Windows Resources Decrease With OLE Objects in Word/XL/PowerPt

• Microsoft Excel, version 5.0, 5.0c
• Microsoft Graph, version 5.0
• Microsoft PowerPoint, versions 4.0, 4.0a, 4.0c
• Microsoft Windows for Workgroups operating system version 3.11
• Microsoft Windows operating system version 3.1
• Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 6.0, 6.0a, 6.0c

SYMPTOMS

If you insert a Microsoft Graph 5.0 Chart object, a Microsoft WordArt object or an Equation Editor 2.0 object in a Word for Windows document, a Microsoft Excel worksheet, or a PowerPoint for Windows presentation, Windows loses available GDI (system) resources. (To display the percentage of available Windows resources, switch to Windows Program Manager and choose About Program Manager from the Help menu.)

If you insert additional Graph 5.0 Chart, WordArt or Equation Editor objects, Windows continues to lose available system resources. Closing the file that contains the objects will restore Windows resources.

After you sufficiently deplete your Windows resources, memory errors may occur in Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, or other Windows- based applications. Some applications, including Word, may not even start.

This problem does not occur when you insert Graph 5.0 Chart, WordArt or Equation Editor objects in the following Microsoft applications:

• Microsoft Publisher
• Microsoft Works
• Windows Write

CAUSE

Both Microsoft Excel and Word start a separate Graph or WordArt session each time you insert a new Graph 5.0 Chart or WordArt object in the document. Each Graph or WordArt object keeps its respective session of Graph running even after returning to the document. PowerPoint uses only one Graph session per document regardless of how many Graph objects are inserted into the presentation. That Graph session remains active even after returning to the document. If several PowerPoint presentations remain open for editing, each presentation can have its own session of Graph running.

NOTE: The active Graph session in PowerPoint can be replaced by another OLE edited object such as an embedded Microsoft Excel chart. If the Microsoft Excel chart is the last OLE object edited in the presentation, then Microsoft Excel will continue to run in that presentation. PowerPoint minimizes the loss of system resources by allowing only one active OLE application at a time per presentation. The accumulation of open Graph, WordArt, or other OLE object sessions quickly depletes your available Windows GDI resources.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article.

WORKAROUND

Method 1: If your Windows system resources are depleted by the multiple

          insertion of Graph 5.0 Chart or other OLE objects, save,
          close and reopen the Word document, Microsoft Excel
          worksheet, or PowerPoint presentation. The OLE objects will
          close and release system resources. However, editing the
          objects again will once more leave them running in the
          document.

          place (that is, in the Word or Microsoft Excel window), open
          the chart in a separate Graph 5.0 window. To do this, select
          the Graph 5.0 Chart object and choose Edit Chart Object from
          the Edit menu. From the menu that appears, choose Open.

          worksheet. Instead, insert a Microsoft Graph 3.0 object or
          Microsoft Excel Chart object.

If you want to run both Graph 3.0 and 5.0 on your computer, you need to set the AutoConvert option in Graph 5.0 to "off." To turn off this option, either run the AUTOCONV.EXE program, located in the Graph 5.0 program directory, or rerun Setup and choose No when Setup asks whether you want to enable the AutoConvert option.

MORE INFORMATION

Microsoft Graph 5.0 ships with Microsoft Access version 2.0 and Microsoft PowerPoint version 4.0. After you install Microsoft Access or PowerPoint, other Windows-based OLE 2 applications (such as Microsoft Excel or Word) can use Graph 5.0 as well.

REFERENCES

"Microsoft Word User's Guide," version 6.0, pages 303, 595-597