Shapes vs oleobjects vs oleobject.object ( for commandbutton properties )

Hello Xeliax,

Welcome to the Forum!

Hopefully I can explain this and it makes sense. First, let's look at a Shape object. Shapes belong to and are drawn by Excel application. Shapes are really limited in their ability to interact with the user. They can be clicked and execute hyperlinks.

To provide users with more interaction, there are objects that belong to the OLE (Object Linking and Embedding) or ActiveX class. These objects are generally controls that have specific functions and distinct shapes. The OLE objects are basically templates for other control objects. This why an OLE object has an Object property. The OLE object is the template containing features common to all controls like height, fore color, font, etc., and the Object property applies to the specific control itself.

Remember I said that the Shape object could contain a hyperlink? Objects that can contain information about other objects and interact with them are known as "Container Objects". Some other container objects are UserForms, Frames, and Browser control objects. If the Shape is an ActiveX (OLE) control, Excel draws the outline of the control and provides an internal link to the OLE object. The OLE object, in turn, provides the basoic control template and an Object property that points to the actual control object class., providing access the Object's properties, methods, and events.

Hope this makes it a little clearer for you.

Hello Xeliax,

You're welcome. I stopped making my "wish list" for Microsoft awhile ago after it went from a sheet to a book to an encyclopedia.