OLE Links incompatible with DOCX format?? Help...

I have some updates on problems I've been having with the use of OLE links in DOCX files (and recently in DOC files as well). I want to document some progress I've had on this issue for anyone searching for help.

With DOCX files, one of the main problems with OLE links was that Excel was background opening when we opened the file and looking at each individual link while the file opened. This would create read-only conflicts when opening the spreadsheet directly in Excel when it was already opened in the background, and the documents would open very slowly. At some point the documents would become corrupt and crash Word.

I found an old Microsoft Support article that recommends a registry edit which stops the background link checking and excel opening. That article is here: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/a-word-2010-document-reopens-slowly-after-you-insert-some-linked-objects-that-are-located-on-a-network-share-6338a37c-ba7b-0ee7-2b29-7de018fddb3c

The DOCX files now open immediately. I have yet to determine whether they eventually become corrupt anyway, but at this point, the files can open without excel opening in the background and without conflicts of multiple versions of excel being open.

A separate problem with OLE link functionality occurred just this past week with an Office 365 update to Build 2207. While many of my company's computers handled this update fine, the update made some changes to the functionality of OLE links that broke their functionality in a number of my company's laptops. This occurred in both DOC and DOCX files on those machines. Specifically, linked files would update fine, but once the location of the links was directed to a different excel file, the updating the links caused and ERROR link not found message. A second update of the same links often resolved and properly updated but in many cases the ERROR messages toggled back and forth. In addition, links embedded within tables updated with improper formatting.

For this breaking of the links functionality with build 2207, the only resolution I have found is to revert to a prior build of Office 365. I reverted to build 2204 and the links functionality is once again fully stable.