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Graphics file types Excel can use
 

You can insert many popular graphics file formats into your workbook either directly or with the use of separate graphics filters. You don't need a separate graphics filter installed to insert the following graphics file formats: Enhanced Metafile (metafile: A vector-based graphic. Metafiles are represented as collections of lines rather than pixels, so you can manipulate them without the distortions common to bitmap (raster) graphics.) (.emf), Joint Photographic Experts Group (.jpg), Portable Network Graphics (.png) (PNG: A graphic file format that is supported by some World Wide Web browsers. PNG supports variable transparency of images (alpha channels) and control of image brightness on different computers (gamma correction). PNG files are compressed bitmaps.), Microsoft Windows Bitmap (bitmap: A picture made from a series of small dots, much like a piece of graph paper with certain squares filled in to form shapes and lines. When stored as files, bitmaps usually have the extension .bmp.) (.bmp, .rle, .dib), Graphics Interchange Format (.gif) (GIF: A graphics file format (.gif extension in Windows) used to display indexed-color graphics on the World Wide Web. It supports up to 256 colors and uses lossless compression, meaning that no image data is lost when the file is compressed.), and Windows Metafile (.wmf) graphics. However, you do need a graphics filter installed to insert all other graphics file formats in this list. If you didn't install the filter you need when you installed Microsoft Excel on your computer, you can add the graphics filter.

ShowComputer Graphics Metafile graphics filter

The Computer Graphics Metafile graphics filter (Cgmimp32.flt) supports Version 1 of CGM 1992. The filter handles all three encodings and interprets and supports all elements, and will correctly handle all valid .cgm graphics files.

The major industry profiles of ATA (Air Transport Association) and CALS (Continuous Acquisition and Life Cycle Support) are fully supported by the Computer Graphics Metafile filter. The filter has been certified as ATA-compliant and CALS-compliant by testing administered by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

If you install the filter during Setup, the following files are installed: Cgmimp32.flt, Cgmimp32.fnt, Cgmimp32.cfg, and Cgmimp32.hlp.

This filter has the following limitation: CGM 1992 Versions 2, 3, and 4 are not supported.

ShowEncapsulated PostScript (.eps) graphics filter

The Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) graphics filter (Epsimp32.flt) supports the Adobe Systems Encapsulated PostScript Specification versions 3.0 and earlier. The filter supports .eps images from Tagged Image File Format (TIFF) (Tagged Image File Format (TIFF): A high-resolution, tag-based graphics format. TIFF is used for the universal interchange of digital graphics.) and Windows Metafile (.wmf) embedded previews.

If an EPS graphics file contains an embedded TIFF or Windows Metafile preview, a representation of the image appears on the screen. The quality of the preview depends on the resolution of the TIFF or Windows Metafile image embedded in the EPS file when it is created. Low, medium, and high resolutions are generally available for creating an EPS file. The higher the resolution of the preview image, the larger the EPS file size will be. Because such previews are intended primarily to be used to position images on the page, resolution is often low. A high-resolution preview is not necessary because it is discarded when the EPS file is printed to a PostScript printer.

If an embedded TIFF or Windows Metafile preview is not included in the EPS graphic you import, the graphic displays a message instead of a preview of the graphic in your workbook. However, the graphic prints correctly to a PostScript printer. If you print an EPS graphic to a non-PostScript printer, the preview image is printed as it appears on the screen.

EPS graphics are designed to be printed on a PostScript printer.

ShowEnhanced Metafile (.emf)

The Enhanced Metafile graphics filter (Emfimp32.flt) converts Enhanced Metafiles (.emf) to Windows Metafiles (.wmf). You must have the Enhanced Metafile filter installed to insert an .emf file into a Microsoft Excel workbook as a Microsoft Clip Gallery object or a Microsoft Photo Editor object. However, to insert an .emf file directly into a Microsoft Excel workbook, you don't need the Windows Metafile filter.

ShowGraphics Interchange Format (.gif) filter

The Graphics Interchange Format filter (Gifimp32.flt) supports file format versions GIF87a (including interlacing) and GIF89a (including interlacing and transparency).

You don't need the GIF filter to import and export GIF files, nor do you need the filter to save a workbook that contains GIF images as a Web page (*.htm or *.html). You must have the GIF filter installed to import and export GIF images to the Microsoft Clip Gallery and to import pictures into Microsoft Photo Editor. You also need to have the GIF filter installed to export a single chart to a GIF file by using Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications.

You don't need the GIF filter to insert animated GIF images into Excel workbooks. When you save a workbook that contains an animated GIF image as a Web page, the animation is preserved. You cannot perform certain editing operations— such as cropping or changing the fill, border, or shadow— on an animated GIF image. Make these changes in an animated GIF editing program, and then insert the file again.

The GIF filter imports only the first image of a multi-image GIF file.

ShowJPEG File Interchange Format file

The Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) graphics filter (Jpegim32.flt) supports Version 6.0 of the JPEG File Interchange Format (JFIF). The filter supports cyan-magenta-yellow-black (CMYK) JPEG files. You must have the JPEG filter installed to insert a JPEG file into a Microsoft Excel workbook as a Microsoft Clip Gallery object or a Microsoft Photo Editor object. The JPEG filter is also used to export a single chart to a JPEG file by using Microsoft Visual Basic for Applications. However, to insert a JPEG file directly into a Microsoft Excel workbook, you don't need the JPEG filter.

The filter does not support JPEG Tagged Interchange Format (JTIF) files.

ShowMacintosh PICT (.pct) graphics filter

The Macintosh PICT graphics filter (Pictim32.flt) is used to import Macintosh PICT graphics. Rename your Macintosh PICT files with the .pct extension when you copy them to a computer that uses Microsoft Windows so that Microsoft Office for Windows can recognize the files as PICT graphics. For example, if you have a graphics file named Bear on the Macintosh, you should rename the file to Bear.pct before you insert the file into a file for Windows.

ShowWindows Bitmap (.bmp, .rle, .dib) files

The Windows Bitmap graphics filter (Bmpimp32.flt) supports Windows and OS/2 bitmaps, Run Length Encoded (RLE) bitmaps, and device-independent bitmaps (DIB). You must have the Windows Bitmap filter installed to insert a bitmap file into a Microsoft Excel workbook as a Microsoft Clip Gallery object or a Photo Editor object. However, to insert a bitmap file directly into a Microsoft Excel workbook, you don't need the Windows Bitmap filter.

ShowWindows Metafile (.wmf)

The Windows Metafile graphics filter (Wmfimp32.flt) supports the Windows Metafile format. You must have the Windows Metafile filter installed to insert a Windows Metafile into a Microsoft Excel workbook as a Microsoft Clip Gallery object. However, to insert a Windows Metafile directly into a Microsoft Excel workbook, you don't need the Windows Metafile filter.

ShowWordPerfect Graphics (.wpg) import filter

The WordPerfect Graphics import filter (Wpgimp32.flt) supports WordPerfect Graphics Versions 1.0, 1.0e, and 2.0, which correspond to WordPerfect Version 6.x and earlier. For .wpg images created in DrawPerfect, the picture frame size is the size of the screen.

This filter has the following limitations:

  • PostScript information is lost in Encapsulated PostScript images embedded in WordPerfect Graphics files.
  • WordPerfect Graphics files with large, embedded bitmaps might not appear properly on computers that use the Mach series video drivers from ATI. If you think you have this problem, try running Microsoft Windows Setup and changing your video driver to the 8514/a drivers supplied with Windows.

ShowOther graphics filters

From the Microsoft Office Web site, you can download other graphics filters that allow you to insert many popular graphics file formats into your documents. For more information, see the Microsoft Office Web site.

You can also go to the Microsoft Office Web site at any time by clicking Microsoft Office Online on the Help menu.

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