1.1 What is OLE?

OLE is a set of extensible application protocols that enables one application to use the services of another application in a nearly-seamless manner. Applications that follow the OLE protocols will be able to create documents that contain linked or embedded information from documents created by other applications; such a document is referred to as a container document. A container document has objects that are still connected to the original application that created them. For example, a user can link or embed a spreadsheet in a word-processing application, and keep the connection to the spreadsheet open. Unlike normal cutting and pasting, the data in an OLE object can be:

linked (where the data resides in another, separate document), or

embedded (where the data resides in the container document).

In either case, the object can be edited only by the application that created it, not the application whose document it currently resides in.

Objects can include text, charts, spreadsheets, bitmap pictures, vector drawings, sounds, video clips, and anything else that can be displayed or controlled by an application.