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How to directly insert images, illustrations, and figures into a Paratext project from a searchable database

 
The SIL Repository provides over 2800 black and white or color illustrations. Finding the best image among so many can be a challenge. The best approach is to do an image search from within Paratext, searching by chapter reference or by keyword in multiple languages. Here's how:
 

Download and Unzip Image Files and Folders

Visit the SIL Illustration Samples folder at tiny.cc/sampleimages

  • Either browse within the appropriate language folder for the sets of images you want, and download those OR​​​​
  • Download all images by right-clicking on the language folder and selecting Download.
  • Note that these are low-resolution watermarked images.
    • In all cases except for WBT image sets licensed under CC, the full-resolution originals are available only for bona fide typesetters, who will automatically substitute them for your sample images at typesetting time.
  1. Unzip this collection to a folder within your Pictures folder.
  • This will ensure that the images are included in Windows’ search index.
  • If you’d rather store these files in another location, add that folder to Windows’ search indexing. Here’s how to add it.
  • Troubleshooting: On some systems, the Windows Search Index might be able to return results for filenames but not for key terms, such as "sheep" or "LUK02". This may be because it's been somehow corrupted or misconfigured.
    • If you are unable to diagnose and correct the problem, one workaround is to open the File Explorer App, click on the "3 dots" menu (for More menu items), then click on Options to open the Folder Options dialog. Next, click on the Search tab. Finally, under the heading "When searching in non-indexed locations", check the option for "Always search file names and contents".
    • Alternatively, you can explicitly search for key terms by prefixing them with "tags:". For example, "tags:sheep AND tags:LUK02"

Find and Insert Images in Paratext

  1. In Paratext, position the cursor in the passage where you want to insert a picture.
  2. Go to the Project menu > Insert > Figure...
  3. Click the Browse button:

    Image

     
  4. Navigate to the folder where you unzipped your collection. 
  5. Click in the SEARCH box in the top right corner:
    Image
  6. Enter one or more terms to search for.
  • For example: baptism or dove:
     

Image

  1. There are a number of search terms/filters you can use:
    Search Term/Filter Description Example(s)
    {keyword} Search for an image by keyword. dove
    baptism
    altar
    Bible book Search for a book using the 3-letter Paratext book code. GEN
    MRK
    LUK
    Chapter reference Search for a chapter using the 3-letter book code plus the 2-digit chapter number. GEN03
    MRK01
    JHN10
    OR search OR will include images with any of the search terms.
    Example: Find images of a sheep or lamb
    sheep OR lamb
    digital

    digital will include images with permission to use in a Scripture app.
    Example: Find images of a lamb that can be used in a Scripture app

    sheep digital

    minus {term} Using the minus sign in front of a term will exclude the term from the search.
    Example: Find images of a sheep that are NOT pictures of a lamb
    sheep -lamb
    color The color keyword will include color images (excluding black and white images).
    Example: Find color images of a sheep
    sheep color
    black

    The black keyword will include black and white images (excluding color images).
    Example: Find black and white images of a sheep

    sheep black
  2. You can also combine these filters with parenthesis and additional terms.
  • For example: Find images of sheep or lambs that can be used in a Scripture app: (lamb OR sheep) digital

Adjust Display Settings

  1. Typically, the first time you do a search, you'll need to adjust the display settings for the results.
  2. If your search results are not displayed with extra large icons:
  • In the upper-right corner, click the drop-down arrow to open the view options:

Image

  1. Select “Extra large icons”:

     
  2. Optional View Settings:
  • To make space for even more images, you may want to hide the navigation pane: go to Organize > Layout and uncheck Navigation pane.
  • You can resize this window to fit more images by dragging a corner or edge, or by double-clicking on the title bar to maximize it.
  • Double-click on an image from the search results to select it.
  1. Enter a Caption:
    Image
     
  2. Best Practice: If you only want this illustration to be used in print publications or you don't expect to receive permission to use it in app or Web, enter “p” for Location.
  1. Click OK.

 

 

 

 


Contributors to this page: Den , james_post and dhigby .
Page last modified on Sunday October 19, 2025 19:23:37 GMT-0000 by Den.