Pictures in cells: placement, sorting and compatibility

Use in-cell images deliberately and understand their effect on formulas, spill ranges and XLSX compatibility.

Applies to Grid 0.7.0 on doc.et.

Place a picture in a cell#

Choose Insert → Pictures → Place in Cell, select a PNG or JPEG file, and insert it into the active cell. The picture replaces that cell's contents while keeping its formatting. Undo restores the previous contents.

The picture fits inside the cell without stretching. It follows row and column resizing, sorting, filtering, insertion/deletion and GridCraft's internal copy/cut/paste. Clearing contents removes it; clearing or pasting only formats keeps it. Save as XLSX to preserve the embedded image and its alt text, or export to PDF for a rendered copy.

Place over Cells retains the existing floating-picture behavior.

Calculation and compatibility#

This initial feature handles static pictures. Pasting an image from the operating system's clipboard, converting between floating and cell pictures, and the IMAGE() function remain separate work. Formula references and arithmetic do not carry pictures: the calculation engine uses a #VALUE! fallback, including when a picture is referenced from another cell. Text-only exports also use that fallback. The picture cell still counts as occupied and blocks a formula's spill range.

XLSX stores these pictures as rich values. Readers without support for that format may show #VALUE! instead of the image. GridCraft reads embedded PNG/JPEG rich-value images; unsupported rich content, oversized or damaged picture metadata, and broken image references produce import warnings while the workbook opens with scalar fallbacks. It does not fetch linked images from the internet.

Choose between in-cell and floating placement#

Use Place in Cell for row-based content such as a product list where the image should follow the record during sorting and resizing. Use Place over Cells when the picture is a free-positioned illustration rather than a cell value.

Verify an image workbook#

1. Insert a small PNG or JPEG into an active cell.
2. Resize the row and column and confirm that the image fits without stretching.
3. Save as XLSX and reopen a copy in the application that will receive it.
4. Check whether that application supports rich-value images; an older reader may show a scalar fallback instead.

Keep descriptions in ordinary neighbouring text cells when the workbook must remain understandable in tools that cannot display in-cell pictures.

Continue reading

• Charts, sparklines and visual objects →
• Enter, fill and edit cells →