How to Convert a Table Into a Picture in Microsoft Word

Tables are a great way to organize and present data in Microsoft Word. However, sometimes you may need to convert a Word table into an image for use in another program. Converting a table to a picture allows you to preserve the table’s formatting while making it easy to insert into presentations, web pages, emails, and more.

Follow this simple guide to quickly change a Word table to a picture file on both Windows and Mac.

Why Convert a Word Table to a Picture

Here are some common reasons you may want to save a Word table as an image:

• Insert tables into PowerPoint slides while retaining styles and formatting
• Add tables to emails and webpages by embedding a picture
• Preserve table formatting when converting a Word doc to PDF
• Avoid accidental edits to the table data
• Share tables with people who don’t have Word installed

Before You Begin

Before getting started, ensure you have the table you want to convert already created in your Word document. If you need help making tables from scratch in Word, check out this handy guide.

You’ll also want to finalize the table’s formatting before converting it. Adjust elements like:

• Fonts, sizes, colors
• Cell background fills and borders
• Alignment of text and numbers
• Column widths and row heights

Any styling you apply will be baked into the resulting picture file.

Method 1: Copy and Paste as Picture (Windows and Mac)

The fastest way to change a Word table into a picture is using copy and paste:

1. Open the Word document containing your table.
2. Click inside the table and press Ctrl+A (Windows) or ⌘+A (Mac) to select the entire table.
3. Press Ctrl+C (Windows) or ⌘+C (Mac) to copy the table.
4. Open a new blank Word document.
5. Press Ctrl+V (Windows) or ⌘+V (Mac) to paste the table.
6. With the pasted table selected, go to the Home tab and click the down arrow under Paste. Choose Paste Special.
7. Select Picture and click OK.

The table now appears as an image that can be resized and formatted like any picture in Word.

To save the picture for use outside of Word:

1. Click the image to select it.
2. Go to File > Save As in Windows or File > Export on Mac.
3. Change the file type to JPEG, PNG, GIF, or another image format.

And that’s all there is to it! The copy and paste method works great if you just need to quickly convert a table to share outside of Word.

Method 2: Use the Snipping Tool (Windows Only)

Windows 10 and 11 have a built-in Snipping Tool that lets you capture screenshots. You can use this app to easily snip a Word table and save the snip as an image file.

Here’s how to convert a table to a picture with the Snipping Tool:

1. Open Snipping Tool from the Windows Start menu.
2. In Snipping Tool, click New. Your screen will fade, allowing you to draw a rectangle around the area you want to snip.
3. Go back to your Word document and drag around the entire table.
4. The selected area appears in the Snipping Tool editor. Click File > Save As.
5. Change the file type to JPEG, PNG, GIF, or another picture format.
6. Click Save to convert the table snip to an image file.

You can then insert this picture file into other documents or applications. The Snipping Tool method gives you more control than copy and paste when capturing Word tables as images.

Method 3: Save Selection as Picture (Mac Only)

On Macs, you can use the Save Selection as Picture option to easily convert part of a document – like a table – into an image file.

Follow these steps:

1. In your Word for Mac document, click inside the table and press ⌘+A to select it.
2. Go to Tools > Save Selection As Picture.
3. Choose the location to save the picture and change the file type if needed.
4. Click Save to convert the table to an image.

This will save just the selected table as a separate picture file on your Mac.

Cropping Images After Conversion

When you convert a Word table into a picture, there may be extra white space around the edges. To crop away this blank area:

On Windows:

1. Open the image file in Paint after conversion.
2. Click Select and highlight just the table, cropping away extra white space.
3. Click Crop to trim the image down.
4. Go to File > Save As to overwrite the original picture with the cropped version.

On Mac:

1. Double click the image file to open it in Preview after conversion.
2. Go to Tools > Adjust Size.
3. Click and drag the crop handles around the table to remove outer white space.
4. Click Done and then File > Export to save a cropped copy of the picture.

Cropping gives you a tidy image without wasted space around the table.

Inserting Converted Table Images

Once converted into a picture file, inserting your Word table image into other documents or apps is simple.

To embed the picture in a Word document:

• Go to Insert > Pictures and select the image file.

To add the image to a PowerPoint presentation:

• Go to Insert > Pictures and choose the picture.

To insert the photo in an email:

• Draft your email and click Attach Files, then select the image.

For webpages:

• Upload the image file to your site and use HTML <img> tags to add it.

Converting Word tables to pictures unlocks countless possibilities for repurposing your data across documents, slides, webpages, emails, and more!

Convert a Table to Image in Just Seconds

As you can see, turning a Word table into a picture file is quick and easy on both Windows and Mac.

The copy and paste method works directly within Word to embed an image, while the Snipping Tool and Save Selection options create separate image files.

Converting tables to pictures prevents accidental edits to your data and makes tables easy to reuse in virtually any application or document – retaining all the meticulous formatting you apply in Word.

Hopefully this guide helps you seamlessly transition Word tables into images for your projects. Let us know in the comments if you have any other hot tips for converting tables to pictures!