Object Embedding

Object Embedding

Embedding is similar to linking, but a copy of the object is made and placed into your
document. If you change the original, the changes aren't reflected in your document.
You can't tell by looking whether the Excel chart you see in your Word document is
linked or embedded. Figure 13.5 shows a spreadsheet embedded within a Word document.
FIG. 13.5 A file embedded within another file looks just like a linked file.
Follow these steps to create a similar document yourself:
1. Start Word and enter your text.
2. Click where you want the table to go.
3. Choose Insert, Object.

4. Select the Create from File tab.
5. Enter or select the filename as though this were a File Open dialog box.
6. Do not check the Link to File box.
7. Click OK.
What's the difference? You'll see when you double-click the object to edit it. The Word
menus and toolbars disappear and are replaced with their Excel equivalents, as shown in
Figure 13.6. Changes you make here aren't made in the file you originally embedded.
They are made in the copy of that file that has become part of your Word document.
FIG. 13.6 Editing in place is the magic of OLE embedding.
You embed files into your documents if you plan to build a compound document and then
use it as a self-contained whole, without using the individual parts again. Changes you
make don't affect any other files on your disk, not even the one you copied from in the
first place. Embedding makes your document much larger than it was, but you can delete
the original if space is a problem.