OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) is simply a way for one app to call another app and pass info around. You could create a table of data in Word and then link that data (using OLE) to Excel where it turns it into a graph and then link that graph (again using OLE) back into the Word document. In this way you could make changes to the data in the Word document, hit refresh and get an updated graph without having to open Excel again, OLE does it for you. No help at all with trying to use specific Excel features. From within VB you can reference the Excel object and gain access to just about everything a spreadsheet can do, but like
JHausmann said, the user will still have to have Excel on their machine. You do not need to shell out to start Excel though, the app can do that. If that is what you really need, write back and I'll look up the code for you, I've done it, but it's been a few months.

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WebMan