Docs

Images and attachments

Putting pictures in a document, what they cost you in storage, and why they travel inside the file.

On this page

Drag an image onto the page, paste one from the clipboard, or use Insert, then Image. It uploads and appears where you dropped it. Images can be up to 10 MB each, in PNG, JPEG, GIF, WebP, AVIF, BMP, TIFF, HEIC or HEIF.

QuestionAnswer
Biggest image10 MB per image
FormatsPNG, JPEG, GIF, WebP, AVIF, BMP, TIFF, HEIC, HEIF
Counted againstThe storage allowance of the person who owns the document
Stored whereInside the document, and carried inside an exported .nemi

SVG files are not accepted as document images, because an SVG can carry code as well as a picture.

Resizing and placing#

Select an image and drag the handle at its corner to resize it. The width is stored with the image, so everybody opening the document sees it at the size you set rather than at whatever their window happens to be. Free placement, where you drag an image to a spot and the text wraps around it, is being rolled out. If dragging an image only moves it between paragraphs, that is what you have, and it has not been switched on for your account yet.

What an image costs you#

The bytes are attributed to the document owner, and it is the owner's storage allowance that decides whether the upload is allowed. That has one consequence worth knowing: when a guest with an edit link, or a colleague in your workspace, adds a picture to a document you own, it comes out of your allowance and not theirs. It also means a document somebody shared with you cannot quietly eat your storage.

Removing an image from a document releases its storage again: Nemi reclaims pictures that are no longer referenced anywhere in the document the next time you upload one. Deleting the document deletes its images too, permanently.

Why the images live in the file#

A .nemi you export carries the actual image bytes inside it, not links back to Nemi. That is what makes an export a real backup: open it on another account, on another machine, or years later, and the pictures are still there. A document exported as HTML or Markdown keeps its text, but those formats have no envelope to carry pictures in, so .nemi and Word are the exports that keep a document whole.

DropDrag a file onto the page
PasteStraight from the clipboard
InsertThe formatting bar, then Image
ImportA Word file brings its pictures with it
Four ways in. All four end up as the same thing: an image stored inside the document.

Other things you can drop on a page#

Dropping a text-like file, such as a Word document, a Markdown file or a CSV, inserts its content at the point where you dropped it rather than replacing the document. Other file types are not attachments to a document: put them in Files and link to them, which also gives you a share page, a password and an expiry date if the file deserves them.

The image uploaded but shows as broken.

Reload the tab first. If it is still broken, the upload did not finish; delete the placeholder and add it again. Report it if it happens twice with the same file.

Can I add alt text?

Alt text is kept on images that carry it, including images that came in from a Word or Excel import, and it is read out by screen readers. See Reading comfort and accessibility.

My phone photos are HEIC. Will they work?

Yes, HEIC and HEIF are accepted. If you are handling a lot of photographs rather than a few illustrations, Gallery is the better place for them: it compresses on your device before uploading.

Related

Still stuck? Email support@nemilab.com and tell us what you were trying to do.