Did You Know Microsoft Excel Has a Hidden Camera?

It’s easy to take screenshots in Excel. But what if there was a way to take a snapshot of anything on a spreadsheet, paste it anywhere in the workbook, and automatically update the snapshot later by changing the underlying data? Excel’s hidden Camera can create these sorts of linked images.

From using INDEX MATCH to XLOOKUP, different methods exist to insert and display images, depending on the data involved, but the Camera tool in Excel is the uncomplicated and formula-less way. It’s a simple button on the Quick Access Toolbar, and incredibly useful—but it’s not enabled by default.

Note: This isn’t the same as Excel’s Screenshot tool, found on the Insert tab under Illustrations. The Screenshot tool can take screen clippings, but cannot create linked images like the Camera tool.

How do you enable the camera in Microsoft Excel?

The Camera tool in Excel is a hidden feature, so you have to mess about under the hood to add it to your Quick Access toolbar. To do so, launch Excel and follow the steps below:

1. Go to the Home screen (the Backstage view) on Excel from File on the menu bar.
2. Select Options from the bottom of the left sidebar. In Excel Options, open the settings for the Quick Access Toolbar from the list on the left.
3. Select the dropdown for Choose commands from and pick All Commands.
4. Under All Commands, go down the alphabetical list and select Camera.

1. Click the Add button between the two boxes to include the Camera tool in the Quick Access toolbar.
2. Go to an open spreadsheet, and you can see the Camera button on the Quick Access toolbar.

Alternatively, you can customize the Quick Access Toolbar by clicking on the tiny Customize Quick Access Toolbar down-pointing arrow. Select More Commands… in the menu and follow the same steps as listed above.

How to use the Microsoft Excel Camera

Now, with the Camera as a part of your Excel toolkit, you can use it to take quick dynamic screenshots of your data. Here’s a basic example of how it functions:

Open a spreadsheet with data you want to capture and paste somewhere else. Select the data range or chart and click the Camera button on the Quick Access Toolbar.

Open the worksheet you’ll be pasting the data into and select the location you want to paste to. The cursor will change to a tiny crosshair. Drag and release the crosshair to paste the data.

As you’re pasting in a picture, you can use any formatting option available on the Picture tab on the Ribbon to customize the appearance of the data.

The notable feature of the Camera tool is that it isn’t a simple screenshot feature, but a way of linking the two worksheets. Here’s how to use it to save time and create better spreadsheets.

How to use the Camera button in Excel for linked snapshots

The camera button makes working with your data across spreadsheets much easier. Try it out with a range of data cells or a chart in a spreadsheet; the Camera button allows you to copy that data and paste it as a linked image in the same spreadsheet, another sheet in the same workbook, or an entirely different workbook.

Once you’ve pasted the image into the new spot, try changing something in your original data or chart. The snapshot pasted in the other locations will also update instantly.

Here are some possible use cases:

• Collect data from different sheets and paste them as a dynamic snapshot on a common sheet for presentation or printing.
• Make dynamic dashboards that display real-time information as the linked data is updated behind the scenes.
• Create micro-charts by taking a linked snapshot of a small section of a more extensive chart and sharing only specific information.
• Manage large datasets spread across many sheets and workbooks by monitoring important cells with their snapshots.
• You can use the Camera to paste data into Word and PowerPoint documents, but they won’t be linked. But it can help you create presentations and reports faster.