This is the first video that has shown me a solution to a problem i I had and explained it clearly and precisely. It also showed exactly where and how to navigate within windows. I was thrilled. Thank you so much. I subscribed.
When I insert the picture content control, it gets cut in half across the top border of the table... despite following your exact instructions. Any idea why this would be?
Thank you Natalie - absolutely fuss and frills free - perfectly clear and plain speak demonstration. This is exactly what I was searching for and hence I've subscribed.
@@johnnyjonas564 Hello Johnny, I'm so sorry, I've only just seen your comment. Thanks for the compliment! In my recent jobs, I've had to create different solutions for economic graphs and figures. Some of my clients want them imported in as pictures. For those who want them as active graphs and figures they can edit, I've had to write VBA code to ensure they enter the document in the size they want.
Can you do this with a table with multiple cells? For example, 3 images across the page? I'm not sure how it's going to work when you set the maximum width, given you'd be setting it for the whole table and not the cell.
Many thanks for this instructional video. It was exactly what I needed to know and you explained it so well. I hate tutorials where they speak rapidly and click quickly because you can't see what is happening. Love this video and it should be a gold standard!
Hi Natalie, thank you for the super clear explanation! I've been fiddling around with Word but wasn't able to figure this out so maybe you know if this works and if so, how to do it. I'm trying to get a picture content control into a custom cover page (saving it as a separate building block in the Cover Page Gallery). However when I save it as a building block and insert the new custom cover page, the button to insert a picture disappears and the picture content control changes into a regular (albeit empty) picture/frame. I've tried with Quick Parts and it displays the same behavior. Do you know what might be causing this to happen and if there is a way around it?
Hello! OK, Try this trick, as I found recently it works for me. Where the picture content control is, replace it with a sample image. Open the Format Picture pane and in its 4th tab, open the Crop menu. Set the Crop position width and height to whatever you set the Picture Content Control to. Don't worry if these settings are already what you want - if they are, click and drag the image (not the crop area) ever so slightly larger than the crop area, then press Escape or the Crop button. Now, users can select the image, choose the Change Picture command and Word will replace the sample image with the chosen one, using the same height and width. Let me know if you try this and if it worked for you.
You are very clear & great at explaining things thank you. I have a problem: My developer panel does not look like yours does. I don't have anything called 'Controls' in my developer pallet so I'm at a loss at what do do next. When I search for help nothing comes up in my 'Word' help search..
Hi Melissa, I'm so sorry, I've only just seen this. I assume you have a PC version of Word, so the only thing I can think of is that particular section has been switched off. Are you aware of any modifications to your Developer tab? It is possible to change the User Interface code and switch parts of a tab off. I wonder if the same has happened here. With the Developer tab visible, right-click an empty part of the tab and click on "Customize the Tab" from the shortcut menu. On the right-hand side of the dialog box, you should the word "Developer" with the ticked box next to it. Open it up and check whether the word "Controls" also has a ticked box next to it. If it's not ticked, that means it was switched off, so tick it and it should come back on again, after you click OK.
Hi there. Thank you for this video. I am working on a table with 12 photo place holders. I used a table with several rows and columns in order to have placeholders for each photo. Worked great! But when I go to insert my photo, it is jumping up and out of alignment with the neighboring photo and won't let me reposition it. Do you know what I did wrong or how I can fix this?
Hi Annie! One of the things that might affect the alignment are the text wrap settings of the Picture Content Control or the image. Check that they are all the same, e.g. In Line with Text and if they are at that setting, that the line spacing is set to Single. Check the Table Properties as well, to see what can be changed. Are the cell alignments all the same, e.g. top left or centre? Are the Row Heights set to Exactly or At Least? Maybe if you set to the Row Height to Exactly, then set it to the height you want, that may help to stop an image pushing another one out of position. Even look at things like the text style or paragraph spacing used in the cell - could the paragraph spacing or the font size be affecting things? It's not an obvious area to look at, but as you can see your file, it might be the source of the problem, so setting them to 0 or as small as possible may be the answer. Let me know how you get on!
Thank you very much, Lester! That's really kind of you to say. When you say "other devices", I assume you mean Word on tablets or phones, is that correct? I must admit, I'm so computer-based, my training is still based on computer use. I've found Word on mobile devices doesn't give me what I need, so I rarely use it for anything substantial. Hopefully that changes soon.
@@NatalieLawrenceDesign I figured it out, we placed an instruction for people to replace the image, when I mentioned other devices, I was talking about other PC users, sorry for the confusion,
Great video - very helpful. But when I save my Word document as a template and then re-open it to use it, I don't have the ability to change what appears to be a blue box... Any idea what I did wrong? Do I have to insert an actual photo before saving?
Hi Jesse! Thanks for the comment! No, you shouldn't need to save a photo in it. Please do let me know more details. Are you using Word on a Mac or PC? How big or small is the placeholder you're using? I tend to find the image icon appears when the control is large enough. Sometimes it appears after zooming in or out.
This is very helpful - however, I am experiencing an issue; after I have followed all these steps, I end up with a thin white strip running down at the left of the image; not sure how to resolve this, please help!
@@NatalieLawrenceDesign Hi, thanks for your speedy reply! It happens when the image is deselected. I took another look and the same white line runs down the right side of the image too. It appears as if the image doesn't fill the table all the way. I suspect it could be a setting on the border format of the table. Would you be able to help me, or perhaps send a link to an instructional video I could watch? Thanks!
@@bethanyvye2187 Ah, I think I know what's happened. Have a look at 02:00 - if you've put the Picture Content Control in a table, did you change the internal cell margins to 0 for all of them?
Hi Tes! The Mac version only has three controls and none of them are the Picture Content Control. However, I've worked out one way around this by using macros... check out my latest video th-cam.com/video/dEPMXe3x0ak/w-d-xo.html and you'll see how I did it.
Hi! I assume you mean how to make into a rectangular shape, is that correct? If so, when you select the Picture Content Control, the Picture Format tab appears. Click on the box in the bottom right-hand corner of the Size section of that tab (or right-click the control and choose "Size and Position" from the shortcut menu). In the dialog box, switch off "Lock Aspect Ratio" and then change the Height and Width values to make it into a rectangle.
@@NatalieLawrenceDesign Thanks for your reply. Actually I meant to say that I have a rectangle inserted in my document and I also have a separate image placeholder in that document. Now I want to place that image placeholder onto the rectangle and want to place it in my desired place within the rectangle but not being able to. Can you please help? TIA.
@@moghabibulislamchowdhury2503 Ah, OK. Select the grey tab on top of the Picture Content Control (it has the word "Picture" on it). You need to click on that tab to get the whole control. Press CTRL + X on the keyboard, then right-click the rectangle. Choose "Add Text" (or "Edit Text") from the shortcut menu, then CTRL + V on the keyboard. The picture content control should then paste inside the rectangle.
Hello Das. Thank you for pointing this out. As I mentioned in the description, this is on MS Word 2016 (Office 365) for Windows. For reasons I do not know, Microsoft does not make all the features in the Windows version available in the Mac version. Therefore some of my tutorials will not be applicable to Mac users. I've found the same issue with features missing in PowerPoint as well (e.g. triggers, Zoom); it's disappointing but until Microsoft do something to rectify this, Mac users will continue to be without certain tools that Windows users enjoy.
Thank you for your prompt reply. I was really hoping you would have a solution for me... but the curse of running Microsoft Office on a mac prevails once again!
You're welcome! I wish I did have a solution - I work on a Mac as well and I don't understand why it's not available on that platform. It's so annoying!
Hi Katie! In Excel, there isn't a Picture Content Control, however there is the Image Active X control. If you know VBA, you can use it with that Active X control to create a clickable placeholder that will insert an image.
If you select the Picture Content Control, then press the Properties button in the Developer tab (it's in the same Properties section as the content controls), you'll see a box saying "Content control cannot be deleted)". Tick this and this will stop the placeholder from being deleted.
This is the first video that has shown me a solution to a problem i I had and explained it clearly and precisely. It also showed exactly where and how to navigate within windows. I was thrilled. Thank you so much. I subscribed.
This video is gold when it comes to creating templates and making life on Word easier, thank you very much Natalie!
Hi Eric! That's lovely to hear, thank you for letting me know! I'm glad it's helped you :)
When I insert the picture content control, it gets cut in half across the top border of the table... despite following your exact instructions. Any idea why this would be?
Thank you Natalie - absolutely fuss and frills free - perfectly clear and plain speak demonstration. This is exactly what I was searching for and hence I've subscribed.
Thank you so much for your comment and support!
@@johnnyjonas564 Hello Johnny, I'm so sorry, I've only just seen your comment. Thanks for the compliment! In my recent jobs, I've had to create different solutions for economic graphs and figures. Some of my clients want them imported in as pictures. For those who want them as active graphs and figures they can edit, I've had to write VBA code to ensure they enter the document in the size they want.
Same. Really clear and straight to the point 👍
Can you do this with a table with multiple cells? For example, 3 images across the page? I'm not sure how it's going to work when you set the maximum width, given you'd be setting it for the whole table and not the cell.
Many thanks for this instructional video. It was exactly what I needed to know and you explained it so well. I hate tutorials where they speak rapidly and click quickly because you can't see what is happening. Love this video and it should be a gold standard!
Ah, that's very kind of you, Cindy! Thank you for writing this and I'm glad to hear my video's helped you :)
Absolutely! Wonderfully done.
Hi Natalie, thank you for the super clear explanation! I've been fiddling around with Word but wasn't able to figure this out so maybe you know if this works and if so, how to do it. I'm trying to get a picture content control into a custom cover page (saving it as a separate building block in the Cover Page Gallery). However when I save it as a building block and insert the new custom cover page, the button to insert a picture disappears and the picture content control changes into a regular (albeit empty) picture/frame. I've tried with Quick Parts and it displays the same behavior. Do you know what might be causing this to happen and if there is a way around it?
Hello! OK, Try this trick, as I found recently it works for me. Where the picture content control is, replace it with a sample image. Open the Format Picture pane and in its 4th tab, open the Crop menu. Set the Crop position width and height to whatever you set the Picture Content Control to. Don't worry if these settings are already what you want - if they are, click and drag the image (not the crop area) ever so slightly larger than the crop area, then press Escape or the Crop button.
Now, users can select the image, choose the Change Picture command and Word will replace the sample image with the chosen one, using the same height and width. Let me know if you try this and if it worked for you.
Really imprortant! thanks! i really had a headeck for dont know how to do this... I apreciated your video :)
You are very clear & great at explaining things thank you. I have a problem: My developer panel does not look like yours does. I don't have anything called 'Controls' in my developer pallet so I'm at a loss at what do do next. When I search for help nothing comes up in my 'Word' help search..
Hi Melissa, I'm so sorry, I've only just seen this. I assume you have a PC version of Word, so the only thing I can think of is that particular section has been switched off. Are you aware of any modifications to your Developer tab? It is possible to change the User Interface code and switch parts of a tab off. I wonder if the same has happened here.
With the Developer tab visible, right-click an empty part of the tab and click on "Customize the Tab" from the shortcut menu.
On the right-hand side of the dialog box, you should the word "Developer" with the ticked box next to it. Open it up and check whether the word "Controls" also has a ticked box next to it.
If it's not ticked, that means it was switched off, so tick it and it should come back on again, after you click OK.
Hi there. Thank you for this video. I am working on a table with 12 photo place holders. I used a table with several rows and columns in order to have placeholders for each photo. Worked great! But when I go to insert my photo, it is jumping up and out of alignment with the neighboring photo and won't let me reposition it. Do you know what I did wrong or how I can fix this?
Hi Annie! One of the things that might affect the alignment are the text wrap settings of the Picture Content Control or the image. Check that they are all the same, e.g. In Line with Text and if they are at that setting, that the line spacing is set to Single. Check the Table Properties as well, to see what can be changed. Are the cell alignments all the same, e.g. top left or centre? Are the Row Heights set to Exactly or At Least? Maybe if you set to the Row Height to Exactly, then set it to the height you want, that may help to stop an image pushing another one out of position.
Even look at things like the text style or paragraph spacing used in the cell - could the paragraph spacing or the font size be affecting things? It's not an obvious area to look at, but as you can see your file, it might be the source of the problem, so setting them to 0 or as small as possible may be the answer.
Let me know how you get on!
Thank you for the helpful tip, Natalie. I'm putting this into an Word template for future reporting.
You're welcome, Eugene!
You are simply the best, easy and well guided tutorials,
One problem, the picture insert icon does not disappear when inserting a pic on other devices
Thank you very much, Lester! That's really kind of you to say. When you say "other devices", I assume you mean Word on tablets or phones, is that correct? I must admit, I'm so computer-based, my training is still based on computer use. I've found Word on mobile devices doesn't give me what I need, so I rarely use it for anything substantial. Hopefully that changes soon.
@@NatalieLawrenceDesign I figured it out, we placed an instruction for people to replace the image, when I mentioned other devices, I was talking about other PC users, sorry for the confusion,
Perfect, this video was exactly the fix I was searching for, thank you.
You're welcome! I'm glad you found it useful.
Great video! Thanks! I wonder if there's a way to do this on previous versions or Word.
Thanks a lot, saved me from a lot of headache
You're welcome!
Is this a placeholder if you need to manually resize and crop the images?
Great video - very helpful. But when I save my Word document as a template and then re-open it to use it, I don't have the ability to change what appears to be a blue box... Any idea what I did wrong? Do I have to insert an actual photo before saving?
Hi Jesse! Thanks for the comment! No, you shouldn't need to save a photo in it. Please do let me know more details. Are you using Word on a Mac or PC? How big or small is the placeholder you're using? I tend to find the image icon appears when the control is large enough. Sometimes it appears after zooming in or out.
Excellent video. Right depth of content. 10 out of 10
Thank you for leaving such a lovely comment! I'm glad you liked it :)
This is very helpful - however, I am experiencing an issue; after I have followed all these steps, I end up with a thin white strip running down at the left of the image; not sure how to resolve this, please help!
Hi Bethany, sorry to hear this is happening. Does this occur when you click the image or even if it's deselected?
@@NatalieLawrenceDesign Hi, thanks for your speedy reply! It happens when the image is deselected. I took another look and the same white line runs down the right side of the image too. It appears as if the image doesn't fill the table all the way. I suspect it could be a setting on the border format of the table. Would you be able to help me, or perhaps send a link to an instructional video I could watch? Thanks!
@@bethanyvye2187 Ah, I think I know what's happened. Have a look at 02:00 - if you've put the Picture Content Control in a table, did you change the internal cell margins to 0 for all of them?
@@NatalieLawrenceDesign Yes, the internal cell margins are all at 0...
Thank you! Much appreciated. You made something so obscure, so simple
You're very welcome! Thanks for leaving a comment for me, it's good to know my video's been helpful :)
Help! My Developer tab does not have the Control group icons. (2019 for Mac) Can anyone help?
Hi Tes! The Mac version only has three controls and none of them are the Picture Content Control. However, I've worked out one way around this by using macros... check out my latest video th-cam.com/video/dEPMXe3x0ak/w-d-xo.html and you'll see how I did it.
Exactly what I was looking for - thank you!
You're welcome! Glad it was helpful!
Great job at explaining and very useful.
Thank you! I'm glad you found it useful.
Thank you this was just what I needed.
You're welcome! I'm glad you found it useful. Thank you for leaving a comment, I appreciate it :)
Thank you! Solved my long time problem.
You're welcome! Thank you for letting me know it worked for you :)
Is there a way to use the content control mechanism for embedding files instead of images?
Hi Brian! I don't think there is a ready-made one, so the only option I can think of is to assign a macro to a developer control.
@@NatalieLawrenceDesign Thanks for you response Natalie. I'll keep searching. Stay Safe
Can you please suggest on how to insert this table (image placeholder) onto a shape like rectangle??
Hi! I assume you mean how to make into a rectangular shape, is that correct? If so, when you select the Picture Content Control, the Picture Format tab appears. Click on the box in the bottom right-hand corner of the Size section of that tab (or right-click the control and choose "Size and Position" from the shortcut menu). In the dialog box, switch off "Lock Aspect Ratio" and then change the Height and Width values to make it into a rectangle.
@@NatalieLawrenceDesign Thanks for your reply. Actually I meant to say that I have a rectangle inserted in my document and I also have a separate image placeholder in that document. Now I want to place that image placeholder onto the rectangle and want to place it in my desired place within the rectangle but not being able to. Can you please help? TIA.
@@moghabibulislamchowdhury2503 Ah, OK.
Select the grey tab on top of the Picture Content Control (it has the word "Picture" on it). You need to click on that tab to get the whole control.
Press CTRL + X on the keyboard, then right-click the rectangle.
Choose "Add Text" (or "Edit Text") from the shortcut menu, then CTRL + V on the keyboard. The picture content control should then paste inside the rectangle.
Excellent tutorial
Thank you, I'm glad you liked it!
This does not work on MS word 2016 running on mac. The developer tap does not have the 'controls' section
Hello Das. Thank you for pointing this out. As I mentioned in the description, this is on MS Word 2016 (Office 365) for Windows. For reasons I do not know, Microsoft does not make all the features in the Windows version available in the Mac version. Therefore some of my tutorials will not be applicable to Mac users.
I've found the same issue with features missing in PowerPoint as well (e.g. triggers, Zoom); it's disappointing but until Microsoft do something to rectify this, Mac users will continue to be without certain tools that Windows users enjoy.
Thank you for your prompt reply. I was really hoping you would have a solution for me... but the curse of running Microsoft Office on a mac prevails once again!
You're welcome! I wish I did have a solution - I work on a Mac as well and I don't understand why it's not available on that platform. It's so annoying!
The image content control in the Developer tab is greyed out. How do I fix this?
Never mind. I discovered the document was in compatibility mode and had to save it so that it updated to the newest version of word. Thanks.
No worries, thanks for letting me know!
The female British instructor was a plus
Clear and helpful, thank you
You're welcome :)
Thanks for your video 😊
sometimes it feels like everything in MS Word requires a workaround. nothing is logical or intuitive
I know how you feel :(
You have a beautiful voice.
Oh my gosh Das I am having the same issue as you also. For something so simple it is really causing quite a headache!
Do you know how to do this for Excel?
Hi Katie! In Excel, there isn't a Picture Content Control, however there is the Image Active X control. If you know VBA, you can use it with that Active X control to create a clickable placeholder that will insert an image.
Best video tutorial
Thank you!
most helpful. thank you. my boss will be please!
Excellent! I hope it's proved useful :)
how to remove the image without removing the placeholder?
If you select the Picture Content Control, then press the Properties button in the Developer tab (it's in the same Properties section as the content controls), you'll see a box saying "Content control cannot be deleted)". Tick this and this will stop the placeholder from being deleted.
Excellent! Thank you!
You're welcome! I'm glad it was helpful for you.
The Best I've found. Thank you.
That's very kind of you to say, I'm glad you found it useful!
very nice
thank you
THANKS!
You're welcome, Rebecca!
Thank you