Topic group

Object linking and embedding (OLE) lets you use objects from other Windows applications in your tables.

You can either link objects to or embed objects into OLE fields. Linking inserts a reference to the file from which the object originated, which means that in order to keep the object updated, both the source file and source application must remain available. If the linked object is updated, your OLE field is updated as well.

Embedding places an entire object into the OLE field. Embedding is a more portable solution, but still requires that the application that created the source be available. It can also cause significant enlargement of your table file sizes, which grow by the size of each object you embed plus some OLE reference code for each. And unlike links, embedded objects are not updated when the source object changes. Instead, they become separately editable (in the source application) objects of their own.

An OLE object can be a graphic image, a sound, a document created by a word processor, or any other object or document that can be created by an OLE-compliant server application. For example, Microsoft Word is an OLE server, and any document created in Word can be linked or embedded into an OLE field.

In any OLE exchange, dBASE Plus then becomes the client application.

Whether you choose to link or embed an object into your OLE field, you can launch the server application and load the object for editing by simply double-clicking the OLE field in your running table.