xls to png

[kalos]

hello!

I want to select cells in EXCEL and export them as image (screenshot) with one click

is it possible?

thanks!

[Carol Haynes]

You could use a screen capture tool and then select the cells you want to capture.

Not sure how you do it with one click.

[kunkel321]

Excel does have the ability to "paste as image."
http://i.imgur.com/Vtrp3.png
Though it might only work from within an Office app....  I'm sure you'd be able to "paste special" into an Outlook message.

[Carol Haynes]

You learn something new every day - thanks 

[kalos]

amazing!
pity it is not available in EXCEL 2003

[skwire]

Excel does have the ability to "paste as image."

Maybe the feature you point out is what kalos wants but it sounds to me like he wants something like "copy as image" instead of "paste as image," right?  If so, Excel 2007 does have this feature:



Works with whatever you have selected.  Yeah, really intuitive being on the paste menu...

[kunkel321]

Cool.  I didn't even know about the "copy as..." feature.

I know Office 2003 does have "paste special" options (in think in the Edit > Paste menu). 
Maybe there are some "copy special" items too..

[bob99]

This isn't a one-click solution but you can do the same thing in Excel 2003.

Found this on Bright Hub How to Save an Excel Object as an Image

The article gives a step by step for both 2007 and 2003. Maybe a macro/script could make it one step??

[x16wda]

Wow that looks convoluted! 

[cranioscopical]

The article gives a step by step for both 2007 and 2003.

In 2007 one can add the relevant comands to the quick access bar...

[erikts]

amazing!
pity it is not available in EXCEL 2003

In Excel 2003: Push and hold Shift key and click Edit menu. You will have three new command: Copy Picture, Paste Picture, and Paste Picture as Link.

[bob99]

I should have added more to my post above but I was pressed for time.

Like x16wda says it is pretty convoluted with 2003. But since kalos mentioned using 2003 that is what I had found in an earlier time when I was trying to do the same. I'm also still running 2003 on one machine and didn't have 2007 yet on my other one. It is much easier now with 2007. My reference to maybe using a script or macro to make it easier should have said for the 2003 edition.

Another thought, is this something that could be accomplished using one of the free alternatives like LibreOffice? I don't have a copy installed, but if someone else does maybe they can answer.

[IainB]

I'm not sure about Excel 2003, but the (non-intuitive) Excel 2007 approach described above works fine. The image is copied into the Clipboard and can be pasted from there.

Just a thought: Alternatively, if you used (say) ScreenShotCaptor (SSC), then the image is captured into SSC's working buffer and saved as a file. However, I think SSC does not get the image copied into the Clipboard. So, to get the image into the Clipboard, you have to select the image (or a part of it) captured in SSC, copy it and then you can paste it from the Clipboard.

[tomos]

if you used (say) ScreenShotCaptor (SSC), then the image is captured into SSC's working buffer and saved as a file. However, I think SSC does not get the image copied into the Clipboard.

see SC Options >Post Capture Options
Select "Copy image to clipboard" :-)

[erikts]

You can also copy a range in Excel and paste it to IrfanView and save it as PNG. Yes, it is not one click solution. 

[IainB]

if you used (say) ScreenShotCaptor (SSC), then the image is captured into SSC's working buffer and saved as a file. However, I think SSC does not get the image copied into the Clipboard.

see SC Options >Post Capture Options
Select "Copy image to clipboard" :-)

Thanks @tomos! I felt sure there would be a way to do that.
EDIT: Oops. Spoke too soon.
My SSC seems to give me just the image file path, not the image.
The second tickbox apparently overrides the first.
[attach]

[kalos]

This isn't a one-click solution but you can do the same thing in Excel 2003.
Found this on Bright Hub How to Save an Excel Object as an Image

omg, those people at Microsoft did this on purpose? this excellent feature is hidden in a way most could never imagine to trigger (ie. open a filemenu entry, while keep SHIFT pressed, does nothing in most GUIs)

[Renegade]

This isn't a one-click solution but you can do the same thing in Excel 2003.
Found this on Bright Hub How to Save an Excel Object as an Image

omg, those people at Microsoft did this on purpose? this excellent feature is hidden in a way most could never imagine to trigger (ie. open a filemenu entry, while keep SHIFT pressed, does nothing in most GUIs)

Yeah, it's so well hidden that if MS didn't have a strong anti-Easter egg policy, you'd have to guess that it was an Easter egg.

[AndyM]

I want to select cells in EXCEL and export them as image (screenshot) with one click

I'm still using Excel 2002, but the Shift-Edit thing works.  When I record using it to copy a picture or group of cells  to the clipboard, one line of code is generated:

Selection.CopyPicture Appearance:=xlScreen, Format:=xlBitmap

So this would be the first line of a macro you could assign to a button.  Select your picture or cells, click the button, and the picture is copied to the clipboard.

There is vba code to save files, etc.  When you say "export as image" you mean to a file?  What kind?

[kalos]

When you say "export as image" you mean to a file?  What kind?

yes, to a graphics file of any kind in My Documents folder or something

the different options "as shown on screen" and "as printed" would be nice to be available in the macro as well (just via different hotkey)

[AndyM]

Selection.CopyPicture Appearance:=xlPrinter, Format:=xlPicture
    checked this again, either it quit working or never did, sorry
Something always worth trying is recording a macro.  I just recorded it again but this time selected "as printed".

It's been a while since I've used Excel daily.  Back then I would have either been able to quickly give you the basic code to save files, or looked at something similar I'd already done (more likely) and then modified it.

I don't even remember which spreadsheets had the good file-related code I was using, so I'll first try to record something to see if it jogs the memory.  I'll get back to you.

[AndyM]

I realized that I had never seen (never needed) any "save selection" choices in Excel and Excel-specific VBA.  I started fooling with it and realized it was going to be more than a few lines.

So I googled "excel save selection as image" and got all sorts of interesting stuff, but more involved than I thought.  I'll use code I don't completely understand if I understand the purpose, input, and output of the chunks I don't get.  And if the code works right off, or with a little modification of the parts I do understand.

What you could also do is have Excel copy the selection as a bitmap to the clipboard, and then have the last line of the vba code call something else (an Autohotkey script, a batch file, etc).  This could all be run with just one click.

[kunkel321]

@Andy:  No kidding!  I just found this http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/excel-help/file-formats-that-are-supported-in-excel-HP010014103.aspx ; Apparently Excel 2007 has 13 different clipboard formats (21 if you count the different extensions).