Microsoft Brings 'Insert Data From Picture' Excel Feature to iOS Devices - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Microsoft Brings 'Insert Data From Picture' Excel Feature to iOS Devices

by

Microsoft today announced that the Excel app for iOS is gaining the Insert Data from Picture feature that was previously made available on Android devices.

Insert Data from Picture lets you take a photo of data in a table format and convert it to a digital format in Excel. You can capture financial spreadsheets, work schedules, task lists, time tables, and more, so long as it's in a table format to begin with.

microsoftexceldatapicture
According to Microsoft, Insert Data from Picture combines optical character recognition technology, layout understanding techniques, and machine learning to convert information written on paper into digital data.

As of today, the Insert Data from Picture feature also supports 21 languages on both iOS and Android.

The Excel iOS app from Microsoft can be downloaded from the App Store for free. [Direct Link]

Top Rated Comments

flyinmac Avatar
89 months ago
1. Who prints spreadsheet table data?
2. Who would ever have a printout of table data to scan?
Spreadsheets live on computers
Often information is shared with others in a printed form. Consider a presentation where attendees are given papers to view while the presenter talks.

Or, even publicly distributed information in packet or booklet form.

Or even historical books and charts with data.

Now you can just take a picture to import the data and start working with it.

Sounds like an interesting feature.
Score: 16 Votes (Like | Disagree)
89 months ago
1. Who prints spreadsheet table data?
2. Who would ever have a printout of table data to scan?
Spreadsheets live on computers
It doesn’t have to be actually printed.
Because there is simply no easy way to copy a file from Windows PC to iPhone or even so-called “professional” and “PC replacement” iPad, now you can just take a photo of the screen.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Cryates Avatar
89 months ago
1. Who prints spreadsheet table data?
2. Who would ever have a printout of table data to scan?
Spreadsheets live on computers
Hmmm I see someone doesn’t work in a corporate environment.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
89 months ago
https://xkcd.com/2116/
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
hortod1 Avatar
89 months ago
Wow! Lets easily email sensitive data for sale!
That can be done anyway with a camera, the app wouldn't prevent it
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
code-m Avatar
89 months ago
Brilliant, is Word capable of this and PowerPoint.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

imac video apple feature

Apple Released Yet Another New Product Today

Friday March 20, 2026 2:39 pm PDT by
Apple has unveiled a whopping nine new products so far this March, including an iPhone 17e, iPad Air models with the M4 chip, MacBook Air models with the M5 chip, MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, the all-new MacBook Neo, an updated Studio Display, a higher-end Studio Display XDR, AirPods Max 2, and now the Nike Powerbeats Pro 2. iPhone 17e features the same overall design as...
HomePod mini and Apple TV Sage

New Apple TV and HomePod Mini Remain 'Ready' to Launch

Sunday March 22, 2026 6:33 am PDT by
Apple has unveiled nine new products this month, but the wait continues for the next-generation Apple TV 4K and HomePod mini models. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said new versions of the Apple TV and HomePod mini have been "ready" since last year, but he reiterated that Apple has held off on releasing them until the more personalized version of Siri and other...
Apple Business hero

Apple Unveils 'Apple Business' All-in-One Platform

Tuesday March 24, 2026 8:53 am PDT by
Apple today announced Apple Business, a new all-in-one platform that unifies device management, productivity tools, and customer outreach features. The service is designed to be a consolidated replacement for several of Apple's existing business-focused offerings, including Apple Business Essentials, Apple Business Manager, and Apple Business Connect. It provides organizations with a single...