Excel 2013 For Dummies
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Excel 2013 supports the creation of screenshot graphics of objects on your Windows desktop that you can automatically insert into your worksheet. To take a picture of a window open on the desktop or any other object on it, select the Screenshot drop-down button in the Illustrations group of the Ribbon’s Insert tab (Alt+NSC).

Excel then opens a drop-down menu that displays a thumbnail of available screen shots (ones currently available) followed by the Screen Clipping item. To take a picture of any portion of your Windows desktop, click the Screen Clipping option (or press Alt+NSCC).

Excel then automatically minimizes the Excel program window on the Windows taskbar and then brightens the screen and changes the mouse pointer or Touch Pointer to a thick black cross. You can then use this pointer to drag an outline around the objects on the Windows desktop you want to include in the screenshot graphic.

The moment you release the mouse button or remove your finger or stylus from the touchscreen, Excel 2013 then automatically re-opens the program window to its previous size displaying the selected graphic containing the Windows screenshot. You can then resize, move, and adjust this screenshot graphic as you would any other that you add to the worksheet.

Excel automatically saves the screenshot graphic that you add to a worksheet when you save its workbook. However, the program does not provide you with a means by which to save the screenshot graphic in a separate graphics file for use in other programs.

If you need to do this, you should select the screenshot graphic in the Excel worksheet, copy it to the Windows Clipboard, and then paste it into another open graphics program where you can use its Save command to store it in a favorite graphics file format for use in other documents.

About This Article

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About the book author:

Greg Harvey, PhD, is President of Mind Over Media, an online media company. He has written all editions of Excel For Dummies, Excel All-in-One For Dummies, and Excel Workbook For Dummies. Greg is an experienced educator with a wide variety of interests.

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