Making the Default Image Resolution Persistent

Erik wonders how he can make Excel use a specific image resolution for new workbooks. When he opens a new workbook, the "Default Resolution" under the advanced file options is set to 220 ppi. He would like it set to High Fidelity. Remembering to change this setting for every new workbook Erik creates is time consuming and open to error.

The image resolution setting to which Erik refers was introduced in Excel 2016. It is a particularly important setting for those who insert images into their Excel workbooks. The higher the resolution of your images, the larger the workbook file sizes. The highest resolution possible is the setting that Erik wants as his default—"high fidelity." Unfortunately, this setting apparently is set as the "default" for only the current session of Excel; it doesn't seem to be persistent from one session to another.

I can find absolutely no information on changing this setting via a macro, which means it probably (at this time) cannot be done. So, you can try to create a new default template that will have the control set the way you want:

1. Open a new Excel workbook.
2. Display the Excel Options dialog box. (Click the File tab of the ribbon and then choose Options.)
3. At the left side of the dialog box, click Advanced.
4. Locate the Default Resolution drop-down list and change it to High Fidelity.
5. Click OK to close the Excel Options dialog box.
6. Make any other desired "default" changes in the workbook.
7. Press F12. Excel displays the Save As dialog box.
8. In the Save As Type pull-down list at the bottom of the dialog box, select Excel Template or Excel Macro-Enabled Template. (The option you select depends on whether you have macros in the workbook or not.)
9. The file name you use should be Book.xltx or Book.xltm (depending, again, on whether it contains macros).
10. Save your newly created template in the XLStart folder. (You will probably need to use the search capabilities of Windows to locate the XLStart folder on your system.)

This newly saved workbook will serve as the default template for any new workbooks you create in Excel. If you prefer to not save it as the default template, then in step 9 you can use a different template file name and, in step 10, you can save the template with your other personal templates.

The create-a-template approach may work just fine for future workbooks, but it will not affect any workbooks you previously created. So, if you are working with existing workbooks, you are still going to have to go through the manual process of setting the High Fidelity setting.

There is something else you need to be aware of when using this setting—it doesn't stop Excel from changing the resolution of images you place in your workbook. It simply means that it compresses them less than the lower-resolution settings. Take a look at this Microsoft page:

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/f4aca5b4-6332-48c6-9488-bf5e0094a7d2

Notice that the article indicates that "choosing high fidelity resolution ensures that pictures are not compressed unless...," and then it indicates when they will be compressed and what happens when they are compressed. If you don't want any compression to occur at all, then you'll need to make a change in your Windows Registry, as outlined on this page:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/office/troubleshoot/office-suite-issues/office-docuemnt-image-quality-loss

Note that this page specifically says, in its title, that it is for Excel 2007. Even so, the Registry modification that it describes still works in all later versions of Excel, including Microsoft 365.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (13932) applies to Microsoft Excel 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365.