Set the movie and image formats for Numbers spreadsheets on Mac
Numbers keeps movies and images in their original format, regardless of whether or not the format can be viewed on older computers and devices. You can change the optimisation settings if you want to make sure videos and images using newer formats — for example, High Efficiency Video Encoding (HEVC), High Efficiency Image Codec (HEIC) or Apple ProRes — can be viewed on any computer or device.
Optimise video and image formats
When you add HEVC, HEIC and ProRes media files to your spreadsheet, Numbers can convert them into H.264, JPEG and PNG so they can be viewed on older Mac, iPhone and iPad devices.
Go to the Numbers app
on your Mac.Choose Numbers > Settings (from the Numbers menu at the top of your screen), then click General at the top of the settings window.
In the Adding Media section, choose a combination of options for the results you want:
Keep all movies and images in their original format: Deselect both the “Optimise media for iPhone and iPad” tickbox and the “Optimise media for older devices” tickbox. Movies and images may not display on all devices, or in all versions of macOS, iOS and iPadOS.
Convert HEVC, HEIC, ProRes and other media in unsupported formats to H.264, and images in unsupported formats to a compatible format: Select both the “Optimise media for iPhone and iPad” tickbox and the “Optimise media for older devices” tickbox. HEVC, HEIC, ProRes and other formats known to be unsupported on older devices are converted to H.264, JPEG or PNG so they can be displayed on all devices and versions of macOS, iOS and iPadOS.
Convert HEVC, HEIC and ProRes movies and images to H.264, JPEG and PNG, but keep other media files in their original format: Deselect the “Optimise media for iPhone and iPad” tickbox, then select the “Optimise media for older devices” tickbox. If your media is HDR, it will be converted to SDR. Movies in H.264 format play on all devices and versions of macOS, iOS and iPadOS but movies and images in unsupported formats may not display on all devices.
Keep HEVC, HEIC and H.264 movies and images in their original format, but convert ProRes and other unsupported formats: Select the “Optimise media for iPhone and iPad” tickbox, then deselect the “Optimise media for older devices” tickbox. Movies in ProRes or other unsupported formats are converted to HEVC. If your computer or device does not support HEVC, the movie is converted to H.264. Images in PNG and TIFF are converted to a compatible format.
These settings apply only to movies and images you add from now on, and not to any existing media in your spreadsheets.