OLE objects can be stored by Microsoft Office 2000 in a variety of ways, depending on both the application (Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft PowerPoint) and the type of OLE object. OLE objects are structured sets of data that are either embedded (stored with the file) or linked (accessed through a path, network, or moniker). Each OLE object type (for example, drawing, music, spreadsheet, and so forth) has a specific server that must be installed to display the object properly.
If an OLE object can be converted to a simple set of HTML or XML elements (such as a shape for a drawing object), the object will be defined with tags.
If an object can be used as an ActiveX control on the Web page, an Object element will be used with the appropriate Param elements included to define the initial values.
Specific applications can set up the OLE object to be saved to a Web page. PowerPoint uses the OLEClientData element to define known types of data and Excel uses ClientData for the same purpose.
If an object cannot be easily converted for display to a Web page, it will be saved as a file (Oledata.mso) and will be retained for reloading back into the originating application.
For more information about OLE objects, see the Microsoft Windows Platform SDK or Inside OLE by Kraig Brockschmidt (published by Microsoft Press).