David J. Newman is a Senior Marketing Specialist for PTC’s CAD segment. He works with PTC’s partners so they have the marketing assets they need, and he also is in charge of the strategy and execution for PTC Mathcad marketing.
Editor’s note: PTC Mathcad Prime 11 and the Windows 11 operating system have changed many details provided in this blog. The “Browse for Image…” button no longer appears in Mathcad Prime 11 when using the Image command. Instead, the command will directly open up your file explorer, saving you a click. Additionally, Insert Object in Windows 11 does not embed a thumbnail of image files when inserting an existing file; it will present a generic file box. Insert Object retains its ability to provide a visual thumbnail of the first page, slide, or sheet of Word, PDF, PowerPoint, or Excel files, however, as well as an image created through the Insert Object workflow.
PTC plans to update this article soon after the release of PTC Mathcad Prime 12.
Integrating image files alongside math and text regions, charts, and tables is one of PTC Mathcad Prime’s strengths. Imagery helps get your point across to the end-user of your worksheet by including diagrams or figures of a product you may be mathematically modelling. Images may also be useful for other reasons, like branding your documents with your company’s logo.
PTC Mathcad Prime offers several methods to insert images into your worksheets. This blog will explain the nuanced and meaningful differences between these methods.
Please note: This blog covers only features available in Mathcad Prime 9. Future Mathcad Prime releases have changed some details. This blog also does not cover the Image Processing group of built-in functions.
The PTC Mathcad Prime 10 logo (coming soon!) inserted into a Mathcad Prime 9 worksheet with the three methods described in this blog. This is the same originally transparent PNG file in all three instances. Top: Copy-pasted from Mozilla Firefox | Middle: Using the Image button | Bottom: Using Insert Object
Copy-pasting
The fastest method of getting an image into a Mathcad Prime worksheet is by copy-pasting. You can do that with the keyboard shortcut CTRL + V, right-clicking on an empty space in the document and selecting Paste from the context menu, or by clicking Paste from the Clipboard grouping in the Math tab of the ribbon.
When an image is copy-pasted into a worksheet, it will be presented in its original dimensions. You can use the drag handles on the right and bottom sides of the image to resize it, but both handles are only able to maintain the original aspect ratio. The image will also have a white or black background depending on where it was copy-pasted from, even if it was originally transparent on the clipboard.
The Image button
You can find the Image button contained within both the Math tab and the Documents tab on Mathcad Prime’s ribbon, within the Regions group of both tabs on the left side. Before Mathcad Prime 11, the button will summon a “Browse for Image…” button in the worksheet. Click that and Mathcad Prime will open your file system.
You can also find the Image command from the right-mouse-button context menu in an open space in your worksheet. The image will open with the top left corner starting from where the “Browse for Image…” button was. If the image is large enough, it will automatically be resized to the maximum width of Page View, no matter where the button was placed. Like with copy-pasting, you can only resize the image in its original aspect ratio.
The 2D raster formats PNG, JPG, GIF, BMP, ICO, TIF, and WEBP can all be placed via the Image button. Mathcad Prime can’t browse for vector formats like SVG or proprietary file editor types like PSD or SNAGX. GIF files will not animate in a Mathcad Prime worksheet, but unlike copy-pasting, transparent PNGs will remain transparent.
PNGs are a very common file format for engineers to save figures in, and practically all image editors can save files as PNGs. This even includes the ubiquitous PowerPoint, as depicted by Dr. Pat Heffernan in his informative video below for creating and saving diagrams in PowerPoint and then embedding them into Mathcad Prime.
Insert Object
The final image method is the Insert Object command, found within the Objects grouping in the Input/Output tab of Mathcad Prime’s ribbon. You can also use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + O.
In its intended use, Insert Object allows users to embed files into the worksheet as an image thumbnail so that, when clicked, the file itself opens in its parent application. For example, you can embed a PDF with Insert Object and it will visually show the first page of the PDF. You can then double-click the image to open the PDF. This works with other file types as well, such as the first slide of a PowerPoint presentation, the first tab of an Excel spreadsheet, or the first page of a Microsoft Word document.
Inserting Objects has the unique advantage of being able to Link to an object in your file system. If you edit a linked file in its parent application and then click Update Link, the image will change in your Mathcad Prime worksheet as well. Depending on the nature of the image, this may be a key reason to use Insert Object.
You can also Create New from Insert Object, and you can make a new image from a PowerPoint slide or with “Paintbrush Picture” (Microsoft Paint). This new object will live within Mathcad as opposed to a separate file and it will embed. In the case of Paint, it’ll be a Bitmap file. Within Paint or other applications, you can still import files.
Like copy-pasting but unlike the Image button, Insert Object does not support transparency, so even transparent PNGs will have a white background when brought into PTC Mathcad Prime. They will also be inserted at their full original dimensions, like copy-pasting. However, there is greater control with resizing. You can click Reset Object Size to instantly set the image back to its original size, and you can toggle on or off Preserve Aspect Ratio to squish the object vertically or horizontally with the right-side and bottom-side drag handles. Turning off Preserve Aspect Ratio adds a bottom-right corner drag handle that lets you drag the image around freeform.
You can insert many other types of objects, but not all of them will have a visual representation, depending on the file type. For example, many of the image file types that the Image button supports will instead embed as a rectangle with a generic file symbol and the hyperlinked file name, as opposed to showing the picture itself.
Note that Insert Object is a premium feature of Mathcad Prime that requires a full, paid license or the 30-day free trial.
See the Free vs Premium Mathcad Features in a Worksheet
A page uses Insert Object to embed a PowerPoint slide of a diagram, along with other features.
Download the WorksheetConcluding thoughts about inserting images
As a general rule, the best way to insert image files into a Mathcad Prime worksheet is to use the designated Image button. While copy-pasting is the fastest method and Insert Object can have some interesting applications with Update Link, the Image button is the only method that supports image transparency, which is important for creating professional engineering documents. The Image button also supports the widest amount of image types and is the most user-friendly option when inserting large image files because it automatically resizes.
Use the Image button the next time you need to incorporate imagery into your worksheets!
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