SHARING INFORMATION WITH OTHER APPLICATIONS
When you click a link, a new menu appears in Lotus Notes. The name of the menu reflects the type of application you are linking to. For example, if you link to a Lotus 1-2-3 Workbook, the menu is "Workbook."
Once you've created a link, you can update it, edit it, or break it.
Click any of these topics:
1. Open the application you want to link to. If it's open, make sure the data you want to link to is saved.
2. Select the data you want to link to, and copy it to the clipboard.
3. In Lotus Notes, open the target document in Edit mode.
4. Click in a rich-text field where you want the object to appear.
5. Click Edit > Paste Special.
6. Click Paste link to source.
7. In the As box, select a display format for the object.
8. (Optional) Click Display as icon to display an icon instead of the linked data.
9. Click OK.
Note Lotus Notes lets you display a link as four types of files: Rich Text Format, Bitmap, Picture, Text or icon. However, the application you are linking to determines which display types are available.
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To create a link to another application by dragging and dropping
You can drag and drop data from many applications into Lotus Notes to create a link, if the source application supports OLE 2.0.
Note Not all applications implement this feature the same way; for example, some applications may not use the combination Ctrl+Shift. If the procedure below does not work, refer to the documentation for the application you are using.
1. In IBM Lotus Notes, open in Edit mode the document you want to link from.
2. In the application, select the data you want to link to.
3. Press and hold the Ctrl key and Shift key, then click the outline of the selected data.
4. Holding Ctrl+Shift, drag the data to the Lotus Notes document and drop it in the rich-text field where you want the link to appear.
To create a link to a Lotus Notes document, view, or application
You can create a link to a Lotus Notes document, view, or application in another Lotus Notes document or in another OLE 2.0 application.
1. In Lotus Notes, open the document, view, or application you want to link to.
2. Click Edit > Copy as Link, then select Document Link, View Link, or Application Link.
3. Open the Lotus Notes document or the external application you want to link from.
4. Click where you want the link to appear.
6. Click Paste Link to source, and if the option is available, click Notes Link. If not, click Picture to create a picture of a Lotus Notes application, icon, or text.
7. Click OK.
Lotus Notes
To create a link to an embedded object
If you're using Windows, you can create a link from an IBM Lotus Notes document, or another OLE application, to an embedded object in Lotus Notes.
1. Open the document in Edit mode and click the embedded object.
2. Click Object Menu > Copy External.
4. Click Edit > Paste Special.
5. Click Paste Link (or equivalent).
6. Select the object.
Note To create a link to only part of an embedded object, open in Edit mode the document containing the embedded object. Then double-click the object, select the data you want to link, and follow the above steps.
To update a link manually
1. Open in Edit mode the document that contains the linked object.
2. Click Edit > External Links.
3. Select the link in the External links dialog box.
4. Click Update Now. To update all linked objects in the document, click View > Refresh.
Note It's useful to select Manual as the update type for objects that take a lot of time to update, like large bitmaps. This way, you choose when you want to take the time to update a link. Also, be aware that upon first opening a document with an OLE link, you will be asked if you want to update the link.
To update a link automatically
3. Select the link.
4. Click Automatic to update continuously as the object's data is edited.
5. Click Close.
To break a link
When you break a link, the data remains in the Lotus Notes document as "static" text, meaning you can no longer access it.
4. Click Break Link.
5. Click OK.
6. Click Close.
Note If you break a link unintentionally, you can restore it by exiting the document without saving your changes.
To edit a link
You can edit a link's data by launching the source OLE application from Lotus Notes.
2. Double-click the link.
3. Edit the data in the source application.
4. Return to Lotus Notes.
5. (Optional) If the link is set to be updated manually, click View > Refresh to update the data. Otherwise, by default the data is updated automatically.
6. Click File > Save to save your changes.
To copy a link or picture of a link
You can make an editable copy of a link, or just a picture, in which the data can only be read.
1. With the document in Edit mode, click the link.
2. Click Edit > Copy to create an editable copy of the link.
Note To copy anywhere outside of Lotus Notes, click Edit > Copy to create a picture of the link, and Object Menu > Copy External to create an editable copy of the object.
4. In a Lotus Notes document, click Edit > Paste.
To change the display of a link
2. Click Link > Object Properties > Display As. The term Link pertains to the link type (for example, 1-2-3 Worksheet). Or you can click Link > Edit Properties and then change the Display As property value.
3. Select a display format.
4. Click OK.
See Also