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Save Images from Google Sheets in One Easy Step

No zip files, no “publish to web,” no sketchy extensions. Here’s the one-step trick to pull any image straight out of a Google Sheet, plus how to grab images embedded inside cells.

Patrik CK Google Sheets 2 min read
Extract images from Google Sheets in one click
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The one-step answer

Select the image, hold Shift, right-click, and choose “Save image as…” That’s the whole trick. Below you’ll find the same method for images embedded inside cells, plus the two caveats worth knowing.

Shift + right-click → Save image as
The problem

Why this is harder than it should be

Figuring out how to download and save images from Google Sheets was one of the more frustrating things I’ve had to work out for something that should be so simple. I spent hours on blog posts telling me to save to a zip file, publish to the web, export to Excel, or install a sketchy extension just to save one image. You don’t need any of that. Here’s the simplest way to save an image from a Google Sheet, and you’ll wonder why it isn’t more widely known.

The method

Save an image in one step

Here’s the entire process, no add-ons, no exports:

  1. Select the image in your sheet.
  2. Hold the Shift key.
  3. Right-click the image.
  4. Choose “Save image as…” and pick where to save it.
Holding Shift and right-clicking an image in Google Sheets to Save image as
Hold Shift, right-click, and “Save image as…” appears right in the menu.
Embedded images

For images placed inside a cell

If an image is embedded inside a cell rather than floating over the sheet, there’s one extra move. Right-click the cell, open the Image submenu, and choose “Put image over cells.” That pops the image out of the cell so you can use the same trick: hold Shift, right-click, and select “Save image as…” When you’re done, you can reverse it and drop the image back into the cell right where it was.

The Image submenu in Google Sheets with Put image over cells highlighted
Choose Image → “Put image over cells” to free an embedded image first.
Good to know

A couple of caveats

This trick only works in Google Sheets. The other Google Workspace apps like Docs and Slides don’t offer the same option.

It also only works in Google Chrome. (If you’re not using Chrome… you may want to reevaluate a few life choices.)

Thoughts

So why is it hidden?

Why is something this simple so hard to find? I’m not entirely sure, but I suspect it’s tied to Google’s Open Doc platform, where the standard right-click opens a purpose-built menu tailored to whatever you’ve selected. As for why so many other blog posts recommend all those convoluted workarounds, your guess is as good as mine.

Wrapping up

Short and simple

Just the way I like it. I hope this saved you the headache it once gave me. For more quick tech tips, check out my YouTube channel or the rest of the blog.

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