A system, method, and article of manufacture that allow a document containing custom objects to be shared in a distributed collaborative computer system. This is accomplished by allowing custom objects to be embedded in a document. When the document is to be shared, the document with custom objects is converted to a Rich Multi-Media (RMM) format. Furthermore, the converted document may be shared during a collaborative session among multiple computers. Alternatively, the converted document may be viewed by a user independent of a collaborative session.