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) the mirror image changes too.
How to add camera tool to standard toolbar?
In order to use camera tool, you must add the tool to a tool bar in excel menu area. Here is how you can do that:
- Go to menu > tools > customize
- In the dialog go to “Commands” tab and select “tools” in categories.
- Scroll down in the commands area until you see a little camera tool
- Now drag and drop this in your tool bar as shown below

How to use excel camera tool?

We will use camera tool to create a micro-chart in excel.
- First make a normal chart.
- Now select the cells surrounding the chart
- Click on camera tool
- Now click any where in the worksheet and excel places a snapshot of the range you have selected
- Resize it until you get the microchart effect.
- Bingo !
- Btw, excel adds a border to the camera tool output. You can remove it by using drawing tool bar
Bonus tip: Alternatives to camera tool
Another alternative to camera tool is to use the image and indirect references technique we have learned in conditionally hide or show charts post.
Read earlier spreadcheats as well.

















6 Responses to “A quick personal update”
Thank you for the personal update. It was quite encouraging and a breath of fresh air in my Inbox. Take care and stay safe.
David
Doctors advise:
Virus obstructs lungs with thick mucus that solidifies.
Consume lot hot liquids like tea, soup, and sip of hot liquid every 20 min
Gargle w antiseptic of lemon, vinegar, & hot water daily
It attaches to hair/clothes detergent kills it, when come from st go straight shower
Hang dirty clothes in sunlight/cold overnight or wash immediately.
Wash metal surfaces as it can live on them 9 days
Do not touch hand rails
Do not smoke
Wash hands foaming 20 sec every 20 min
Eat fruit/veg and up zinc levels.
Animals do not spread it
Avoid common flu
Avoid eat/drink cold things
If feel sore throat do above immediate as virus is there 3-4 days before descends into lungs
Would love help with my database mgt in excel.
Thanks for being thoughtful of us.
BTW How do you track your expenses/income in excel? Can you share the worksheet please.
Stay safe you and your family, best wishes.
Thanks for the update and happy to know that you and family are doing good. A 21 day lockdown has now been announced in India (I live around Kolkata) so it's uncertain times ahead. I check up on your wonderful articles often and will do so even more regularly now. Stay safe and God bless.
Hi from Argentina, I follow you for a lot of years now. We here are in a quarantine for 2 or 3 weeks, because the pandemia.
Excel is also my passion and I came here looking for a Num2Words formula, but in spanish. If anyone have it, please let me know.
Best regards.
Pablo Molina
La Rioja - Argentina
I'm glad to have your personal update. I'm from India & following you for so many years. Cheers to have any further personal update.