Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Taking Pictures.

Taking Pictures

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated April 1, 2023)

Excel allows you to capture "pictures" of your worksheets that you can use in other worksheets. This may sound odd, but it is quite helpful at times. You capture pictures by using the Camera tool. You can customize your toolbars as described in past issues of ExcelTips to make the camera tool available. (When you are doing your customizing, the Camera tool is available on the Commands tab in the Tools section. It is near the bottom of the list of commands and looks—oddly enough—like a small camera.)

With the Camera tool in place, follow these steps:

  1. Select the cells or range of which you want a picture taken.
  2. Click on the Camera tool. The mouse pointer changes to a large plus sign.
  3. Change to a different worksheet.
  4. Click where you want the top left-hand corner of the picture to appear. The picture is inserted as a graphic on the worksheet.

Now you can manipulate the picture the same as you would any other graphic—stretch it, resize it, crop it, move it, or whatever. The really cool thing, however, is that the picture is dynamic. This means that if you change the information in the original range (that you selected in step 1), then the information in the picture changes as well.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2206) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Taking Pictures.

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

Clearing the Print Area

Excel allows you to specify which portions of a worksheet should be printed when you send output to your printer. If you ...

Discover More

Squeezing Lines Together

The space between lines of text is technically referred to as "leading." This tip examines various ways you can adjust ...

Discover More

Vertically Aligning Text and an Image

Getting your images and text positioned exactly where you want them can be a challenge. Here are the settings you need to ...

Discover More

Best-Selling VBA Tutorial for Beginners Take your Excel knowledge to the next level. With a little background in VBA programming, you can go well beyond basic spreadsheets and functions. Use macros to reduce errors, save time, and integrate with other Microsoft applications. Fully updated for the latest version of Office 365. Check out Microsoft 365 Excel VBA Programming For Dummies today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Using Graphics to Represent Data Series

You can spice up your bar chart by using a graphic, of your choosing, to construct the bars. This tip shows how easy it ...

Discover More

Pulling AutoShape Text from a Worksheet Cell

AutoShapes can easily contain text—just click on the shape and start typing away. You may want the text in the ...

Discover More

Exporting a Graphics Group

Need to export a graphics group from a chart so that you can use the group in a different program? It's not as easy as ...

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.

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 six minus 5?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


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.