Insert images in cells with the IMAGE function in Excel

(Originally published on August 25, 2022 by Elisabetta Caldesi)

 

Hi, Insiders! My name is Elisabetta Caldesi, and I’m a Product Manager on the Excel team. I’m excited to share with you a new function, called IMAGE, which returns an image within a cell.

 

IMAGE function in Excel

 

We’ve received a lot of feedback about the wish to be able to insert images in cells, and we’re happy to deliver! Your images can now be part of the worksheet, instead of floating on top. You can move and resize cells, sort and filter, and work with images within an Excel table. This improvement unlocks and facilitates many new scenarios, such as tracking inventories, creating employee dashboards, or building games and brackets.

 

How it works

The IMAGE function inserts images into cells from a source location, along with alternative text. All you need to do is type the following into a cell:

 

=IMAGE(source, [alt_text], [sizing], [height], [width])

where:

• source (required) is the URL path of the image file, using an "https" protocol. (NOTE: Supported file formats include BMP, JPG/JPEG, GIF, TIFF, PNG, ICO, and WEBP.)
• alt_text (optional) is the alternative text that describes the image (for accessibility).
• sizing (optional) specifies the image dimensions. There are several possible values:
  • 0: Fit the image in the cell and maintain its aspect ratio.
  • 1: Fill the cell with the image and ignore its aspect ratio.
  • 2: Maintain the original image size, which may exceed the cell boundary.
  • 3: Customize the image size by using the height and width
• height and width (optional) define the height and width of the image only when using sizing 3 option.

Scenarios to try

• Insert a sphere in a cell by typing:

  =IMAGE("https://support.content.office.net/en-us/media/2d9e717a-0077-438f-8e5e-f85a1305d4ad.jpg", "Sphere")

  Cell containing the image of a sphere

   

• Insert a cylinder in a cell:
  1. Copy and paste the following URL in cell B1:

     https://support.content.office.net/en-us/media/35aecc53-b3c1-4895-8a7d-554716941806.jpg">https://support.content.office.net/en-us/media/35aecc53-b3c1-4895-8a7d-554716941806.jpg

  2. Enter the following in cell B2:

     Cylinder

  3. Enter the following in cell A3:

     =IMAGE(B1,B2,0)

  4. Press the ENTER key.

     Cell containing the image of a cylinder

 

Known issues

• If the URL to the image file you are using is pointing to a site that requires authentication, the image will not render.
• Zooming in and out with images in cells may distort the images.
• Moving between platforms (for example, Windows and Mac) may result in irregular image rendering.

 

Availability

The IMAGE function is available to Insiders running the following Beta Channel builds:

• Windows: Version 2209 (Build 15608.10000) or later
• Mac: Version 16.65 (Build 22080701) or later
• iOS: Version 2.65 (Build 22080701) or later
• Android: 16.0.15608.10000 or later

 

Features are released over some time to ensure things are working smoothly. We highlight features that you may not have because they’re slowly releasing to larger numbers of Insiders. Sometimes we remove elements to further improve them based on your feedback. Though this is rare, we also reserve the option to pull a feature entirely out of the product, even if you, as an Insider, have had the opportunity to try it.

 

Feedback

As you use the preview of the new IMAGE function in Excel, we hope you will join us in this journey. Click Help > Feedback in Excel to share your feedback and help us prioritize our work.

 

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