OLE Linking and Embedding

The differences between linked objects and embedded objects which may affect you, concern where the data is stored, and how it is updated after you place it in the destination file. With linked OLE objects, the source of the OLE object data remains in the original data file of the application that was used to create it, and only a copy of the data is ever displayed in the destination document. The data is updated only when the source file is modified. Embedded OLE objects duplicate and store a local copy of the source file data within the destination document data file, and are not linked to the source file. That is, the data copy in the destination file does not change when you modify the source file.

With both linked and embedded OLE objects, when the OLE object in the destination document is double-clicked, the original application (that was used to create the data) of the OLE object is launched to permit editing of the data using that source program's editor. Linked OLE objects store their data back in the original source data files, while embedded OLE objects store their data in the destination program data files.