OLE objects and pictures

You can insert OLE objects in modules as icons. If you do not insert the OLE object as an icon, you see the contents of the file in the object. You can create a blank OLE object, for example you could insert a new Microsoft Excel spreadsheet or you can insert an existing file. You can also insert pictures in modules. You can edit the contents of OLE objects, but you cannot edit pictures.

OLE was originally introduced by Microsoft as "Object Linking and Embedding". It was later rebuilt on the Microsoft component architecture known as COM (Component Object Model). This model enables you to either embed an object within another file or place an object within a file as a link.

If you insert an existing file, you can either link it to the file on your system, or embed it. If you link an OLE object, the path to the file on your system is stored with the OLE object. If someone later updates the file, the change is reflected in IBM® Rational® DOORS®.

If you embed an OLE object, you copy the file to the Rational DOORS attribute. If someone later updates the original file, the change is not reflected in the copy of it in Rational DOORS.

You can insert OLE objects into any text attribute in Rational DOORS. There is no limit to the number of OLE objects that can be inserted. However, OLE objects can affect performance. You cannot insert an OLE object into the Object Heading attribute.

If an attribute is displayed in a traceability column in another module, any OLE objects that have been inserted in the attribute are also displayed.

Note: OLE 1.0 images cannot be displayed on systems that are running Microsoft Windows 7 or later. OLE 2.0 is supported on those operating systems.
Restriction: If you insert a PDF as an OLE object in a module and your system is associated with Adobe Reader, an error is displayed if other users try to open the PDF on computers that are associated with other PDF readers, such as the PDF-XChange Viewer. The following error is displayed: This OLE can not be activated because its associated application is not available. To avoid this problem, insert the PDF on a computer that is not associated with a PDF reader.
Restriction: OLE objects cannot be edited in Rational DOORS Web Access, but you can edit the text in an object that contains an OLE object. When you edit an object in DOORS Web Access, which contains an OLE object, the following error might occur when you try to edit the same OLE object later on a DOORS client: This OLE object is a static metafile and cannot be activated. To avoid this problem, ensure that you install Microsoft Office on the machine that hosts the DOORS Web Access interop servers.
Note:

If the size of the OLE object exceeds the default maximum of 21 MB, the OLE object is removed when you save the module. To avoid this problem, reduce the size of the OLE object, or do these steps on the Rational DOORS client machine:

  1. Open the Registry Editor (regedit.exe) and go to the OLE key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Ole.
  2. Below the Ole key, add a new key as a DWORD (32-bit) Value with the name: MaximumAllowedAllocationSize.
  3. Right-click and modify the new DWORD (32-bit) Value.
  4. Set the value data to 4294967295 (Decimal) - FFFFFFFF (Hexadecimal).
  5. Reboot the machine.