OLE linking not working

[_Philip_Bitar_]

FM 7.2, Windows XP



Both source file and destination file are FM 7.2 files.



In the source file, I copy the text of interest to the Clipboard.



In the destination file, I choose Paste Special, but the Paste-Link option is grayed out, disallowing me from pasting the link. A note at the top left says "Source: Unknown source". The Paste option works, but not the Paste-Link option.



According to the FM 7.2 documentation, these steps should work, but they don't.

[MichaelKazlow]

Philip,

FrameMaker has never played well with OLE, avoid it at all costs.

Mike

[AxialInfo]

I don't believe pasting from the clipboard is actually an OLE process -- OLE only works between specific applications, not with the clipboard.

As Mike says, OLE in FM can be very touchy -- OLE is inherently touchy because it depends on having the linked and linked-to files in exactly the same place and same version etc etc as the link was originally created with. Change one aspect and the link is blotto.

[R__VanDyke]

Philip:

I have a very vague recollection that the "Source: Unknown source" message actually arises as a consequence of a Windows security "feature".

As I recall, OLE is but one of the many ways that a Windows user program or operation can under certain circumstances irredeemably corrupt the operating system. So Microsoft, as it so often seems to do, "fixed" the security hole by disabling an entire category of operation; in this case the pasting, whether by human or non-human process, of all OLE objects.

Or so I recall from those days when Windows 95 roamed the earth...

Cheers, hope this helps, & have a GREAT weekend,
Riley

[_Philip_Bitar_]

Thanks for the insights.



OLE linking must have been disabled because the instructions are simple, and I followed them exactly.



Given that, I'm curious as to the best way to present, say, a paragraph of text in multiple places.

[MichaelKazlow]

Philip,

That is very easy in Frame. Just import the text from another file by
reference. You can import as often as you like. Change the original text
and the imported text will change. Same goes for graphics imported by
reference.

Mike

[AxialInfo]

Philip, one more significant issue -- to use OLE there must be an OLE "server" application and an OLE "client" application. The server app is the one whose file is being accessed; the client app is the one "consuming" the result. I believe FM 7.2 is an OLE client, but not an OLE server, so it is impossible to use OLE to do an FM-to-FM OLE import. I suspect this holds true for FM 8 as well.

[_Philip_Bitar_]

Mike,



Thanks for the tip!



I see that I can import text by paragraph by placing each paragraph into its own tagged flow.



Philip