Editing Object Linking and Embedding (section)

==Overview==
OLE allows an editing application to export part of a document to another editing [[software application|application]] and then import it with additional content. For example, a [[desktop publishing]] system might send some text to a [[word processor]] or a picture to a [[bitmap editor]] using OLE.<ref>{{FOLDOC|Object+Linking+and+Embedding}}</ref> The main benefit of OLE is to add different kinds of data to a document from different applications, like a text editor and an image editor. This creates a [[Compound File Binary Format]] document and a master file to which the document makes reference. Changes to data in the master file immediately affect the document that references it. This is called "linking" (instead of "embedding").

OLE can also be used to transfer data between different [[application software|applications]] using [[drag and drop]] or [[Clipboard (software)|clipboard]] operations.