You probably found this article after realizing that inserting pictures in Excel was not as straightforward as expected. In a way, it is as simple as clicking Insert, Pictures, and choosing the image
To ensure that your picture will not be distorted and that it will behave as expected when your table is filtered or sorted, you need the picture to fit inside an Excel cell. You can either widen the Excel row/column or shrink the picture. If you really need the picture to be bigger than the Excel cell, make sure that its top left corner is inside the targeted cell.
Then you have two options. Both have benefits and limitations:
– To ensure that pictures are not distorted when you resize columns or rows, right click on the picture then click on Format Picture. In the Excel tab that opens to your right, click on the 3rd icon (Size & Properties) and check that “Move but don’t size with cells” is selected.
– On the other hand, if you want to filter a table including pictures, you need to revert this change and pick “Move and size with cells”.
You get it right. Depending on what you are trying to achieve with your table, you’ll have to change the settings of each picture. Keep up!
That way, your pictures follow their cells. If your sort or filter your table, pictures behave as expected.
Last, you have to pay attention to the size of your pictures. As always with pictures, a balance must be found between picture quality and file size. When you save your file, click on Tools then Compress Pictures.
How to Insert Pictures into Excel Cells
You actually need to start from the Insert Pictures feature, in the Insert Tab. Depending on the size of your Excel cells and the size of your picture, Excel might not insert the picture in an Excel size, but lay it over the worksheet.
To ensure that your picture will not be distorted and that it will behave as expected when your table is filtered or sorted, you need the picture to fit inside an Excel cell. You can either widen the Excel row/column or shrink the picture. If you really need the picture to be bigger than the Excel cell, make sure that its top left corner is inside the targeted cell.
Then you have two options. Both have benefits and limitations:
– To ensure that pictures are not distorted when you resize columns or rows, right click on the picture then click on Format Picture. In the Excel tab that opens to your right, click on the 3rd icon (Size & Properties) and check that “Move but don’t size with cells” is selected.
– On the other hand, if you want to filter a table including pictures, you need to revert this change and pick “Move and size with cells”.
You get it right. Depending on what you are trying to achieve with your table, you’ll have to change the settings of each picture. Keep up!
That way, your pictures follow their cells. If your sort or filter your table, pictures behave as expected.
Last, you have to pay attention to the size of your pictures. As always with pictures, a balance must be found between picture quality and file size. When you save your file, click on Tools then Compress Pictures.
Alternative: Insert Pictures in A Table with RowShare
If you really want to add pictures in table cells, RowShare, a collaborative table, offers an intuitive alternative. You don’t need to send the file anymore. You just share a link to access the table from anywhere. You don’t need to think about the table size. You can even decide if your coworkers can modify the table as a whole or only certain rows. Finally, you’ll be notified when someone modifies your table. Create a table from our catalog or start from scratch if you know precisely what you want. Add one or several Image columns to your table and upload pictures easily. You don’t need to send large files by email, just share the URL address of your RowShare table. You can also control your table and pictures the way you want it, from sorting, filtering, setting columns as read only, you name it!Tip: If you already have your table in Microsoft Excel, import it to RowShare and change the appropriate column type to Image.You now have your web table ready to be shared. You can export or even synchronize it with Excel to access the best features of both tools. In this case, your Excel file will not display the actual pictures, but a link to your pictures. For more information, check out our Help page on inserting images and files with RowShare.
