Differences Between OLE 1.0 and 2.0 As Seen in Word and Excel

• Microsoft Word for Macintosh, versions 5.0, 5.0a, 5.1, 5.1a, 6.0, 6.0.1
• Microsoft Excel for Macintosh, versions 5.0, 5.0a

SUMMARY

This article describes differences between OLE 1.0 and OLE 2.0 as seen in Word versions 5.x (which use OLE 1.0), Word versions 6.0 and 6.0.1 (which use OLE 2.0), and Microsoft Excel versions 5.x (which use OLE 2.0).

MORE INFORMATION

Inserting Objects

Objects can be inserted in both Word 5.x and Microsoft Excel 5.x by clicking Object on the Insert menu and selecting the desired object. In Word 5.x, a collection of both Word and Microsoft Excel's available objects appears in the dialog box. In Microsoft Excel 5.x, only Word 5.x's objects will appear because Microsoft Excel's objects are built into the program.

Linking Objects

Links can be created by selecting and copying some information and then clicking Paste Special on the Edit menu and then clicking Paste Link in the dialog box.

When you link information between programs that use different versions, characteristics of the link are dictated by the version of OLE in the destination program.

OLE 2 ENHANCEMENTS

The following list documents the features that are present in OLE 2.0 that are unavailable in OLE 1.0 programs:

• OLE drag and drop editing between programs
• In-place editing
• OLE automation/complex DDE
• Automatic re-establishment of links - In Microsoft Excel 5.x and Word 6, when a source file is moved or renamed, the program will attempt to relocate the source file either through the Open dialog box or automatically. In Word 5.x (OLE 1.0), when a source file is renamed or moved, the link is broken and links must be reset manually by editing the link options.
• Ability to link embedded OLE 2.0 objects
• Link to file - When you insert a complete file or a picture via the Insert menu, there is an option to link to the source file. This is not an option in Word 5.x.
• Updating multiple links at once - Links in Word 6.0 are inserted using fields. These can then be selected all at once and updated simultaneously.

Additional OLE Servers

Word 6.0 comes with several new OLE 2.0 servers including:

• Microsoft Equation 2.0
• Microsoft Movie
• Microsoft Voice Annotation
• Microsoft Word 6.0 Document
• Microsoft Word 6.0 Picture
• Microsoft WordArt 2.0

Word 5.x contains earlier implementations of some of these servers, three of which are plug-in modules (Voice Annotation, Movie, and Picture). These plug-in modules are available only in Word, and, therefore, they cannot be accessed by clicking the Object command on the Insert menu in Microsoft Excel 5.x. Because Microsoft Graph 3.0 is an OLE 1.0 program and is installed with Word 5.x, it will be available to both Word 5.x and Microsoft Excel 5.x.

In OLE 1.0, OLE commands are handled by the programs themselves. With OLE 2.0, programs use the Microsoft OLE extension which is located in the Extensions folder. This modular design in OLE 2.0 places less burden on the program.