Microsoft Excel Tutorial: Adding Filterable Text to a Picture in Cell
The new Picture in Cell feature would not work with the Filter drop-downs. A new feature allows you to add text to each picture using the Alt Text panel. This Alt Text will appear in the Filter drop-downs, in XLOOKUP results, in the Pivot Table Filter, and in Pivot Table Slicers.
To download this workbook: Excel Improvements To Picture In Cell - 2608 Sample Files - MrExcel Publishing
Table of Contents
(0:00) Problem Statement: Filtering by Picture
(0:53) Use Alt Text to add Text to Picture in cell
(1:17) Alt Text appears in Filter drop-down
(1:44) Getting Picture from XLOOKUP
(2:15) Use Image in Excel Pivot Table Filter
(3:23) Image Alt Text in Pivot Table Slicer
(3:40) New Right-click options for Image in Cell
(5:02) Wrap up
The new Picture in Cell feature would not work with the Filter drop-downs. A new feature allows you to add text to each picture using the Alt Text panel. This Alt Text will appear in the Filter drop-downs, in XLOOKUP results, in the Pivot Table Filter, and in Pivot Table Slicers.
To download this workbook: Excel Improvements To Picture In Cell - 2608 Sample Files - MrExcel Publishing
Table of Contents
(0:00) Problem Statement: Filtering by Picture
(0:53) Use Alt Text to add Text to Picture in cell
(1:17) Alt Text appears in Filter drop-down
(1:44) Getting Picture from XLOOKUP
(2:15) Use Image in Excel Pivot Table Filter
(3:23) Image Alt Text in Pivot Table Slicer
(3:40) New Right-click options for Image in Cell
(5:02) Wrap up
Transcript of the video:
Hey, some nice improvements to picture in cell in Excel.
Things that they changed here is that we can now change the formula property.
by using the Alt Text panel.
This is really good because it appears in the formula bar and in the filter dropdown and comes along as the result of an Xlookup.
They've also improved the UI to convert picture over cells to picture in cells.
All right, so this new feature came to Insiders Fast a few weeks ago.
Under Insert Pictures, we now have a choice to place over cells, which is the old option, or place in cells, I'll say from this device.
If we would choose multiple pictures at once, they're just going to be added in a column like that. All right?
But the problem that we have is when we use the filter dropdown here, they all just say picture, which makes it not as useful as it could be.
The nice improvement that just happened, right click, and we're going to say view Alt Text.
Now, this panel is usually docked over there on the far right-hand side. I've dragged it off so we can see it.
So this one I'm going to add some Alt Text up, maybe, and then we'll click the next cell and type Alt Text up, no, and then click the next cell and type Alt Text up, yes.
And that simple action right there now changes the filter dropdown.
So that means that I can filter all the nos or all the yeses or all the maybes, which is really, really cool. And in fact, look up here on the Formula bar.
It now shows the Alt Text in the Formula bar, which is really, really good. So here's the use case for this.
So I have a simple little table over here with maybe, no, yes, and a column with the picture.
And I've added the Alt Text to those three pictures.
So here, where I want to do an Xlookup, we'll say Xlookup of that word, yes, no, or maybe into this range here, we'll press F4 comma, and we want to return the picture, press F4, double click and copy that down.
All right, so now if I apply a filter, I can get all of the people that have not met their quota.
Oh, that is just beautiful.
While I was out of town attending to my brother's funeral, Leila dropped this beautiful video announcing that pictures can now be embedded in pivot tables.
And we can make that even better by using the Alt Text to add some text to the image.
So if I would create a pivot table from this, insert pivot table in an existing worksheet right here, click OK.
And we add the image to the filters area and then anything else, name and actual like that, I can now filter to the Alt Text.
So I want to see everyone who did not meet their goal. And so the picture appears and we get the list.
Now, as Leila showed, you could also add the image right into the pivot table like that.
So that is a cool improvement, being able to put images in the pivot table.
But I think using the Alt Text definitely makes that a little bit more usable in that we can choose from the images in that Filter dropdown there.
Oh, look at that, it also works in the slicer.
So the slicer, instead of showing the image is going to show the Alt Text.
This Alt Text is just really an important part of the image in cell.
Makes it much, much better.
Thanks to the Excel team for giving us these improvements.
And in fact, some of the things that were documented in the help topic that weren't working when I did the last video.
So here I'll choose this image which is currently above cells.
I'm going to right click and say place in cell, adds back there.
Let me do this one. Right click, place in cell.
So I can take an existing picture that was above the cells and now move it to be in the cell.
And if I have something that's in the cell, right click picture in cell, there's three options here.
Move it back to place over cells, create a reference, which is a little weird, and show image details.
Now, we could already do show image details with Control Shift F5. That's essentially displaying the card.
They just kind of expose that for people who don't know Control Shift F5.
That's cool, I guess.
Picture in cell create a reference creates a floating picture over the cell that points back to that item.
And had I put Alt Text in there, it would come through.
So that's cool.
And then this one here, right click, picture in cell, place over cells actually just takes it from in the cell and moves it out to be its own floating image, like all the other images we've had for the last 20 years.
But the big news here has to be the ability to use Alt Text to improve the filter dropdown and the filter in the pivot table and in slicers.
Well, hey, I want to thank the Excel team for these great improvements to picture in cell, and I want to thank you for stopping by.
We'll see you next time for another net cast from MrExcel.
If you like these videos, please down below, like, subscribe, and ring the bell.
Feel free to post any questions or comments down in the comments below.
Things that they changed here is that we can now change the formula property.
by using the Alt Text panel.
This is really good because it appears in the formula bar and in the filter dropdown and comes along as the result of an Xlookup.
They've also improved the UI to convert picture over cells to picture in cells.
All right, so this new feature came to Insiders Fast a few weeks ago.
Under Insert Pictures, we now have a choice to place over cells, which is the old option, or place in cells, I'll say from this device.
If we would choose multiple pictures at once, they're just going to be added in a column like that. All right?
But the problem that we have is when we use the filter dropdown here, they all just say picture, which makes it not as useful as it could be.
The nice improvement that just happened, right click, and we're going to say view Alt Text.
Now, this panel is usually docked over there on the far right-hand side. I've dragged it off so we can see it.
So this one I'm going to add some Alt Text up, maybe, and then we'll click the next cell and type Alt Text up, no, and then click the next cell and type Alt Text up, yes.
And that simple action right there now changes the filter dropdown.
So that means that I can filter all the nos or all the yeses or all the maybes, which is really, really cool. And in fact, look up here on the Formula bar.
It now shows the Alt Text in the Formula bar, which is really, really good. So here's the use case for this.
So I have a simple little table over here with maybe, no, yes, and a column with the picture.
And I've added the Alt Text to those three pictures.
So here, where I want to do an Xlookup, we'll say Xlookup of that word, yes, no, or maybe into this range here, we'll press F4 comma, and we want to return the picture, press F4, double click and copy that down.
All right, so now if I apply a filter, I can get all of the people that have not met their quota.
Oh, that is just beautiful.
While I was out of town attending to my brother's funeral, Leila dropped this beautiful video announcing that pictures can now be embedded in pivot tables.
And we can make that even better by using the Alt Text to add some text to the image.
So if I would create a pivot table from this, insert pivot table in an existing worksheet right here, click OK.
And we add the image to the filters area and then anything else, name and actual like that, I can now filter to the Alt Text.
So I want to see everyone who did not meet their goal. And so the picture appears and we get the list.
Now, as Leila showed, you could also add the image right into the pivot table like that.
So that is a cool improvement, being able to put images in the pivot table.
But I think using the Alt Text definitely makes that a little bit more usable in that we can choose from the images in that Filter dropdown there.
Oh, look at that, it also works in the slicer.
So the slicer, instead of showing the image is going to show the Alt Text.
This Alt Text is just really an important part of the image in cell.
Makes it much, much better.
Thanks to the Excel team for giving us these improvements.
And in fact, some of the things that were documented in the help topic that weren't working when I did the last video.
So here I'll choose this image which is currently above cells.
I'm going to right click and say place in cell, adds back there.
Let me do this one. Right click, place in cell.
So I can take an existing picture that was above the cells and now move it to be in the cell.
And if I have something that's in the cell, right click picture in cell, there's three options here.
Move it back to place over cells, create a reference, which is a little weird, and show image details.
Now, we could already do show image details with Control Shift F5. That's essentially displaying the card.
They just kind of expose that for people who don't know Control Shift F5.
That's cool, I guess.
Picture in cell create a reference creates a floating picture over the cell that points back to that item.
And had I put Alt Text in there, it would come through.
So that's cool.
And then this one here, right click, picture in cell, place over cells actually just takes it from in the cell and moves it out to be its own floating image, like all the other images we've had for the last 20 years.
But the big news here has to be the ability to use Alt Text to improve the filter dropdown and the filter in the pivot table and in slicers.
Well, hey, I want to thank the Excel team for these great improvements to picture in cell, and I want to thank you for stopping by.
We'll see you next time for another net cast from MrExcel.
If you like these videos, please down below, like, subscribe, and ring the bell.
Feel free to post any questions or comments down in the comments below.
