Operation Manual

OLE
Working with embedded vs. linked objects
16
326 Crystal Reports User’s Guide
Linked objects
When a linked object is inserted into a report, Windows copies a snapshot of
the data (not the data itself) from a file that already exists. The image of the
object is added to your report along with a reference to the data used to
create it. The actual data remains with the original file.
When the object is activated from within a report, the original file is opened
inside the application that was used to create it. Any changes you make
directly affect the original file also.
If you want the data in an object to remain available to other applications, and
always reflect the most current changes to the data, link the object to the
report. An automatic link is refreshed from the source file every time the
report is loaded; a manual link is refreshed only when you request it. You can
force a refresh, break a link, or redefine the link in the Edit Links dialog box.
When you have a linked object and you break the link using the Links dialog
box, all connections to the original data in the server document are broken. A
linked object in a container application is merely a representation of that
object and a link between the object and the server document. When you
break the link you’re left with only the representation, with no relationship to
the original data or to the editing capabilities of the server application. In this
situation, Crystal Reports turns the object into a static object, a stand-alone
object that can neither be edited using OLE capabilities nor converted into an
editable OLE object.
u
To link a bitmap image object
1. On the Insert menu, click OLE Object.
The Insert Object dialog box appears.
2. Select Create From File.
The dialog box changes, enabling you to enter an object name or
browse.
3. Click Browse and choose a bitmap file (BMP).
4. Click Open to return to the Insert Object dialog box.
5. Select the Link check box.
6. Click OK to return to the report.
An object frame appears.
7. Place this object just to the right of the embedded object.
8. Right-click this object and observe that this object is identified as an OLE
object.