OLE objects > Inserting OLE objects

Note: The use of OLE objects is only possible with the Windows version of Write.

By choosing the ribbon command Insert | OLE object frame (click directly on the icon itself), you embed an object into a Write document, which you created with another application. After embedding such an object, you can still edit it with the application that you originally used to create it.

The command opens a dialog box with a list of all applications that can provide OLE objects. The entries which are displayed here depend on the OLE-enabled programs that are installed on your system.

If you select "Paintbrush Picture", for example, a window from Window’s Paint program (called Paintbrush in some versions of Windows) will open. Create a picture in it and then exit Paint. The picture is now embedded in your document. It can be edited again at any time – simply double-click on the picture in the document.

To insert an OLE object into a document, proceed as follows:

1.	Position the text cursor where you want to insert the object in the document.

2.	Choose the ribbon command Insert \| group Objects \| OLE object frame . To do so, click directly on the icon itself.

3.	A dialog box appears. From the list Object Type, select the source application from which you want Write to receive the OLE object.

4.	When you confirm with OK, Write will start the application that corresponds to the selected object type.

5.	Create the object in the application.

6.	Exit the application.

7.	The application may now ask if you want to update the object in the Write document. Confirm this with "Yes".

The OLE object created in the other application is now created in the Write document as an OLE object frame.

Tip: If you click on the icon's arrow under Insert | OLE object frame instead of on the icon itself, you will find a small selection of useful applications for quick access: PlanMaker worksheet object, PlanMaker chart object and Presentations object. For other applications, select More to access the dialog box described above.

Converting OLE object frame into an OLE object (without frame)

OLE objects are automatically inserted in Write as fixed OLE object frames on the page. To convert the OLE object frame into an OLE object included in the body text without a frame, proceed as follows:

Select the object after inserting it and choose the command Convert on the ribbon tab OLE object (in the group Objects) or select the entry Convert to embedded object via the context menu.

To differentiate: An OLE object inserted into the text without a frame is treated by Write as if it were a letter in the middle of the text. Thus, it is integrated into the body text. In contrast, OLE object frames are anchored at fixed positions on the page by default – thus they do not change their position when you insert or delete text above the picture. Of course, you can also move OLE object frames at any time. For more information, see Changing position and size of OLE objects.

Creating an OLE object from a file

If you don't want to create a new OLE object, but want to embed an existing file from another application as an OLE object, you still choose the ribbon command Insert | OLE object frame, but you select the option Create from File in this case.

The appearance of the dialog box changes: Instead of the list Object Type, the File input field is displayed. Here, enter the full file name or click on the Browse button to open a dialog box that will enable you to search your hard disk for the file.

If you specify a file and confirm with OK, the file will be inserted as an OLE object.

In doing so, Windows checks the file name extension to see if it is associated with a program that can be started and it responds accordingly. If the file name extension is not registered, only an icon will appear for the embedded file. If, on the other hand, Windows can associate the name extension with an OLE-enabled program, the content of the embedded file will be displayed.

Creating a link to the original file

For the option Create from File in the aforementioned dialog box, you can also select whether the file to be inserted should be embedded or linked. If you leave the option Link disabled, Write will insert a copy of the file into the document as an OLE object and save this copy in the document – thus the object will be embedded in the usual way.

If, on the other hand, you enable the option Link, Write will insert the OLE object in the form of a link to the original file. This does not change anything in terms of use. If you subsequently change the original file of the OLE object with another program and reopen the Write document, however, the OLE object will have also changed accordingly – the OLE object will thus be linked to the original file.