Blank Service Invoice with Logo Picture Illustration

Almost all invoice templates here on InvoicingTemplate.com include a logo image, which in many case is implemented as an ActiveX control. This blank service invoice template sample shows how to use the "Picture" illustration to add the invoice logo.

Both Microsoft Word and Excel support ActiveX controls, and the Image control is one of those useful control, which provides a number of properties for adjust the behavior and effect of the image, for example, back color, back style, border color, border style, picture alignment, picture size mode, picture tiling, placement and special effect etc.

Note, as a service invoice template, it does not included the fields of shipping / delivery address.

The drawback of ActiveX controls is that they are in fact separate programs (DLLs) loaded by Excel. This means it is naturally a more complex solution than using a simple picture object for logo image. In other words, if you just want to put an image on the service invoice form and use it as a logo image, then the Picture object is enough. Best of all, Invoice Manager for Excel accepts and works well with this type of logo images too.

With this blank service invoice template (see our blank invoice templates) we demonstrates how you can delete the default logo image placeholder, which is implemented as an ActiveX control, and replace it with a "Picture" illustration. In this sample of invoice template customization, we'll use c3008 Blank Service Invoice Template as the base template.

Before doing any layout customizations to the blank service invoice template, make sure you have backed it up. This ensure you have a working copy if something goes wrong during the customizations. Although we are providing all the Excel invoice templates and PDF invoice templates for free on InvoicingTemplate.com, it is a good practice to back up the template before modifying it. To make a backup, simply copy the invoice template workbook file in Windows Explorer.

1. Open the blank service invoice template in Microsoft Excel. In this sample, we use Excel 2013.
2. Click the "Design Mode" on the "Invoice" ribbon tab.
3. Click to select logo image. The formula bar shows something like "=EMBED("Forms.Image.1","")", in which the special formula "EMBED" indicates it is an embedded object.
4. Hit DEL on keyboard to delete it.
5. Go to Excel "Insert" ribbon tab.
6. Click "Picture" to load an image, or click "Online Picture" to find and insert a picture from a variety of online resource. In this sample, we insert a PNG image from local computer that shows the text "InvoicingTemplate.com".
7. With the newly inserted picture object selected, you'll find a ribbon tab "Picture Tools / Format" shows. There are a number of options / commands on this tab. For example, with the commands in the "Picture Styles" group, it is just one click to add various frames, shadows, rounded corners, rotated effect, relaxed perspective, bevel perspective, etc., to the picture.
8. Click the "Design Mode" button again once you have done your customization, to exit design mode.
9. Save the template.

In general, use ActiveX controls when you need more flexible design requirements than those provided by Form controls. ActiveX controls have extensive properties that you can use to customize their appearance, behavior, fonts, and other characteristics. However for the purpose of our logo image, the "Picture" illustration provided by Microsoft Excel is very enough too, with the advantages of allowing you to set various image effect, like what we shown in the customization process of this blank service invoice template. Also, the "Picture" illustration object support new image formats like "PNG" etc.