May 18, 2023

New for 2023: You can now insert images directly into Excel cells

Updated: Feb 11

Microsoft Excel's new IMAGE function is a dynamic and powerful way to add visual elements to your spreadsheets. With the newly introduced IMAGE function, you can insert a picture in a cell with a simple formula, place images within Excel tables, move, copy, resize, sort and filter cells with pictures just like normal cells.

Just released: Check this out! "The Ultimate Guide to Embedding Pictures into Excel Cells"

Instead of floating on top of a spreadsheet, your images are now its integral part.

This function is available in Excel 365 and Excel 2021 (Excel versions explained)

Here's an overview of how to use Excel's new IMAGE function:

The function takes a total of 5 arguments, of which only the first one is required.

=IMAGE(url, [alt-text], [sizing],[height], [width])

File formats supported are: BMP, JPG/JPEG, GIF, TIFF, PNG, ICO, and WEBP.

The URL is the required argument that specifies the address of the image that you want to insert.

The URL can be a web address, or a hyperlink to an image.

Using the function

To use the IMAGE function, you can either type the function manually or use the Insert Function button in the formula bar. When you type the function manually, make sure to include the URL of the image within double quotes.

For example: =IMAGE("https://www.example.com.au/bus.jpg")

If the URL source

requires authentication, the image won't render
is redirected, it will be blocked because of security concerns
will not work if over the limit of 255 characters

To work around the URL limit of 255 characters, avoid copying a long URL from the browser address bar. Instead, right click the image in the browser, select Copy image link, paste the value into a cell in Excel, and then reference that cell as source.

For example, if the URL is copied to G35, create the following function call: =IMAGE(G35).

Dynamic image resizing

You can use the height and width arguments to resize the image within the cell. The IMAGE function automatically resizes the image to fit within the specified height and width while maintaining the aspect ratio of the image.

For example: =IMAGE("https://example.com.au/bus.jpg", "Melbourne Bus",3,45,125)

In this example, the height of the image is set to 45 pixels and the width is set to 125 pixels.

Excel's new IMAGE function makes it easy to add dynamic visual elements to your spreadsheets. By using this function, you can insert images directly into Excel cells from web addresses or local files, resize images, and add tooltips to provide additional context.