Pictures or images can be an integral part of creating a compelling document, worksheet, or presentation, and it is easy to insert a picture into your SmartArt graphic.In this article

Overview of adding pictures

A fill is the interior of a shape. You can add a picture fill to any shape, and some shapes in SmartArt graphics are designed to be placeholders for pictures. By using a layout with a picture placeholder shape, you can obtain a more professional-looking SmartArt graphic, because picture placeholders are designed to work well with an entire SmartArt graphic.

You can also use a picture as the background for your SmartArt graphic.

Picture placeholders cannot be deleted, but you can . If you add a picture and then later delete it, the picture placeholder returns. Picture placeholders cannot be copied, are not printed, and are not displayed in a presentation.

Not all SmartArt graphics have picture placeholders. If you choose a layout that does not have a picture placeholder, you can to the shape or .

Insert a picture into a picture placeholder

  1. Click the picture placeholder inside the shape in the SmartArt graphic.

    picture placeholderPicture placeholder shape

  2. Locate the folder that contains the picture that you want to use, click the picture file, and then click Insert.

Add a picture fill to a shape

  1. Click the shape in the SmartArt graphic that you want to add a picture fill to.

    To add the same fill to multiple shapes, select the first shape, and then press and hold CTRL while you select the other shapes.

  2. Under SmartArt Tools, on the Format tab, in the Shape Styles group, click the arrow next to Shape Fill.

    smartart tools format tab image

  3. Click Picture, locate the folder that contains the picture that you want to use, click the picture file, and then click Insert.

    Note When you select multiple shapes and apply a picture fill, each shape will be filled with the whole picture. The picture will not span the selected shapes.

Add a picture that you copied to a shape

  1. Copy the image or picture that you want to use.
  2. Click the shape in the SmartArt graphic that you want to paste the picture into.

    To add the same picture to multiple shapes, select the first shape, and then press and hold CTRL while you select the other shapes.

  3. On the Home tab, in the Clipboard group, click Paste.

Add a background picture to your SmartArt graphic

  1. Right-click the border of the SmartArt graphic that you want to add a background picture to, and then click Format Object on the shortcut menu.
  2. Click Fill, and then click Picture or texture fill.
  3. Under Insert from, click one of the following:
    • To insert a picture from a file, click File, locate the folder that contains the picture that you want to use, click the picture file, and then click Insert.
    • To insert a picture that you copied to the Clipboard, click Clipboard.
    • To use clip art as the background image, click ClipArt, search for the file that you want to use, and then click OK.
  4. In the Format Shape dialog box, click Close.

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