PowerPoint picture placeholder choice

As the saying goes, a picture speaks a thousand words. PowerPoint offers you multiple image sources to help you create your latest presentation masterpiece, but it isn’t very consistent in how it presents them to you. Let’s fix that!

If you use PowerPoint on Windows you’ll be familiar with the Pictures menu in the Insert tab. It provides you with a way to insert pictures from several different sources such as your computer, stock images, icons and more.

But when it comes to the button icon in the middle of a picture placeholder, you don’t get a choice and instead, Windows File Explorer opens for you – forcing you to choose a file from your computer.

The clever coding wizards at BrightCarbon have created a free add-in that changes this behaviour. Once activated in PowerPoint, you’ll see a menu when you click the button in any dedicated picture placeholder:

This is a great productivity boost because you no longer need to select the placeholder’s frame, move the mouse to the top of the window, click the Insert tab, then the Pictures menu, and finally the source you want. Two clicks is better than four right?

You might also want to get to grips with the way different placeholders behave when using pictures. Echo Swinford, the coauthor of Building PowerPoint Templates, has published this excellent blog article explaining the mysterious curiosities!

If you like this add-in and fancy having something developed specifically for your needs, check out our custom PowerPoint development service.

How to install the Picture Placeholder Choice add-in

Installing the add-in is as simple as downloading it and activating it in PowerPoint. Here’s how:

1. Open Windows File Explorer
2. Copy and Paste this location into the address bar and press Enter:
   %AppData%\Microsoft\AddIns
3. Download the add-in from here and save it in the folder above.
4. Start PowerPoint and click File / Options / Add-ins.
5. Click the Manage menu and select PowerPoint Add-ins, followed by Go.
6. Click Add New… and browse to the folder above to select the downloaded add-in.
7. Click Open and then Close.

How to use it

Fire up PowerPoint and go to any slide with a picture placeholder. Click the button in the middle of the placeholder to see the new choice menu. You can hold the shift key when clicking the picture placeholder button to toggle the new functionality on and off.

How to uninstall it

1. Start PowerPoint and click File / Options / Add-ins.
2. Click the Manage menu and select PowerPoint Add-ins, followed by Go.
3. Select the downloaded add-in.
4. Click Remove and then Close.

Licence

You may use it on as many PCs as you want, indefinitely, without restriction. You are not permitted to repackage it, sell it, or deconstruct it in any way.

Support

First things first, take a look at the knowledge base. Since this is a completely free add-in, we don’t officially offer email support for it, but you can contact us should you have any questions or feedback and we’ll do our best to reply to you.

Mac compatibility

Sorry but Microsoft don’t offer the functionality we need to make this compatible for PowerPoint on macOS. You can ask Microsoft to consider adding this by voting for this feedback idea.