Mail Merge Photo Issue

Question

Mail Merge Photo Issue

Holli Miller 0

I am doing a work project and am creating letters to send to different customers, each with their own individual photo. My photo paths are under one excel column. When i try to finish the mail merge, all the letters are only showing the first picture. I have tried refreshing/updating but this does not fix the issue. How do I fix this issue to where all the letters have the correct photos?

Chris Duong 10,705 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-02-19T21:25:22.7566667+00:00

Hi @Holli Miller,

I hope everything is going well on your end.

I’m following up on the support thread we've been working through together. I wanted to check in and see if the information I shared in my previous answer helped resolve the issue you were experiencing.

If you're still experiencing any issues or have further questions, please feel free to reach out at any time. I’m always happy to help if you need anything else.

I want to ensure everything is functioning smoothly and that your experience remains seamless.

Thank you again for your collaboration throughout the troubleshooting process.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Holli Miller 0 Reputation points

2026-02-19T22:19:45.5066667+00:00

Hi! Unfortunately, this did not work for me. I have triple checked my paths, field syntaxes, and have refreshed/updated, but the issue still persists.
Chris Duong 10,705 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-02-19T22:43:00.96+00:00

Hi @Holli Miller,

Thank you very much for your update, and I truly appreciate the time you spent carefully rechecking your paths, field syntax, and refresh steps. I’m sorry to hear that the issue is still occurring despite your thorough attempts.

Given what you’ve described, it seems the behavior may be caused by something more complex than the usual Mail Merge image‑field caching problem. While INCLUDEPICTURE normally updates correctly after forcing field refreshes, there are cases where deeper system-level factors such as local Word configurations, policy restrictions, or organizational settings prevent images from updating properly even when everything is set up correctly.

Because of this, I’ve reached the limit of what I can troubleshoot through the standard tools and guidance available to me. As a moderator, I don’t have access to system diagnostics, configuration logs, or the ability to run remote investigations, so I’m unable to dig deeper into what might be happening on your specific environment.

At this point, the best next step is to open a support request directly with Microsoft Support through the Microsoft 365 Admin Center (If you don’t have admin permissions, please reach out to your organization’s IT administrator so they can submit the request for you).

Once the request is created, a Microsoft Support agent will contact you or your IT admin directly. They have the tools, permissions, and visibility required to run environment‑specific diagnostics and provide a targeted fix or the most appropriate workaround.

Thank you again for your patience and understanding.

I truly hope your issue gets resolved quickly, and if there’s anything else I can help clarify in the meantime, please feel free to let me know.
Holli Miller 0 Reputation points

2026-02-20T17:50:47.9366667+00:00

Thank you so much! I appreciate your help.
mary anne welch 0 Reputation points

2026-09-13T18:42:50.4166667+00:00

This worked for me { INCLUDEPICTURE { IF TRUE "{ MERGEFIELD PhotoPath }" } \d }

2 answers

Your answer

Chris Duong 10,705 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-02-19T21:25:22.7566667+00:00

Hi @Holli Miller,

I hope everything is going well on your end.

I’m following up on the support thread we've been working through together. I wanted to check in and see if the information I shared in my previous answer helped resolve the issue you were experiencing.

If you're still experiencing any issues or have further questions, please feel free to reach out at any time. I’m always happy to help if you need anything else.

I want to ensure everything is functioning smoothly and that your experience remains seamless.

Thank you again for your collaboration throughout the troubleshooting process.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Holli Miller 0 Reputation points

2026-02-19T22:19:45.5066667+00:00

Hi! Unfortunately, this did not work for me. I have triple checked my paths, field syntaxes, and have refreshed/updated, but the issue still persists.
Chris Duong 10,705 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-02-19T22:43:00.96+00:00

Hi @Holli Miller,

Thank you very much for your update, and I truly appreciate the time you spent carefully rechecking your paths, field syntax, and refresh steps. I’m sorry to hear that the issue is still occurring despite your thorough attempts.

Given what you’ve described, it seems the behavior may be caused by something more complex than the usual Mail Merge image‑field caching problem. While INCLUDEPICTURE normally updates correctly after forcing field refreshes, there are cases where deeper system-level factors such as local Word configurations, policy restrictions, or organizational settings prevent images from updating properly even when everything is set up correctly.

Because of this, I’ve reached the limit of what I can troubleshoot through the standard tools and guidance available to me. As a moderator, I don’t have access to system diagnostics, configuration logs, or the ability to run remote investigations, so I’m unable to dig deeper into what might be happening on your specific environment.

At this point, the best next step is to open a support request directly with Microsoft Support through the Microsoft 365 Admin Center (If you don’t have admin permissions, please reach out to your organization’s IT administrator so they can submit the request for you).

Once the request is created, a Microsoft Support agent will contact you or your IT admin directly. They have the tools, permissions, and visibility required to run environment‑specific diagnostics and provide a targeted fix or the most appropriate workaround.

Thank you again for your patience and understanding.

I truly hope your issue gets resolved quickly, and if there’s anything else I can help clarify in the meantime, please feel free to let me know.
Holli Miller 0 Reputation points

2026-02-20T17:50:47.9366667+00:00

Thank you so much! I appreciate your help.
mary anne welch 0 Reputation points

2026-09-13T18:42:50.4166667+00:00

This worked for me { INCLUDEPICTURE { IF TRUE "{ MERGEFIELD PhotoPath }" } \d }

Answer 1

mary anne welch 0

This worked for me: { INCLUDEPICTURE { IF TRUE "{ MERGEFIELD PhotoPath }" } \d }

0 comments

Answer 2

Hi @Holli Miller,

Welcome to the Microsoft Q&A forum.

Thank you very much for reaching out regarding the issue where all letters in your Mail Merge are showing the same image. I appreciate you taking the time to explain the steps you’ve tried so far.

After reviewing your description, it appears that the behavior you’re experiencing is related to how Word handles the INCLUDEPICTURE field during Mail Merge. By default, Word only loads the first image and does not automatically refresh the picture fields for each record unless the setup and update steps are done in a specific way.

Word caches the first image it loads from the INCLUDEPICTURE field during Preview or Finish & Merge. As a result, every merged document ends up displaying the same picture even though your Excel file contains different image paths.

Here are my recommendations, please follow the steps below:

1/ Make sure your Excel column contains the full image path
Example:
C:\Photos\Customer001.jpg
If the path contains spaces, Word requires quotation marks for it to work correctly.

2/ Insert the image merge field using the correct syntax

In Word, press Ctrl + F9 to insert field brackets { } (typing them manually will not work).
Inside the brackets, enter:

{ INCLUDEPICTURE "{ MERGEFIELD PhotoPath }" \d * MERGEFORMAT }

Replace PhotoPath with the name of your column.

3/ Finish the merge and update fields

Go to Mailings > Finish & Merge > Edit Individual Documents
Once the merged document opens, press:
- Ctrl + A (Select all)
  - F9 (Update all fields)
    This forces Word to refresh each image so that every letter displays the correct one.

Notes: It is normal that Preview Results may still show repeated images. The images will update correctly only after you generate the final merged document and refresh the fields.

For additional information, you can refer to these articles:

Please note that this information is being provided by the moderator solely for your convenience. The referenced sites are not managed or overseen by the moderator, and therefore we cannot guarantee the accuracy, security, or suitability of any software or content available there. We recommend reviewing all information carefully and ensuring you understand any associated risks before following suggestions from the provided link.

4/ Contact Microsoft Support

If the issue persists even after these steps, it may stem from a deeper system-level cause. In this case, I recommend contacting your organization's IT administrator, who can submit a support request to Microsoft through the Microsoft 365 Admin Center. They’ll be able to access system-level information to investigate the issue thoroughly and provide assistance. At the very least, they can offer the most effective workaround to ensure your experience remains smooth and secure.

We kindly ask for your understanding that, as moderators, we do not have access to the administrative tools or permissions required to investigate or modify these configurations. We also do not have the capability to initiate remote sessions for direct assistance. Our role is to guide users to the appropriate resources and support channels.

I hope this information is helpful. Please follow these steps and let me know if it works for you. If not, please feel free to share them in the comments on this post so I can continue to support you.

I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this.

If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it.

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