Excel spreadsheets are the best way to create tables which you can use for data processing. However, the problem comes when you want to share the Excel table data with others. For example, the formatting will be disturbed when opening Excel tables with other apps like Numbers in macOS. If you do not want anyone to edit or want to simply copy paste the small table in Outlook email then you can convert the table into an image format. In this article, I will explain how you can do that.
Save Excel Table as PNG Image
Remember, you can also convert Excel to PDF to retain the formatting. However, image is an easy option for showing the data within an email instead of sending as attachment. The process works in both Excel for Windows and Mac versions.
Convert Excel Table to Image in Windows
- Open the Excel sheet which has your table data. Make sure the table is smaller so that the content is readable after converting it in image format.
- Adjust the row height and column width and add borders to the table especially for the outer cells so that they do not look open in the image.
- Select all table cells and copy it to clipboard. You can do this by selecting “Copy” option from right-click context menu or by pressing “Control + C” shortcuts keys.
- Go to another cell and paste the copied cell by pressing “Control + V” keys.
- You will see a small “Paste Options” icon showing at the right bottom corner of the pasted cell data. Click on the icon and select “Picture” under “Other Paste Options” section.
- The table data will be converted to image which you can resize and adjust if needed.
Convert Excel Table to Image in Mac
- Open the sheet and select all the cells in your table.
- Right-click and select “Copy” option or press “Command + C” to copy the selected table data.
- Now, go to another empty sheet or create a new one by clicking on the + icon in the bottom status bar.
- Place the cursor in the first cell and paste the copied table data by pressing “Command + V”.
- At the bottom corner of the last cell, you will see a small “Paste Options” icon and click on that.
- Select “Paste as Picture” option under “Other Paste Options” section.
- Now, the table will be converted to an image instead of editable text. You can drag to resize the table if required.
Sharing the Image
You have multiple options to share the converted image with others or save it to your computer. Simply right-click on the image and select “Save as Picture…” option to save the table image to your computer. This will save the table in a transparent PNG image format with the file name as “Picture 1”.
Below is how the downloaded table image will look when you use on other apps.
If you do not want to save the image, copy the image and paste it directly in email clients like Outlook. As you can see, it will show a visibly readable image instead of an attachment.
You can also easily share the copied image from Mac to iPhone using Continuity feature (copy on Mac and paste it in iPhone). On Windows, you can use Phone Link to share the files to Android/iPhone or use Edge Drop to transfer the copied image.
Changing to JPG Format
The default image saved from Excel sheet is in PNG format. You can change the format to JPEG, GIF or BMP when your right-click and save the image. Click the “Save as type” option and select JPEG or another image format.
You can also use the Paint app in Windows and use any third-party app in Mac for image conversion or processing (like add additional text).
- Simply select and copy the image from Excel sheet.
- Open Paint and paste the copied image in an empty canvas. Alternatively, click the “Clipboard” button and select “Paste” option to insert the copied image. Note that you can also paste the copied table image on another image as an overlay.
- After processing your image, go to “File > Save as” menu and select “JPEG” format to save the image in JPEG format. You can also save the image in BMP or other formats like TIFF, GIF or HEIC.
- On Mac, you can paste table image in apps like Snagit and save it in JPEG format.
Remember, JPEG (or JPG) format does not support transparency. Since the image you copied from Excel sheet is a transparent PNG image, it will lose the transparency and the background will be changed to white color. If you want to retain the transparency, then use it in the original PNG format.
