AFAIK, although the DDE and DDEAUTO fields have been deprecated, they're still available and functional. As for the LINK field, my understanding is that the default update behaviour changed when Office 2007 or 2010 was introduced. Microsoft used to have a Knowledge Base article on this
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/970154]) but it seems to have been deleted. That may mean the behaviour's been reverted; or it may mean the patch doesn't apply to current Office versions. For the article's registry patch to reduce such delays:
1. Start Registry Editor. In Windows 10, go to Windows System> Run, then type regedit in the Run box, and then press ENTER. If you are prompted for an administrator password or for confirmation, type the password, or provide confirmation.
2. Locate and then select the following registry subkey:
Code:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\#\Word\Options
where # indicates the Office version.
3. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click DWORD Value.
4. Type DelayOleSrvParseDisplayName, and then press ENTER.
5. Right-click DelayOleSrvParseDisplayName, and then click Modify.
6. In the Value data box, type 1, and then click OK.
7. On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click DWORD Value.
8. Type NoActivateOleLinkObjAtOpen, and then press ENTER.
9. Right-click NoActivateOleLinkObjAtOpen, and then click Modify.
10. In the Value data box, type 1, and then click OK.
11. On the File menu, click Exit to exit Registry Editor.