Microsoft Excel: How to insert an image into a cell
Q. In Excel, is it possible to insert an image into a cell (i.e., not floating atop the cell)?
A. Yes, you can insert an image into an Excel cell as follows. Paste an image into Excel, then resize the image and drag and drop it on top of a cell, as pictured below. Next, right-click the image and select Format Picture from the pop-up menu and, in the resulting dialog box, select the Size & Properties tab, and under the Properties section, check the radio button labeled Move and size with cells, then click OK.
Thereafter, the image will remain located in that cell, even if the cell’s position changes when other rows or cells are inserted, deleted, or moved. In addition, the image will grow or shrink as the cell’s width or height is adjusted. This solution might be used to insert employee photos into an Excel-based organization chart, or to insert images of inventory items onto your worksheet. As an example, presented below is a worksheet of how a canine adoption agency might maintain a list of dogs available for adoption. In this worksheet, Champ’s image would remain on the same row as his adjacent information, even if the data are sorted or the rows are moved.
You can download this example Excel file at carltoncollins.com/dogs.xlsx.
About the author
J. Carlton Collins (carlton@asaresearch.com) is a technology consultant, a conference presenter, and a JofA contributing editor.
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