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

Inserting the Edit Time

One of the things that Word keeps track of is how long, in minutes, you've been editing your current document. This ...

Discover More

Closing a Read-Only Workbook

When you create a workbook that is read-only, users can still make changes to the workbook. When they exit, they are ...

Discover More

Quickly Changing Font Sizes

A quick little shortcut can help you easily step through different font sizes for whatever text you've selected. Word ...

Discover More

Excel Smarts for Beginners! Featuring the friendly and trusted For Dummies style, this popular guide shows beginners how to get up and running with Excel while also helping more experienced users get comfortable with the newest features. Check out Excel 2019 For Dummies today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Inserting from a Camera or Scanner

One of the ways you can insert graphics into a worksheet is by grabbing them from a digital camera or a scanner. This tip ...

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

Flipping a Drawing Object

Don't like the way a drawing object looks? Perhaps flipping the object could help appearances. Excel allows you to flip ...

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 5 + 4?

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 © 2026 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.