Insert Spreadsheet by Photograph

Would be a nice thing to be able to do at times, especially for test data.

Import Excel data just by photographing a spreadsheet
The feature is available in the updated Microsoft Excel app for Android.

AJ Dellinger, @ajdell

Microsoft recently rolled out a number of major updates to its products, including a particularly handy new feature for Excel. Using the Android version of the app, users will be able to snap a photo of a printed data table and have it converted into a digital, editable spreadsheet. The feature, which is available to Microsoft 365 subscribers, isn't available on iOS yet but Microsoft is promising it will arrive soon.

The new import feature uses image recognition technology to identify all of the information on the page and convert it into an Excel spreadsheet in the app. It should eliminate the need to manually enter or copy data, depending on its accuracy. The feature, labeled in-app as "Insert Data from Picture," can perform the conversion from analog to digital with a single tap. Microsoft first floated the idea for this tool last year before being made widely available in the most recent update to the Android app. It's just the latest in the company's ongoing efforts to insert more machine learning models into its products. ....  "