Creating OLE annotations

OLE annotations enable you to annotate a chart with information that has been created, and is stored within, another Windows® program that supports OLE. For example, you could create an OLE annotation of:

Spreadsheet data stored in Microsoft Excel®.
A simple graphic that you have drawn in Paint.
An animation that you have saved as an AVI file.
A sound recording that you have saved as a WAV file.

The OLE annotations you can create depend on the OLE-compatible programs that you have installed on your computer. For example, if you do not have Excel on your computer, you will not be able to create an OLE annotation linking to an Excel spreadsheet.

To create an OLE annotation:

On the Format tab, in the Annotations group, click Object, then move the pointer over the bar chart. The cursor changes shape to indicate the way in which the annotation will be attached.
When the cursor is the shape you want, hold down the left mouse button and drag. A dotted outline follows the pointer's movements:
When the outline is the size that you want, release the mouse button (you can easily change the size of the annotation later so you do not have to get it exactly right). The Insert Object dialog appears.
There are two ways to insert the annotation object:

To create the annotation object in a new file, select the Create New radio button. All the OLE-compatible programs installed on your computer are listed in the Object Type field. Choose the program that you want to use (the 'source' program). If you want an icon rather than the annotation object to be displayed on the bar chart, select the Display As Icon check box. Click OK to create the annotation object.
To insert an existing file as the annotation object, select the Create from File radio button. Enter the path and file name in the File field, or click Browse to select the file. Select the Link check box to link to the file so that whenever the object is edited in its source program, the changes are reflected in Asta Powerproject when the view next refreshes. If you want an icon rather than the annotation object to be displayed on the bar chart, select the Display As Icon check box. Click OK to create the annotation object.

Once you close the Insert Object dialog, either of the following happens:

The Asta Powerproject interface (menus and toolbars) changes to the interface of the source program with a bounding box showing where the object will be inserted. Create or edit the object in the bounding box which is selected on the bar chart. To finish your edits, click away from the bounding box. The interface changes back to Asta Powerproject's and the annotation remains selected.
The source program opens for you to create or edit the object. When you have finished your edits, save the file if you might need to use it again, then close the source program. The annotation remains selected.

Click away from the annotation to deselect it.

If you have chosen to display an OLE annotation as an icon, double-click the icon to view the annotation.

When you create an OLE annotation by linking to a file, the OLE object is not copied into the project - it is referenced at its current location. If you rename or move the file to another directory on your hard disk, the link to the file is broken and Asta Powerproject is unable to display it on the bar chart. When an OLE annotation link is broken, the bounding box that contained the OLE annotation is displayed empty. If you double-click the bounding box, the Insert Object dialog is displayed so that you can recreate the OLE annotation.