Word Object with Contents Is Displayed Instead of an Icon

When you close a Microsoft Word document that is embedded in a Microsoft Excel worksheet, the object that represents the Word document may be converted from an icon into a object that displays the contents of the Word document.

This problem occurs if all of the following conditions are true:

• You embed a Microsoft Word Document object into an Excel worksheet (click Object on the Insert menu).
  
  -and-
• You click the embedded Word document and convert it to an icon (Point to Document Object on the Edit menu, and then click Convert).
  
  -and-
• You double-click the document object, and then quit Word.

To work around this problem, follow these steps:

1. Double-click the Word Document object that you want to display as an icon on the Excel worksheet.
2. Click Save Copy As on the File menu. Type a name for the Word document in the File Name box, and then click Save.
3. Click Exit or Quit on the File menu.
4. On the Insert menu, click Object. Click the Create From File tab, and then click Browse.
5. Select the file that you saved in step 2 and click Insert.
6. Click Display As Icon in the Object dialog box, and then click OK.

The Word document appears on the worksheet as an icon. You can then delete the original embedded Word document from the worksheet.

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products listed at the beginning of this article. This problem no longer occurs in Microsoft Excel 2000.

Excel 97 for Windows

For more information about embedding objects in Excel, click the Index tab in Microsoft Excel Help, type the following text and then double-click the selected text to go to the "About linked and embedded objects" topic.

Excel 98 Macintosh Edition

For more information about embedding objects in Excel, click Contents And Index on the Help menu (or on the Balloon Help menu if you are using a version of the Macintosh operating system earlier than 8.0), click the Index button in Excel Help, type the following text and then click Show Topics. Select the "About linked and embedded objects" topic, and click Go To. If you are unable to find the information you need, ask the Office Assistant.