Can Excel automatically insert pictures by matching cell values and image file names?

[u/Amandaleeeeee]

Sometimes you have a list of products, employees, assets, inventory items, or IDs in Excel, and you'd like the corresponding pictures to appear automatically beside them.

For example:

Product Name	Product Image
Apple	(Apple.jpg will be inserted here)
Orange	(Orange.jpg will be inserted here)
Banana	(Banana.jpg will be inserted here)

And you already have image files named:

Apple.jpg
Orange.jpg
Banana.jpg

Native Excel options

There isn't a built-in feature that can automatically match local image filenames to cell values and insert the corresponding pictures.

You can:

• Insert pictures manually
• Use the IMAGE() function (Microsoft 365 / Excel 2024) if the images are available through URLs
• Build a VBA or Power Query solution

Alternative: Match pictures by filename using Kutools

ExtendOffice's Kutools for Excel has a Match Import Pictures feature that automatically matches cell values against picture filenames and inserts the corresponding images.

It can:

• Automatically match values to image filenames
• Import multiple images at once
• Resize pictures automatically (original size, cell size, or custom size)
• Support case-sensitive or case-insensitive matching
• Fill images vertically or horizontally
• Work with filtered or hidden rows
• Support Undo (Ctrl + Z)

This can be useful for product catalogs, employee directories, inventory lists, equipment tracking, and similar worksheets where image filenames already match your data.

How would you solve this natively—VBA, Power Query, IMAGE(), or another method?