Let me walk you through how to select all images in Microsoft Excel in tried and tested ways.

Often, you need to select all the images in your Excel worksheet to group images, save as pictures, assign macros, edit size and properties in bulk, and for many other reasons. Irrespective of the purpose, it’s wise for you to know the trick so you can use it whenever you need to do it. Let’s get started!

Click & Drag (Manual Selection)

This method works when the images are in the cells as compared to images over the cells. When Excel objects, like images, are over the cells, you can select the cells in the Excel worksheet, but the images won’t be selected.

Go to an Excel worksheet that contains images in the cells.

Select a cell containing an image.

Now, drag the mouse cursor from that point until you’ve covered all the images of the worksheet.

You can now right-click on the selection to perform other tasks, like adding comments or converting images in cells to images over cells.

You can also copy the images from the source worksheet and paste them somewhere else where you can paste content from the PC clipboard.

Ctrl + Click (Multi-Select)

When images are over the cells, the click and drag method won’t work. You can still manually select those images in the worksheet using the manual selection method.

Click on an image to select it.

Press the Ctrl key on the keyboard.

Now, keep selecting other images one after the other by left-clicking on those once.

Don’t stop until you have selected all the images in the worksheet. During the process, you can’t let go of the Ctrl key either. It must be pressed until you’re done selecting images.

That’s it! You’ve successfully selected all images in your Excel worksheet.

A downside of this method is that you can’t go to another worksheet of the Excel workbook to select more images. It has to be on the active worksheet only.

This method is suitable for a worksheet that has a few images, and all are within your viewing range on the screen. You could scroll the Excel worksheet left to right or up and down; however, it could be challenging for you to select many images following this method.

Ctrl + A (After Selecting One Image)

Sometimes, there could be hundreds of images in your worksheet. This isn’t possible for you to select those one by one after selecting one image and keeping the Ctrl key pressed.

Here, you can use a neat trick of the select all command in Excel, which is Ctrl + A. Let me show you how below.

First, select an image object on the Excel worksheet. These are floating objects because they are placed above the cells.

Alternatively, select the cell containing an image in the source worksheet. Follow this step if the images are placed in the cells.

Now, press Ctrl + A on the keyboard.

This will select all the images that are above or in the cells.

You can now perform all other actions on the selected images, like changing formatting, resizing images, adding comments, adding notes, and many other things that are available in the right-click context menu.

This method is suitable for both in-cell and over-the-cell images.

Select Objects Mode (Arrow Tool)

If you’ve ever tried to move or delete multiple pictures in an Excel sheet and found yourself clicking one by one, there’s a much easier way!

Microsoft Excel has a hidden gem called the Select Objects mode, sometimes referred to as the Arrow Tool. It lets you select all images at once like magic. Whether you’re working with a report, a form, or just got carried away adding graphics, this tool saves serious time.

To use it, head over to the Home tab on the Excel ribbon menu.

In the Editing group on the far right, click on the Find & Select drop-down menu. Then you choose Select Objects from the context menu.

Your cursor will change into a little white arrow.

Now, just click and drag over all the images on your sheet like you’re drawing a box.

That’s it! All images inside that area get selected at once.

You must deactivate the Select Objects function by performing the same steps. Otherwise, all other commands and features of the Home tab won’t function except for the Select Objects tool.

You can also use a shortcut method to activate the Select Objects command in your Excel worksheet containing images.

Press Alt + H + FD + O to activate the function. Repeat the same key combination to deactivate the feature.

You can now move, resize, or delete them together, no Ctrl-clicking needed. It’s super handy, especially when cleaning up a messy workbook or reformatting for a presentation.

A downside of this method is selecting all objects on the active Excel worksheet. When you create a selection box using the Select Objects cursor, you must create the box end to end. It means every part of the objects should be inside the selection box. Else, some objects, in this context, these are images, might get left behind.

To overcome this drawback, you can press Ctrl + A on the keyboard after activating the Select Objects tool.

Doing this, you can select all the objects on the active worksheet, including the images. Then again, if you only need to select all the images and not any other objects on the worksheet, then Ctrl + A won’t be of any help. You must manually draw the selection box.

Go To Special (Objects Selection)

Another easy way to select all images in Excel is the Go To Special tool. It allows you to instantly highlight all objects, including pictures, shapes, charts, and text boxes, with just a few clicks.

Start by clicking anywhere on a blank cell to activate the worksheet. Then press F5 or Ctrl + G on your keyboard to open the Go To dialog box.

In the Go To dialog box, click the Special… button in the bottom-left corner. This opens the Go To Special options. In the new dialog box that opens, use that to choose what types of content to select, like Objects.

From the list of options, select Objects and then click OK to apply the selection.

Excel will now highlight all objects on your worksheet, including every image.

You’ll see all selected images outlined, making them easy to move, delete, or format as a group. This is especially helpful when you’re organizing visuals or cleaning up a report.

This tool has been available since Excel 2003. Hence, this is the most trusted way to highlight all images in the least possible steps without worrying about the Excel edition you’re using.

Selection Pane (Named Object Control)

The Selection Pane in Microsoft Excel is a helpful tool that lets you manage and control all the objects on a worksheet, like images, shapes, charts, or text boxes. Think of it as a backstage view where you can name, show, hide, or select objects without having to click through them manually on the sheet.

To open the Selection Pane, click on any image or shape, then go to the Home tab. From there, click Find & Select on the far right, and choose Selection Pane from the dropdown menu.

Once the Selection Pane opens, you’ll see a vertical list of every object on the current worksheet. Each object, including all inserted pictures, will be listed with default names like Picture 1, Picture 2, and so on.

If you want to select all images, click the first picture listed, hold down Ctrl, and then click on all the pictures on the list one by one. This highlights all images in between, allowing you to move, format, resize, or delete them at once.

For better organization, you can rename each image by clicking on its name in the pane and typing a more meaningful label. This is especially useful when you’re working with many visuals and need to track which image goes where.

You can also hide or show specific images by clicking the eye icon next to their names. This helps declutter your workspace without deleting anything.

VBA Macro (Automated Selection)

You can automate the image selection process in Excel using the VBA macro scripting method. It also allows you to select images from multiple worksheets or from the whole workbook.

I’ve created a simple VBA script that you can use to set up a VBA macro that’ll walk you through the whole process with text and visual prompts.

Before you can start creating the VBA macro, go through this Excel guide:

📒 Read More: How To Use The VBA Code You Find Online

Now that you know the technique to create a VBA macro from a VBA script, use this script to set up a macro:

Sub SelectImages()
    Dim scope As String
    Dim wsNames As String
    Dim wsName As Variant
    Dim ws As Worksheet
    Dim shp As Shape
    Dim totalImages As Integer
    Dim selectedCount As Integer
    
    ' Ask user for the scope
    scope = InputBox("Select image scope: Enter 'active' for active worksheet, 'all' for entire workbook, or 'specific' for specific worksheets.", "Image Selection Scope")
    scope = LCase(Trim(scope))
    
    If scope = "active" Then
        For Each shp In ActiveSheet.Shapes
            If shp.Type = msoPicture Then
                shp.Select Replace:=False
                selectedCount = selectedCount + 1
            End If
        Next shp
        
    ElseIf scope = "all" Then
        For Each ws In ThisWorkbook.Worksheets
            For Each shp In ws.Shapes
                If shp.Type = msoPicture Then
                    shp.Select Replace:=False
                    selectedCount = selectedCount + 1
                End If
            Next shp
        Next ws
        
    ElseIf scope = "specific" Then
        wsNames = InputBox("Enter worksheet names separated by commas (case-insensitive):", "Specify Worksheets")
        If wsNames = "" Then Exit Sub
        
        Dim targetSheets As Collection
        Set targetSheets = New Collection
        
        On Error Resume Next
        For Each wsName In Split(wsNames, ",")
            Set ws = ThisWorkbook.Sheets(Trim(wsName))
            If Not ws Is Nothing Then
                targetSheets.Add ws
            End If
            Set ws = Nothing
        Next wsName
        On Error GoTo 0
        
        If targetSheets.Count = 0 Then
            MsgBox "No valid worksheets specified.", vbExclamation
            Exit Sub
        End If
        
        For Each ws In targetSheets
            For Each shp In ws.Shapes
                If shp.Type = msoPicture Then
                    shp.Select Replace:=False
                    selectedCount = selectedCount + 1
                End If
            Next shp
        Next ws
        
    Else
        MsgBox "Invalid input. Please enter 'active', 'all', or 'specific'.", vbCritical
        Exit Sub
    End If
    
    MsgBox selectedCount & " image(s) selected.", vbInformation, "Selection Complete"
End Sub

Once the macro is ready, press Alt + F8 to launch the Macro dialog box.

Select the SelectImages macro and hit Run.

Excel will ask you to give your preferences, like whether you wish to select images in the active worksheet, the whole workbook, or in specific worksheets.

For specific worksheets, you’ll have to find and enter sheet names.

Once you select, Excel instantly highlights all the images as you specified and shows a confirmation dialog box.

Conclusions

So these are some of the best and proven ways to select all images in an Excel worksheet.

Practice the method that suits your working style and Excel expertise level. Comment below if you’ve found the Excel tutorial helpful.

If you want me to cover a specific Excel skill, comment below.