SHARING INFORMATION WITH OTHER APPLICATIONS
An embedded OLE object is a copy of data, so changes made to the original file are not reflected in Lotus NotesR. To create an embedded object, both the original application and your operating system must support OLE technology.
When you click an embedded object a new menu appears in Lotus Notes that reflects the type of application.
Once you have embedded the data you can expand and view it in the Lotus Notes window. You may also be able to change other attributes of the object.
For more information, see Modifying an OLE object or ActiveX custom control using Lotus Notes properties.
Perform any of the following tasks related to embedding data.
To embed part of a file into a document
You can embed part of a file from another application into an IBM Lotus Notes document. If the application has OLE 2.0 technology you can drag and drop the data into Lotus Notes.
1. In the application, select the data you want to embed.
2. Copy it to the clipboard.
3. In Lotus Notes, open the target document in Edit mode.
4. Click in a rich-text field where you want the object to appear.
5. Click Edit > Paste Special.
6. Click Paste.
8. (Optional) Click Display as icon to display the data as an icon.
9. Click OK.
Note: If you create an embedded object whose source application allows embedding, you can embed additional objects in the original object. This is called compound embedding.
To embed an entire file into a document
You can embed a whole file as an object in an IBM Lotus Notes document.
1. Open the document you want to add the embedded object to.
2. Click where you want the object to appear.
3. Click Create > Object.
4. Click Object from a file.
5. In the File box, enter the path to the file and the file name, or browse to find the file you want.
6. (Optional) Click Display as icon to display the data as an icon.
7. Click OK.
Note: If you're using Windows, you can use drag and drop to embed a file created with an application that supports OLE 2.0. To do so, click Start > Programs > Windows Explorer, right-click the file, drag the file from Explorer, drop it into a rich-text field in the Lotus Notes document, and click Create Embedded Object here from the menu that appears.
To embed new data into a document
You can embed a new object into an IBM Lotus Notes document. When you create a new object, Lotus Notes opens a blank work file in the application you select so you can enter data. When you save the data, it is saved as an object in Lotus Notes (instead of as a separate file).
If you select a source application that supports OLE 2.0, Lotus Notes opens the blank work file directly in Lotus Notes.
1. With the document in Edit mode, click where you want the object to appear.
2. Click Create > Objects.
3. Select Object.
4. Select an object type that corresponds to the application you want to use.
5. (Optional) Click Display as icon to display an icon instead of the embedded data.
8. If the object was launched:
You can drag and drop data from many applications into an IBM Lotus Notes document if the source application supports OLE 2.0 Once in the document, the data is an embedded object -- changes to it will not affect the original file.
Note: Not all applications implement this feature the same way. If the procedure below does not work, refer to the documentation for the application you are using.
1. In Lotus Notes, open the target document in Edit mode.
2. In the application, select the data you want to embed.
3. Press and hold Ctrl, and click the outline of the selected data.
4. While holding Ctrl, drag the selection to the Lotus Notes document and drop it where you want the object to appear. Holding Ctrl while you drag copies the data; dragging alone cuts the data out of the source file.
Note: If you're using Windows, you can drag and drop data from an OLE 2.0 server application to Lotus Notes using the Windows desktop. To do so, copy the data to the Clipboard, click the right mouse button on the Windows desktop, and click Paste Shortcut. Then drag the shortcut from the Windows desktop and drop it in the Lotus Notes document.
To expand an embedded object
If an object's source application supports OLE 2 "in-place" editing, you can tell IBM Lotus Notes to expand the object to fill the entire Lotus Notes window.
1. With the document in Edit mode, click the object.
2. Click Edit > Properties.
3. In the first panel of the object's properties box, click Size object to Window.
4. Close the object's properties box.
5. Save and close the document.
6. Reopen the document in Edit mode, and double-click the object.
Note: If the Lotus Notes document contains information other than the object, you cannot view that information while the object is expanded.
To edit an embedded object
You can edit an embedded OLE object's data by launching the original application from IBM Lotus Notes. If you're using Windows, and the original application supports OLE 2.0, you can also edit "in-place" using the application's commands and toolbar directly in Lotus Notes.
Editing an embedded OLE object in the original application (out-of-place)
1. With the document in Edit mode, highlight the object (single-click).
2. Click Object Menu > Open.
3. Edit the data in the original application.
4. Click File > Exit & Return to Lotus Notes (or the application's command equivalent).
5. To save the new data in Lotus Notes, click File > Save.
Editing an embedded OLE object in Lotus Notes (in-place)
You can edit "in-place" if the source application supports OLE2.
1. With the document in Edit mode, double-click the object.
2. Edit the data.
4. To save the new data in Lotus Notes,click File > Save.
Note: If an OLE2 object is very large (for example, a spreadsheet containing several hundred lines), it's best not to edit the object "in-place." Instead, click the object and click Object Menu > Open. Then edit the object in the application's window.
To copy an embedded object or picture of an embedded object
You can make an editable copy of an embedded object, or just a picture, in which the data can only be read.
2. Click Edit > Copy to create an editable copy of the object.
4. In an IBM Lotus Notes document, click Edit > Paste.
Related topics Sharing information with other applications Object linking and embedding Adding a custom control to a Lotus Notes document