Camera In Excel 2016



  1. Camera tool is your way of creating visual reference in an excel sheet. It is one of the useful and hidden features of excel. Here is how it works. You specify a rectangular area in your workbook and camera tool creates a mirror image of that area as a drawing object. You can move it or resize it. And whenever the contents of original rectangular area changes (charts, drawings or cell values.
  2. Use Pic would minimise the camera app (don't want to open and close it all the time), grab the file name/path of the most recent image still don't know how to do that), write the name/path in excel and end the script. Cancel would just minimise the camera app, return to the active cell in excel and end the script.
  1. Camera In Excel 2016
  2. Excel 2016 Pdf Free Download
  3. Camera Function In Excel 2016
  4. Camera In Excel 2016 Spreadsheets

Using Excel Camera Tool. Getting the Camera Tool in the QAT is only half the battle won. The real skill is in using it efficiently. Using the Excel Camera tool is a 3-step process (just like LIGHTS.CAMERA. ACTION): Select the cell or range of cells for which you want an image. Click on the Excel Camera Tool icon in the Quick Access Toolbar.

Excel has some pretty kick ass unique features and one of them is the Camera Tool.On the face of it, it looks like no big deal. But the camera tool when combined with a formula and options buttons, can help you make a pretty awesome dynamic chart

Let’s get right into it!

So let’s say we have this data..


Revenue Split by Months and Customers

And we have made 2 charts from the above data

Our objective is to show one chart at a time (either Sales by Months or by Customer)

Pdf

Now Let’s Create the Option Buttons..

  1. From the Developer Tab [Related: Activate the Developer Tab in Excel]
  2. Go to the Insert Drop Down
  3. And Click on Option Button (Form Control)
  4. Using the cursor draw 2 Option Buttons and rename them as “Months” and “Customers”

Connect the Option Buttons to a cell

Camera In Excel 2016

  1. Name a cell(above your option buttons) as “Choice”
  2. Right click on the Option Button and go to Format Control
  3. In the Cell Link : Type the name of the cell “Choice”
  4. Now when you click on the Option Buttons the named cell will indicate 1 or 2 (depending on the option button selected)

Let write a Choose formula for picking up the chart range..

[Related: Learn how the Choose formula works]

Note that :

  1. The ranges selected in the Choose Formula are completely covering the cells where the chart is kept.
  2. So you need to arrange your charts in such a manner that they fit in a range of cells
  3. The ranges are also locked ($ sign). If you don’t do that we would have problems while naming the formula later
  4. Don’t worry about the #VALUE! error

Now name this Formula as Pic.Choice

  1. Copy the Choose Formula that we have just created
  2. Open the Name Manager (Ctrl + F3)
  3. Create a New Name – Pic.Choice
  4. Paste the choose formula in the Refers to box

Time to use the Camera Tool..

Excel 2016 Pdf Free Download

  1. Select the range covering any of the charts
  2. Then click on the camera [Related: activate the camera tool]
  3. Now when you click anywhere on the spreadsheet the picture of selected cells will be pasted

Final Step : Link the Picture to the Choose Formula

  1. Select the Picture clicked by the camera tool
  2. Go to the formula box and link it to the choose formula =Pic.choice
  3. Make sure to press enter after you type the name of the formula
  4. Done!

Caution: If you reposition the charts on the sheet. The range that you have selected the choose formula will no more be captured the chart

How does the Chart work..

Camera in excel 2016 shortcut

Camera Function In Excel 2016

If you have found this a bit tricky, let me help you to get your head around this

  1. The picture from the camera tool was linked to the range covering the chart (which was selected manually)
  2. But when you link the picture to the choose formula the picture becomes dynamic and gets connected with the option buttons
  3. So when you change the option buttons the range selected also changes, so does the chart!

Camera In Excel 2016 Spreadsheets

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