Pivotable report does not display embedded cell images

Question

I am trying to analyse a range organised as a database which also contains embedded pictures in the cells of one of the fields. The pictures were inserted using the Excel command "Insert pictures, place in cell". The pictures reside on a Onedrive shared folder and are also individually linked to the place in the Onedrive where they reside, so when you click on the image it open sup in a picture viewer. I've tried several ways to post an image of what he screen looks like but the system here failed to upload the image very time.....

I can construct a Pivotable report on this range and it works fine, except when I include the field that contains the image. Instead of displaying the image it just displays the word "picture', which nullifies the objective of the report.

Answer 1

Hi Johan at IMVUKO Art,

Welcome to the Microsoft community.

It seems you're striving to maintain the visual aspect of images within an Excel pivot table when attempting to create one that includes cells with embedded pictures. Unfortunately, Excel pivot tables do not natively support the display of embedded images.

At the core of Excel pivot tables' functionality lies the aggregation, analysis, and restructuring of numeric and textual data. They are not designed to handle complex objects like images directly, focusing instead on efficient data handling and comparison tasks rather than intricate visual elements.

To align with your reporting needs within Excel's confines, I propose several potential solutions:

Utilize Hyperlinks: Given that your images are already linked to their OneDrive locations, consider replacing embedded images in your data source with hyperlinked text directing to those images. While the pivot table won't display the images directly, users can swiftly access them by clicking the hyperlinks.

Descriptive Text: If these images denote categories or statuses, ensure each is accompanied by clear descriptive text. Inclusion of this text in your pivot table ensures that even without the visible images, the necessary information is conveyed through the descriptions.

Alternative Visualization Techniques: Contemplate whether charts, icon sets (should the images serve as category indicators), or other data visualization methods could indirectly communicate the information carried by the images, albeit potentially sacrificing some immediacy of visual representation.

Should you have further inquiries or need additional assistance, please don't hesitate to respond.

Best Regards,

Jonathan Z - MSFT | Microsoft Community Support Specialist