What Is ActiveX?

The term ActiveX is used in different contexts and its definitions stress different aspects of that concept. Its use within Statistica, however, can be grouped into two general categories: ActiveX objects and ActiveX documents.

ActiveX object
An ActiveX object is what was once referred to as an OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) object. At its heart is the Microsoft COM (Component Object Model) technology that enables objects to be accessed in a uniform manner. Through the use of standard protocols, objects created in one application can be stored and edited in a different application. To support this functionality, the containing object needs to be an ActiveX object client, and the application that initially created the object needs to be an ActiveX object server. Statistica is both. As an ActiveX object client, Statistica enables you to embed and link objects from other applications in the spreadsheet, graph, and report windows. As an ActiveX object server, it enables you to embed and link spreadsheets and graphs into other applications.
ActiveX documents
ActiveX documents take the ActiveX controls one step further, in that they allow entire documents to be embedded into other applications. An ActiveX document container allows other application documents to be used within it, and an ActiveX document server allows its documents to be used within any ActiveX document container. Again, Statistica does both. Statistica Workbooks are ActiveX document containers, and allow documents from other ActiveX servers to be displayed within the workbook. Examples of this are Microsoft Word and Excel; these documents can be used directly from within a Statistica Workbook. Similarly, Statistica Spreadsheets, Graphs, and Reports are ActiveX document servers, and they also can be placed within any ActiveX document container such as Microsoft Internet Explorer and Microsoft Word.