dg

In HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.bmp doubleclick on '(Default)' and change 'Value data' from "QuickTime.bmp" to "Paint.Picture" (without the quotation marks)

Also, doubleclick on 'Content Type' and change 'Value data' from "image/x-bmp" to "image/bmp" (without the quotation marks)

Kind regards,
Rob Robinson
Stardraw.com

Could you please give me specific path references in the registry so I change the right values?    I don't want to guess.

dg

Using RegEdit, please change the (Default) value for the .bmp key from QuickTime.bmp to Paint.Picture

You may want to change the Content Type value from image/x-bmp to image/bmp

You "may" need to reboot for this setting to really take hold.

Please let us know if inserting a bmp file into your Stardraw document now works.

David Snipp
Stardraw.com Ltd

dg

Yes, OLE can be 'interesting', but it sounds like we're on the right track; inserting a bitmap should work fine, given your requirements.

From the screengrab you posted it would appear that the issue is probably something to do with file format association so we'd like to understand a little about your machine.  File associations are defined in the Windows registry so we'd like to take a look at how yours is set up.  Please follow the procedure outlined below.  Note that I have made the assumption that you are tying to insert a .BMP file.  If it is another extension, substitute that extension for .BMP in the steps below.

1. Open the Windows Registry Editor: Click on Start | Run, type in "regedit" (without the quotes) and click on OK
2. Expand HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
3. Scroll down to .bmp
4. Rightclick on .bmp and select Export
5. Type in a filename, e.g. BMP and save the file somewhere, e.g. on your Desktop.  It will be saved as BMP.reg
6. Zip the file and post it to this forum

We'll then be able to see how your file association differs from ours and hopefully suggest a change that will get your machine working properly.

Kind regards,
Rob Robinson
Stardraw.com

Interestingly, I can copy and paste the object (Excel Chart bitmap) from your drawing into mine with no problem and it looks great.   I don't get it.

dg

I guess you called my bluff.   I thought I had described my requirement in the second paragraph of my last post but I guess I was not clear.    My problem is that I have created a wirechart in Excel that I would like to insert into an existing drawing for the purpose of hardcopy print.   That print will be used in both the project submittal process and as a working drawing in the field.   The information in the spreadsheet is static and does not need to be dynamically linked in any way to the target drawing.   That is why a picture (bitmap) of the Excel spreadsheet is perfectly fine as an object.    When I attempt to do what you have done I get a different result.   I will attach a screen capture so you can see what I see.    I have also sent you a private email with my contact information so we may more effciently discuss this on the phone.

dg

While I understand your frustration, you have repeated a statement of what you're trying to do, instead of explaining what the problem is that you're trying to solve.

Since you've asked me to do it, the attached zip contains a Stardraw (.S01) file containing a bitmap generated from your spreadsheet and inserted into the drawing through OLE.

Since OLE functionality is machine specific and your computer may not be configured correctly - again, machine-dependence is a limitation of OLE, not Stardraw - the .S01 may not display on your machine as it does on mine so I also include in the zip file a PDF generated from the drawing which will be machine-independent.

I am still trying to determine what the problem is that you're trying to solve.  Do you mean that you need to be able to generate a hardcopy (printed page) that includes both the data from the spreadsheet alongside the data from the drawing?  If we understood what you want to achieve, rather than what you're trying to do, we could suggest the best and most efficient solution.

Kind regards,
Rob Robinson
Stardraw.com

Let me count to ten and then I will answer.  . . . . .

The short answer is I would like to position the spreadsheet that I attached in my last post to in a drawing.  The wire chart is directly relevant to the diagram and for my installers it would be convenient to have the information on the same sheet.   I don't need OLE at all.  A bitmap would work - but I can't get that do work either.  

I am frankly suspicious of whether Stardraw can accomplish this at all.   I have lost a week of time on this and am ready to give up.   I wish software developers would not put a feature like "Insert objects" in the menu structure of a program if the feature doesn't work.   My frustration also comes from attempting to call the US office on this issue and they were completely unable to deal with the problem and suggested I go to the forums - a classic round robin.   We have spent alot of money on this software to have to go through this.

So if you think I am being unfair, here is your challenge - attach a Stardraw drawing with my spreadsheet inserted.  The inserted object can be a bitmap, pdf, word doc chart, spreadheet or jpeg - I don't care.   Prove me wrong!  

dg