)
  8. Paste the contents of the Clipboard into the graphics program.
  9. Edit the graphic as desired, so that it contains only the grouped items.
  10. Save the image as a GIF image.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (1974) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Resetting Default Character Formatting

If you need to remove any explicit character formatting from some text, you'll want to commit the shortcut in this tip to ...

Discover More

Making Data Universally Accessible to Workbooks

If you are using Excel as a repository for data used in your business, you may want to figure out a way to make that ...

Discover More

Turning Off Automatic Capitalization in Lists

By default, Word capitalizes letters that it thinks designate the beginning of a sentence. This includes at the beginning ...

Discover More

Program Successfully in Excel! This guide will provide you with all the information you need to automate any task in Excel and save time and effort. Learn how to extend Excel's functionality with VBA to create solutions not possible with the standard features. Includes latest information for Excel 2024 and Microsoft 365. Check out Mastering Excel VBA Programming today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Reading Values from Graphs

Adding a trendline to a graph will allow you to see trends a bit easier, depending on your data. You can even utilize an ...

Discover More

Positioning Graphics Evenly

If you need to arrange a group of graphics so that they are evenly distributed between a starting point and an ending ...

Discover More

Selecting Drawing Objects

Excel allows you to create all sorts of drawings using a wide assortment of tools. When you need to take an action upon ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is nine more than 1?

2015-11-14 05:52:36

Richard

Just wondering if the Shift + Edit > Copy Picture would be more elegant.

This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.