One of the most important components of the Microsoft Windows environment is a technology called OLE (Object Linking and Embedding). OLE is a standardized way of linking Windows applications and sharing data. OLE is a powerful tool that can be a key component of your corporate technology strategy. Edraw has long been a leading example of superior integration with Microsoft Windows and Windows applications, thanks to its use of all the capabilities of OLE. Edraw is a pioneer in the use of OLE technology and is a third-generation OLE application. Edraw Technical offers comprehensive OLE 2.0 support, including object linking, object embedding, drag-and-drop across applications, visual editing and OLE Automation. With full support for OLE 2.0, you can easily integrate Edraw Technical drawings into reports, proposals, presentations, spreadsheets and technical documentation created with other Windows applications. And just as easily, you can drop word-processed text or spreadsheet data into your technical drawings. This saves times and eliminates the need to manually re-enter notes, annotation or schedule information into your drawings.

Edraw Technician’s extensive implementation of OLE Automation (OLE 2.0’s standard programming interface) provides corporations and solution providers with a powerful way to customize EDraw’s features to meet unique needs, and to integrate the program into specific solutions. Integration and compatibility with the Windows desktop means one thing – increased productivity. Edraw Technical operates in similar fashion to your other standard Windows applications – lowering training and support costs.

OLE Objects

OLE Objects in Edraw documents
Edraw Objects in Other OLE-Compatible Applications

Edraw is an OLE-compatible application (supports Object Linking and Embedding). This feature lets you use Edraw drawings in other OLE-compatible software, as well as work with other applications' objects from within Edraw.
OLE-compatibility means that you can combine objects created in different applications, such as pictures, audio and video files, etc., within a single document.

OLE Objects in Edraw documents

You can link data from other applications to your document. When you create a link to another application's object, your document stores only a reference to the location where its file resides (not the linked object itself). When you change the original data file, all the changes are reflected in your document.

To modify a linked object, double click the OLE object.

You can embed objects created in other applications into your Edraw document, and also use objects from Edraw in other applications - for instance, illustrate your text documents with charts, diagrams and other drawings. All the embedded data is stored with the document, even if the original file exists.

To modify an embedded object, double click the OLE object.

If there are other OLE-compatible applications on your system, you can create and insert a new OLE object into your document, and then edit such an object from within Edraw .

To insert a new OLE object, perform the following steps:

1. On the Insert menu, click OLE object, the Insert Object dialog will appear.

2. Choose Create New to create a new object.

3. From the Object Type list, choose the needed type.
   If the needed file type is not found in the list, the corresponding application is probably not installed on your system.

4. If you need the object to be displayed as icon only, check Display As Icon.

5. Click OK.

A new object editing window will appear. In this window you can create a new object using the tools of the corresponding OLE-application.
To finish editing the object, click away from the object (if it is in the Edraw window).

To edit an OLE object that already exists in your document, double click the OLE object.

Edraw Objects in Other OLE-Compatible Applications

You can create Edraw objects from within another OLE-compatible application and insert it into your document. For instance, you can insert a Edraw drawing into a Word document.

To insert a Edraw document into another OLE-compatible application, do the following:

1. In the OLE-compatible application, activate the document in which a Edraw object should be inserted.

2. On the Insert menu, choose Object. The Insert Object dialog will appear.

3. Choose the Create New option.

4. From the list of the object types available, choose Edraw Document.

5. If you need the document to be displayed as icon only, check the Display As Icon option.

6. Click OK.

You will start editing the new object in the Edraw window. To get back to the primary application, choose Exit from the File menu.

To modify a Edraw document within another OLE-compatible application, double click the Edraw document object.

You can insert objects stored in Edraw files into the documents in other OLE-compatible applications.

To do this, perform the following steps in the in the OLE-compatible application:

1. On the Insert menu, choose Object. The Insert Object dialog will appear.

2. Choose the Create From File option.

3. Click Browse and select the needed Edraw file to insert in your document.

4. To link the selected file, check the Link option. The object in the file will be stored apart from the document, and all the changes made in the source file will be reflected in your document.
   Otherwise (if the Link option is unchecked), the object will be embedded and stored with the document.

5. If you need the object to be displayed as icon only, check the Display As Icon option.

6. Click OK.

If you need to insert an object from an open Edraw document into a document in another OLE-compatible application, perform the following steps:

1. Select the object.

2. Copy it onto the Clipboard - you can use the Copy command from the Edit menu, or the Copy button on the toolbar.

3. In the target application, activate the document in which the object should be inserted.

4. From the Edit menu in the application, choose Paste.

Note:  If you select and copy several objects in Edraw , they will be pasted into the application's document as a single object, though when you double-click to edit it as an OLE object, the components can be edited separately.