Automatically Displaying Thumbnails of a Graphic File

Ron has a worksheet that includes a column containing filenames such as "abcdef." This corresponds to a JPG file ("abcdef.jpg") in the same folder as the worksheet. Ron wonders if there is a way to make Excel automatically display, in the cell just to the right of the filename, a thumbnail of the JPG file.

If, by "automatic," you mean that the image appears whenever a filename is placed into the cell, that is possible, but it is not necessarily the best way to go. Why? Because working with graphics files can take a huge number of resources in your workbook, and as you add more and more filenames, the amount of data that needs to be shuttled around can be huge.

A better approach is to develop a macro that will look at whatever cells you have selected (those cells should contain the filenames) and then insert the thumbnails to the right of those selected cells. Here's an example:

Sub Insert_Pics_By_Filename()
    Dim Source As Range
    Dim c As Range
    Dim s As Shape
    Dim sThumbSize As Single
    Dim sPath As String
    Dim sHeight As Single
    Dim sLeft As Single
    Dim xTop As Single  ' xTop instead of sTop because sTop is a keyword
    Dim sTemp As String

    sThumbSize = 0.75 ' Picture will be 75% of row height
    Set Source = Selection
    sPath = ActiveWorkbook.Path & "\"

    ' Check the filenames in the cells, first
    For Each c In Source.Cells
        sTemp = c.Value
        If Not (sTemp Like "*.jpg") Then
            c.Select
            MsgBox "Can't work with the filename:" & vbCr & vbCr & sTemp & " in cell " & c.Address
            Exit Sub
        End If
    Next c

    ' Delete all existing pictures
    For Each s In ActiveSheet.Shapes
        If s.Type = msoLinkedPicture Then
            s.Delete
        End If
    Next s

    ' Insert the pictures
    For Each c In Source.Cells
        With c
            sHeight = .RowHeight * sThumbSize
            sLeft = .Offset(0, 1).Left + 5   ' Put 5 pixels from cell left
            xTop = .Top + 5   ' Put 5 pixels from cell top
            sTemp = .Value

            With ActiveSheet.Pictures.Insert(sPath & sTemp)
                With .ShapeRange
                    .LockAspectRatio = msoTrue
                    .Height = sHeight
                End With
                .Left = sLeft
                .Top = xTop
                .Placement = 1
                .PrintObject = True
            End With
        End With
    Next c
End Sub

The macro creates a thumbnail that is 75% of the height of the row and inserts that thumbnail to the right of the selected cells. If one of the selected cells doesn't have ".jpg" as part of the filename, then it will stop and tell you that there is an error with the name.

The macro isn't terribly robust, in that you could easily crash it. For instance, if the row heights is quite small, then the thumbnails will be very small—and if they are too small, then there could be a fatal error in inserting the thumbnail. You should be aware, as well, that the macro also deletes all pictures in the worksheet before it inserts the thumbnails. That way you don't run the risk of getting duplicate images inserted. If you want the macro to delete just a portion of the images, then you'll need to do a good deal of reworking the macro to detect and affect just the subset of images desired.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (9983) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365.