Abstract: A user interface is provided for a computer application program having a document and one or more interactive tools associated with the document. The document and associated tools are embedded into a standardized object container. The standardized object container is embedded into a computer display program capable of displaying instances of the standardized object container. Interactions between the tools and the document are processed by the computer application program. The application program and display program collaborate to handle user interface events according to a protocol determined by the standardized object container. A first advantage of this approach is that the tools do not need to have separate versions developed for each display file type of interest. A second advantage of this approach is that interactions between the tools and the document are handled by the computer application program, which provides enhanced flexibility and capability.