OLE Objects in Spreadsheet Control for WPF

May 22, 2025
4 minutes to read

OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) technology allows you to insert data (spreadsheets, images, presentations, charts, equations, and much more) from external applications into your document. Use the Spreadsheet for WPF to load, add, extract, or remove OLE objects. You can print documents with OLE objects and export them to PDF.

spreadsheet for wpf ole objects

Note

The Spreadsheet for WPF supports OLE objects in OpenXML-based formats only (XLSX, XLSM, XLTX, and XLTM).

Obtain OLE Objects in a Worksheet

The Worksheet.OleObjects property returns an OleObjectCollection that stores all OLE objects within the worksheet. Each individual OLE object within the collection is an OleObject interface.

C#
VB.NET

using DevExpress.Spreadsheet;

    Worksheet worksheet = spreadsheetControl1.Document.Worksheets[0];

    // Get the collection of OLE objects:
    OleObjectCollection oleObjects = worksheet.OleObjects;

Imports DevExpress.Spreadsheet

    Dim worksheet As Worksheet = spreadsheetControl1.Document.Worksheets(0)

    ' Get the collection of OLE objects:
    Dim oleObjects As OleObjectCollection = worksheet.OleObjects

You use the following OleObject members to obtain information about the corresponding OLE object:

OleObject.InsertType

Returns how the OLE object is stored within the worksheet. Possible options: Linked, Embedded.

OleObject.AsEmbeddedContent

Allows you to access the content of an embedded OLE object. You can call the OleObjectEmbeddedContent.GetRawData method to obtain raw binary content or call the OleObjectEmbeddedContent.SaveAs method to save the embedded content to a file or stream.

C#
VB.NET

var embeddedContent = worksheet.OleObjects[0].AsEmbeddedContent();
var contentData = embeddedContent.GetRawData();

Dim embeddedContent = worksheet.OleObjects(0).AsEmbeddedContent()
Dim contentData = embeddedContent.GetRawData()

OleObject.AsLinkedContent

Allows you to access the content of a linked OLE object. For linked OLE objects, you can use the OleObjectLinkedContent.FileName property to obtain the corresponding file name.

C#
VB.NET

var linkedContent = worksheet.OleObjects[0].AsLinkedContent();
var path = linkedContent.FileName;

Dim linkedContent = worksheet.OleObjects(0).AsLinkedContent()
Dim path = linkedContent.FileName

OleObject.OleObjectTypeId

Returns an ID that identifies the content type (for example, “ExcelWorksheet” or “AdobeAcrobatDocument”). See the OleObjectType structure for all possible options.

C#
VB.NET

var typeID = worksheet.OleObjects[0].OleObjectTypeId;

Dim typeID = worksheet.OleObjects(0).OleObjectTypeId

OleObject.RepresentationType

Returns how the OLE object is displayed in the worksheet. Possible options: Content, Icon.

You can also call OleObjectCollection.GetOleObjectById and OleObjectCollection.GetOleObjectsByName methods to obtain a specific OLE object by its ID or name.

OLE objects can also be accessed in the Worksheet.Shapes collection:

C#
VB.NET

foreach (var obj in worksheet.Shapes) {
    if (obj.ShapeType is DevExpress.Spreadsheet.ShapeType.OleObject) {
        // Do something
    }
}

For Each obj In worksheet.Shapes
    If TypeOf obj.ShapeType Is DevExpress.Spreadsheet.ShapeType.OleObject Then
        ' Do something
    End If
Next

Add a Linked OLE Object

A worksheet stores linked objects as links to corresponding files.

Call the OleObjectCollection.AddLinkedOleObject method to add a linked OLE object to a worksheet:

C#
VB.NET

Worksheet worksheet = spreadsheetControl1.Document.Worksheets[0];
CellRange oleIconRange = worksheet.Range["B4:D6"];
SpreadsheetImageSource oleIcon = SpreadsheetImageSource.FromFile("oleIcon.png");

// Create a linked OLE object
OleObject oleObjectLinked = worksheet.OleObjects.AddLinkedOleObject(
    oleIconRange, "package.pdf", OleObjectType.Package, oleIcon);

Dim worksheet As Worksheet = spreadsheetControl1.Document.Worksheets(0)
Dim oleIconRange As CellRange = worksheet.Range("B4:D6")
Dim oleIcon As SpreadsheetImageSource = SpreadsheetImageSource.FromFile("oleIcon.png")

' Create linked OLE object
Dim oleObjectLinked As OleObject = worksheet.OleObjects.AddLinkedOleObject(oleIconRange, "package.pdf", OleObjectType.Package, oleIcon)

Add an Embedded OLE Object

A worksheet stores embedded objects incorporated directly to the spreadsheet document in binary format.

Call the OleObjectCollection.AddEmbeddedOleObject method to add an embedded OLE object to a worksheet:

C#
VB.NET

Worksheet worksheet = spreadsheetControl1.Document.Worksheets[0];
CellRange oleIconRange = worksheet.Range["B4:D6"];
SpreadsheetImageSource oleIcon = SpreadsheetImageSource.FromFile("oleIcon.png");

// Create an embedded OLE object from byte array
byte[] sourceData = File.ReadAllBytes("package.pdf");
OleObject oleObjectEmbedded1 = worksheet.OleObjects.AddEmbeddedOleObject(
    oleIconRange, sourceData, OleObjectType.Package, oleIcon);

// Create an embedded OLE object from file stream
using (var stream = File.OpenRead("package.pdf")) {
    OleObject oleObjectEmbedded2 = worksheet.OleObjects.AddEmbeddedOleObject(
    oleIconRange, stream, OleObjectType.Package, oleIcon);
}

Dim worksheet As Worksheet = spreadsheetControl1.Document.Worksheets(0)
Dim oleIconRange As CellRange = worksheet.Range("B4:D6")
Dim oleIcon As SpreadsheetImageSource = SpreadsheetImageSource.FromFile("oleIcon.png")

' Create an embedded OLE object from byte array
Dim sourceData As Byte() = File.ReadAllBytes("package.pdf")
Dim oleObjectEmbedded1 As OleObject = worksheet.OleObjects.AddEmbeddedOleObject(oleIconRange, sourceData, OleObjectType.Package, oleIcon)

' Create an embedded OLE object from file stream
Using stream = File.OpenRead("package.pdf")
    Dim oleObjectEmbedded2 As OleObject = worksheet.OleObjects.AddEmbeddedOleObject(oleIconRange, stream, OleObjectType.Package, oleIcon)

Remove an OLE Object from a Worksheet

Call the following methods to remove an OLE object from the document:

C#
VB.NET

OleObject oleObject = worksheet.OleObjects[0];

// Remove the current OLE object
oleObject.Delete();
// or
worksheet.OleObjects.Remove(oleObject);
// or
worksheet.OleObjects.RemoveAt(0);

// Remove all OLE objects in the collection
worksheet.OleObjects.Clear();

Dim oleObject As OleObject = worksheet.OleObjects(0)

' Remove the current OLE object
oleObject.Delete()
' or
worksheet.OleObjects.Remove(oleObject)
' or
worksheet.OleObjects.RemoveAt(0)

' Remove all OLE objects in the collection
worksheet.OleObjects.Clear()

Limitations

The SpreadsheetControl does not contain User Interface elements to manage OLE objects.
The SpreadsheetControl displays OLE objects as images. You cannot modify embedded data or open files associated with OLE objects.

Controls

FREE UTILITIES

Controls and Extensions

FREE UTILITIES

Controls

FREE UTILITIES

Controls and Extensions

FREE UTILITIES

Obtain OLE Objects in a Worksheet

Add a Linked OLE Object

Add an Embedded OLE Object

Remove an OLE Object from a Worksheet

Limitations