--- title: "OLE Objects and Online Video" --- {{% alert color="grey" %}} *Purpose Summary. What is this page about?* This page demonstrates how to insert OLE objects—including setting package properties, accessing raw data, and inserting as icons—and how to embed online videos (via URL or HTML embed code) into Word documents using Aspose.Words for Python via .NET. {{% /alert %}} OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) is a technology by which users can work with documents containing "objects" created or edited by third-party applications. That is, OLE allows an editing application to export these "objects" to another editing application and then import them with additional content. In this article, we will talk about inserting an OLE object and setting its properties, as well as inserting an online video into a document. ## Insert OLE Object If you want OLE Object, call the [insert_ole_object](https://reference.aspose.com/words/python-net/aspose.words/documentbuilder/insert_ole_object/) method and pass it the **ProgId** explicitly with other parameters. The following code example shows how to insert OLE Object into a document: {{< gist "aspose-words-gists" "e9d8f984dac599756ccb4a64b8c79768" "Examples-DocsExamples-DocsExamples-Programming with Documents-working_with_ole_objects_and_active_x-DocumentBuilderInsertOleObject.py" >}} ### Set File Name and Extension when Inserting OLE Object OLE package is a legacy and "undocumented" way to store embedded objects if an OLE handler is unknown. Early Windows versions such as Windows 3.1, 95, and 98 had a Packager.exe application that could be used to embed any type of data into the document. This application is now excluded from Windows, but Microsoft Word and other applications still use it to embed data if the OLE handler is missing or unknown. The `OlePackage` class allows users to access the OLE Package properties. The following code example shows how to set the file name, extension, and display name for OLE Package: {{< gist "aspose-words-gists" "e9d8f984dac599756ccb4a64b8c79768" "Examples-DocsExamples-DocsExamples-Programming with Documents-working_with_ole_objects_and_active_x-InsertOleObjectwithOlePackage.py" >}} ### Get Access to OLE Object Raw Data Users can access OLE object data using various properties and methods of the `OleFormat` class. For example, it is possible to get the `OLE` object raw data or the path and name of a source file for the linked OLE object. The following code example shows how to get OLE Object raw data using the [get_raw_data](https://reference.aspose.com/words/python-net/aspose.words.drawing/oleformat/get_raw_data/) method: {{< gist "aspose-words-gists" "e9d8f984dac599756ccb4a64b8c79768" "Examples-DocsExamples-DocsExamples-Programming with Documents-working_with_ole_objects_and_active_x-GetAccessToOLEObjectRawData.py" >}} ### Insert OLE Object as an Icon OLE objects can also be inserted into documents as images. The following code example shows how to insert OLE Object as an icon. For this purpose, the [DocumentBuilder](https://reference.aspose.com/words/python-net/aspose.words/documentbuilder/) class exposes the [insert_ole_object_as_icon](https://reference.aspose.com/words/python-net/aspose.words/documentbuilder/insert_ole_object_as_icon/) method: {{< gist "aspose-words-gists" "e9d8f984dac599756ccb4a64b8c79768" "Examples-DocsExamples-DocsExamples-Programming with Documents-working_with_ole_objects_and_active_x-InsertOLEObjectAsIcon.py" >}} The following code example shows how to inserts an embedded OLE object as an icon from a stream into the document: {{< gist "aspose-words-gists" "e9d8f984dac599756ccb4a64b8c79768" "Examples-DocsExamples-DocsExamples-Programming with Documents-working_with_ole_objects_and_active_x-InsertOLEObjectAsIconUsingStream.py" >}} ## Insert Online Video Online video can be inserted into Word document from the *"Insert" > "Online Video"* tab. You can insert an online video into a document at the current location by calling the [insert_online_video](https://reference.aspose.com/words/python-net/aspose.words/documentbuilder/insert_online_video/) method. The [DocumentBuilder](https://reference.aspose.com/words/python-net/aspose.words/documentbuilder/) class introduces four overloads of this method. The first one works with the most popular video resources and takes the `URL` of the video as a parameter. For example, the first overload supports simple insertion of online videos from [YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/) and [Vimeo](https://vimeo.com/) resources. The following code example shows how to insert an online video from *Vimeo* into a document: {{< highlight python >}} doc = aw.Document() builder = aw.DocumentBuilder(doc) # Pass direct url from youtu.be. url = "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_1LYZ102RA" width = 360 height = 270 shape = builder.insert_online_video(url, width, height) doc.save(docs_base.artifacts_dir + "WorkingWithOleObjectsAndActiveX.insert_online_video.docx") {{< /highlight >}} The second overload works with all other video resources and takes embedded HTML code as a parameter. The HTML code for embedding a video may vary depending on the provider, so contact the respective provider for details. {{% alert color="primary" %}} Please note that the document will be automatically optimized for MS Word 2013 to show video. {{% /alert %}} The following code example shows how to insert an online video into a document using such HTML code: {{< highlight python >}} doc = aw.Document() builder = aw.DocumentBuilder(doc) # Shape width/height. width = 360 height = 270 # Poster frame image. f = open(docs_base.images_dir + "Logo.jpg", "rb") imageBytes = f.read() f.close() # Visible url vimeoVideoUrl = "https://vimeo.com/52477838" # Embed Html code. vimeoEmbedCode = "" builder.insert_online_video(vimeoVideoUrl, vimeoEmbedCode, imageBytes, width, height) doc.save(docs_base.artifacts_dir + "WorkingWithOleObjectsAndActiveX.insert_online_video_with_embed_html.docx") {{< /highlight >}} ------ ## FAQ 1. **Q:** How can I insert an OLE object as an icon instead of displaying its full content? **A:** Use `DocumentBuilder.insert_ole_object_as_icon`. Provide the OLE object's ProgId (or stream), the icon image (optional), and set the `display_as_icon` flag to `True`. The method creates an `Shape` that represents the icon in the document. 2. **Q:** I need to set a custom file name and extension for an OLE package that has no native handler. How is this done? **A:** Create an `OlePackage` instance, set its `file_name`, `file_extension`, and `display_name` properties, then pass the package to `DocumentBuilder.insert_ole_object`. This embeds the data with the specified metadata, allowing Word to recognize the file type. 3. **Q:** How can I retrieve the raw binary data of an embedded OLE object? **A:** Access the `OleFormat` of the shape that contains the OLE object and call `OleFormat.get_raw_data()`. The method returns a `bytes` array containing the original embedded file data. 4. **Q:** Which video platforms are supported by the simple `insert_online_video(url, width, height)` overload? **A:** The overload works directly with YouTube and Vimeo URLs. For other platforms you must use the overload that accepts embedded HTML code, providing the HTML snippet and an optional poster image. 5. **Q:** My inserted online video does not display in Word 2013. What should I check? **A:** Ensure the document is saved after insertion; Word 2013 automatically optimizes the document for online video. Also verify that the video URL is reachable and that the width/height parameters are set to reasonable values (e.g., 360 × 270).