Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, and 2013. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Removing Pictures for a Worksheet in VBA.

Removing Pictures for a Worksheet in VBA

by Allen Wyatt
(last updated July 5, 2014)

3

Rob wrote about a problem he was having removing pictures from a worksheet. He has macros that add a picture (a signature) as a shape, but when he later tries to delete the picture, he cannot find it in the Shapes collection. There are a couple of things to check out. First of all, you should ensure that you are using the proper syntax to do the deletion. Check to make sure you are explicitly including the sheet object in your code. For instance, the following line will not work: 
Shapes(1).Delete
Instead, you must specify the sheet, using code similar to any of the following lines: 
ActiveSheet.Shapes(1).Delete
Sheets("Sheet1").Shapes(1).Delete
Sheets(1).Shapes("Signature").Delete
If you determine that the expected image is not in the Shapes collection, then it is possible that Excel (for strange reasons only known to Excel) moved the image to a different collection, such as the Pictures collection. If you suspect this, then try using the following macro: 
Sub WhatAmI()
    Dim sTemp As String

    sTemp = "You selected this type of object: " & TypeName(Selection)
    sTemp = sTemp & vbCrLf
    sTemp = sTemp & "It's name is " & Selection.Name
    MsgBox sTemp
End Sub
Select the signature image, then run the macro. You should see a message box that indicates the type of object you selected, along with its name. You can then use the information to modify your macro so it deletes the image, as desired.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (10037) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, and 2013. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Removing Pictures for a Worksheet in VBA.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He  is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

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What is 7 - 0?

2015-07-29 14:11:42

satindar

Thanks a lot!! I had been searching way to delete images that were thousands in number in worksheet. Saved lot of time. thanks again for the tip.

2014-08-21 11:03:56

greg

Sub shapedelete()

Dim shp As Shape
Dim ws As Worksheet


For Each ws In ThisWorkbook.Worksheets
For Each shp In ws.Shapes
MsgBox (shp.Type) 'can be commented out later
If (shp.Type = 13 Or shp.Type = 8 Or shp.Type = 1) Then shp.Delete
Next shp

Next ws

End Sub

2014-07-07 06:56:00

Martin Shingler

Excellent - used it within hours. Thanks

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