Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Pictures in AutoShapes.

Pictures inside Shapes

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 23, 2023)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365


Excel allows you to format the appearance of the shapes you place in a worksheet. If you display the Format Shape dialog box, you can change all sorts of colors, lines, fills, fonts, and other attributes of the shape. One really nifty formatting feature is to place a picture within a shape. Follow these steps if you are using Excel 2007 or Excel 2010:

  1. Create your shape as you normally would.
  2. Right-click the shape. Excel displays a Context menu.
  3. Choose Format Shape from the Context menu. Excel displays the Format Shape dialog box. (If Format Shape was not one of the options from the Context menu, then you didn't right-click the shape itself in step 2. Make sure that you right-click one of the lines that make up the shape.)
  4. Make sure Fill is selected at the left of the dialog box.
  5. Click the Picture or Texture Fill radio button. The options in the dialog box change to reflect your choice, and the name of the dialog box changes from Format Shape to Format Picture. (See Figure 1.)
  6. Figure 1. The Format Picture dialog box.

  7. Use the controls in the dialog box to select a picture you want in the shape.
  8. Click Close.

When using Excel 2013 or a later version, you should, instead, follow these steps:

  1. Create your shape as you normally would.
  2. Right-click the shape. Excel displays a Context menu.
  3. Choose Format Shape from the Context menu. Excel displays the Format Shape task pane at the right side of your worksheet. (If Format Shape was not one of the options from the Context menu, then you didn't right-click the shape itself in step 2. Make sure that you right-click one of the lines that make up the shape.)
  4. Expand the Fill option by clicking the small triangle to the left of the option.
  5. Click the Picture or Texture Fill radio button. The options in the task pane change to reflect your choice and the name of the task pane changes from Format Shape to Format Picture. (See Figure 2.)
  6. Figure 2. The Format Picture task pane.

  7. Use the buttons under the Insert Picture From heading (File, Clipboard, and Online) to choose where Excel should look for the picture you want to use.
  8. Use the controls Excel offers you to locate and select the picture you want to use in the shape.
  9. Close the Format Picture task pane.

The picture you selected in step 6 (Excel 2007 and Excel 2010) or step 7 (later versions of Excel) should now appear in the background of the shape. In most cases the shape looks like a "mask" over the picture, which is a nice effect. You should also use this technique sparingly, as each picture you place in a shape can greatly increase the size of your workbook.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (10740) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Pictures in AutoShapes.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Conditional Formatting for Errant Phone Numbers

Conditional formatting can be used to draw attention to all sorts of data based upon the criteria you specify. Here's how ...

Discover More

Fixing Odd Sorting Behavior

When you sort data that contains both numbers and text, you may not get exactly the result that you expected. To know ...

Discover More

Filtering Columns

The filtering tools provided in Excel make it easy to filter a data list so that only certain rows are displayed. What if ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 2013 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access) with VBA programming, using it for writing macros, automating Office applications, and creating custom applications. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2013 today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Changing the Color Inside a Shape

Adding a shape to your workbook is easy. If you want to fill the shape with a color, you'll want to follow the ...

Discover More

Adding a Very Heavy Cell Border

Excel allows you to add borders to a cell or range of cells. If the available borders aren't exactly as you desire, you ...

Discover More

Changing the Size of a Drawing Object

Add a drawing object to your worksheet, and at some point, you may want to change that object's size. You can easily ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is three less than 3?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.