OLE (Object Linking and Embedding)

Windows' "magic" to transfer objects from one program "document" to another. The process involves copying the selected object to the clipboard, then switching over to the receiving document and pasting. Paste Linking (available as a Paste Special option), plants a trail back to the original/source document so that when the original changes, you see the changes in the receiver. Paste Embedding, the default paste mode, places a copy of the original into the receiver. Because the two programs are not linked, any changes to the original are not reflected in the receiver.

A standard for embedding and attaching images, video clips, MIDI, animations, etc in files (documents, databases, spreadsheets, etc). It also allows ActiveX controls to be embedded.