Solutions are listed in order of likely effectiveness. Please check your eXtyles build number to select the appropriate group of suggested solutions.


⚠️ If you don’t know which eXtyles build you have installed and can’t use eXtyles>About to find it because eXtyles does not show up on the Word ribbon, check the following registry key (or ask your IT team to check it):

For 32-bit Windows:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Inera\eXtyles\Install

For 64-bit Windows:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Inera\eXtyles\Install

The registry value LBuildNo is your eXtyles build number.


⚠️ Some of the solutions below include the location of directories where eXtyles or Microsoft Word are installed. Which path you’ll use will also depend on whether you have 32-bit or 64-bit Windows installed:

For 32-bit Windows: 

C:\Program Files

For 64-bit Windows: 

C:\Program Files (x86)


Solutions for build numbers 4133 and above

NOTE: eXtyles build numbers 4133 and later have a fundamentally different file organization from earlier builds, and no longer include the files icehook.dot/icehook.dotm, extend.dot, or eXtylesRibbon.dotm. Solutions on this page for builds lower than 4133 will not work for newer builds and may prevent them from working correctly.

eXtyles is not showing up in Word having uninstalled a pre-4133 eXtyles build and installed a post-4133 build

Once you have uninstalled your old (pre-4133) build, the eXtyles directory should be completely empty. If any files are left behind in this directory after uninstalling, delete them before attempting to install your new build.


If you have then installed your new post-4133 build and eXtyles is not showing up in Word (and/or Word shows an error message on startup), search for any copies of icehook.dot/icehook.dotm. If any copies of this file are found, delete them.


eXtyles has been disabled by Word

Occasionally, the eXtyles tab fails to appear because Word has deactivated it. This typically happens after Word has crashed.


To fix this problem:

  1. Open Word.
  2. Navigate to the Office button [Word 2007] or to the File tab [Word 2010+], then to Options > Add-Ins > Manage.
  3. Select COM Add-Ins from the drop-down menu and click Go.
  4. Under Add-Ins Available, check the eXtyles box if it is not checked.
  5. Click OK.

The eXtyles tab should now appear on the Word ribbon.

Checking eXtyles in the Word COM Add-Ins list doesn't help

ⓘ This problem typically occurs when the user has successfully installed eXtyles at least once before. 


If you have tried the previous solution, but the eXtyles tab is still not showing up in Word, it is possible that Word has disabled one of the key components required by eXtyles.


To fix this problem:

  1. Open Word.
  2. Navigate to the Office button [Word 2007] or to the File tab [Word 2010+], then to Options > Add-Ins > Manage.
  3. Select Disabled Items from the drop-down menu and click Go.
  4. Under Disabled Items, select eXtylesInterface.dll if it is listed, and click Enable.
  5. Click OK.


If eXtylesInterface.dll is not listed under Word's Disabled Items, it is possible that the registry contains conflicting information about whether to load eXtyles, perhaps because of incomplete installation of a previous eXtyles build.


ⓘ Since the registry is a very sensitive component of your computer, you may want to consult your IT department before attempting this solution. Inera Support staff are happy to discuss this issue with your IT department to find a safe way to solve this problem. 


To fix this problem:

  1. Open the Registry Editor (regedit.exe). This program should be found in C:\Windows. You may need administrator privileges in order to make changes to the registry.
  2. Click on Edit:Find... and search for "eXtylesInterface.Loader".
  3. You should find copies of this registry key in the following locations, which should not be deleted*:
    1. Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Microsoft\Office\Word\Addins\eXtylesInterface.Loader (64-bit Windows) or Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\Word\Addins\eXtylesInterface.Loader (32-bit Windows).
    2. Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Classes\CLSID\{BAE8676B-20FF-48BE-80A4-2C7927BED7F9} (64-bit Windows) or Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{BAE8676B-20FF-48BE-80A4-2C7927BED7F9} (32-bit Windows)
    3. Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node\Classes\CLSID\{BAE8676B-20FF-48BE-80A4-2C7927BED7F9}\ProgID (64-bit Windows) or Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{BAE8676B-20FF-48BE-80A4-2C7927BED7F9}\ProgID (32-bit Windows)
    4. Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{BAE8676B-20FF-48BE-80A4-2C7927BED7F9} or (64-bit Windows) Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{BAE8676B-20FF-48BE-80A4-2C7927BED7F9} (32-bit Windows)
    5. Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\WOW6432Node\CLSID\{BAE8676B-20FF-48BE-80A4-2C7927BED7F9}\ProgID (64-bit Windows) or Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID\{BAE8676B-20FF-48BE-80A4-2C7927BED7F9}\ProgID (32-bit Windows)
  4. If you find this registry key anywhere else in the registry, check the value of the string LoadBehavior in the right-hand Registry Editor window.
  5. If the value of LoadBehavior is "0x00000000 (0)", right-click on "eXtylesInterface.Loader" in the registry tree on the left of the Registry Editor, right-click, and select Delete.
  6. To move on to search for eXtylesInterface.Loader again, select Find Next (F3) in the Registry Editor. You will be alerted when all copies of the key have been found.

The eXtyles tab should now appear on the Word ribbon.


*If you accidentally delete the eXtylesInterface.Loader key from Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\WOW6432Node or Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE,

don't panic! Simply follow the previous suggestion under "eXtyles has been disabled by Word" to reinstate this registry key.


Solutions for build numbers lower than 4133

Disabled items

Occasionally, the eXtyles menu fails to appear after installation because of Word’s macro security setting.

 

ⓘ This problem typically occurs when the user has successfully installed eXtyles at least once before. 


To fix this problem for Word 2007 and newer:

  1. Open Word.
  2. Navigate to the Office Button [Word 2007] or to the File tab [Word 2010+], then to Menu > Options > Add-Ins > Manage.
  3. From the drop-down list, select Disabled Items, then click Go.
  4. Look for omml.dot and icehook.dotm in the Disabled Items dialog. If either one appears, click Enable.
  5. Close and reopen Word.


ⓘ If, after installation, a Word dialog asks if it can load macros from Inera Inc., choose OK. This tells Word that it can always accept macros from this source.


Word Crashed

Occasionally, Word crashes. When this happens, Word disables most, if not all, installed macros—including eXtyles—as a security precaution. 

To fix this problem for Word 2007 and newer:

  1. Open Word.
  2. Navigate to the Office Button [Word 2007] or to the File tab [Word 2010+], then to Menu > Options > Add-Ins > Manage. 
  3. Select Disabled Items and click Go.
  4. Look for extend.dot, omml.dot, and icehook.dotm in the Disabled Items dialog. If any of these appears, click Enable.
  5. Close and reopen Word.


eXtyles is not “hooked” into Word

Sometimes the “hook” that connects eXtyles to Microsoft Word is missing, preventing any eXtyles files from being listed in Word. This happens more often when multiple versions of Office have been installed on a user’s machine. The hook is a file called icehook.dotm, and it should be automatically placed in the Office STARTUP directory.

To check and resolve this problem:

  1. Navigate to your Microsoft Office STARTUP directory
    • If you are running Office 2016, this location* is C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\root\Office16\STARTUP\
    • If you are running Office 2013, this location* is C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office15\STARTUP\
    • If you are running Office 2010, this location* is C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\STARTUP\
    • If you are running Office 2007, this location* is C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office12\STARTUP\
  2. If icehook.dotm is not in the Office STARTUP directory, open a new window and navigate to your eXtyles directory*, C:\Program Files (x86)\eXtyles
  3. Copy icehook.dotm and paste it into STARTUP.
  4. Quit and restart Word.


* If you are running 32-bit Windows, the root directory is C:\Program Files\


Adjust Security Settings

In some rare cases, eXtyles will fail silently (i.e., Word will appear to open as normal, but the eXtyles menu or ribbon will not be available, without warning). In other cases, you may receive an alert about an expired security certificate. 


If you experience this problem, please do the following, which may resolve the issue:


If you are running Word 2016:

Go to File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Trusted Locations > Add new location...

  • For 64-bit Windows: Add the path C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\root\Office16\STARTUP\
  • For 32-bit Windows: Add the path C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\root\Office16\STARTUP\


If you are running Word 2013:

Go to File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Trusted Locations > Add new location...

  • For 64-bit Windows: Add the path C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office15\STARTUP\
  • For 32-bit Windows: Add the path C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office15\STARTUP\


If you are running Word 2010:

Go to File > Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Trusted Locations > Add new location...

  • For 64-bit Windows: Add the path C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office14\STARTUP\
  • For 32-bit Windows: Add the path C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office14\STARTUP\


If you are running Word 2007:

Click the Microsoft Office Button, then Options > Trust Center > Trust Center Settings > Trusted Locations > Add new location...

  • For 64-bit Windows: Add the path C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\Office12\STARTUP\
  • For 32-bit Windows: Add the path C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\STARTUP\


If you are running Word 2003:

From the Tools menu, select Macro > Security and set your security level to Medium. 


ⓘ This Word 2003 fix will also work for Word 2007 and 2010.


Microsoft Outlook Email Editor


When Microsoft Word is run, the eXtyles menu may fail to appear if Microsoft Outlook is running and has been configured to use Microsoft Word as the email editor. This failure is due to a bug in Word that causes startup and shutdown macros to fail. 


To work around this problem, you must configure Outlook to use an application other than Word to edit email. For more information, please see MSDN knowledge base articles Q209977 (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q209977) and Q209978 (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q209978).


Solutions to try for all builds

Virus Scanner

During updates, some virus scanners quarantine omnivm.exe, a critical eXtyles file, as “malicious” because of their updated definitions. If you don’t see omnivm.exe in the directory C:\Program Files\eXtyles, follow your antivirus application’s instructions for removing this item from quarantine.


Resetting the Word Menu Bar

Sometimes the menu bar in Word becomes “corrupt.” This can be fixed by the following steps:

  1. Open Customize from the Tools menu.
  2. On the Toolbars tab, scroll down the list and select Menu Bar.
  3. Press Reset.
  4. Quit and restart Word.


Deleting Normal.dot(m)

Occasionally, Word gets confused about menus and “loses” the eXtyles menu. If this happens, you can sometimes recover the eXtyles menu by searching your hard drive for Normal.dot or Normal.dotm, then deleting it. However, before doing this, try the previous solution, Resetting the Word Menu Bar, as you may lose some customized settings by deleting Normal.dot. When attempting to find and delete all copies of Normal.dot or Normal.dotm, select More Advanced Options and make sure that both “Search system folders” and “Search hidden files and folders” are checked.


Word Data Registry Key

Word may interfere with the eXtyles display by storing user data about it in the registry. If deleting Normal.dot or Normal.dotm in the previous solution and following the steps under Disabled Items do not work, please delete (or ask your IT group to delete) the following registry key: 

For Word 2007:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\12.0\Word\Data

For Word 2010:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\14.0\Word\Data

For Word 2013:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\15.0\Word\Data

For Word 2016:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\16.0\Word\Data


Deleting this key may also undo some user settings in Word, but it will not damage the installation.


Templates and Add-ins

If your organization uses Word macros (other than those within eXtyles), and the above solutions have failed, try the following steps:

  1. In Word, select Templates and Add-Ins from the Tools menu. 
  2. On the Templates tab, if any boxes are checked, make a note of which boxes are checked and then uncheck them. 
  3. Close and reopen Word.

If the eXtyles tab now appears on the Word ribbon, please contact eXtyles Support at [email protected] to discuss how to allow eXtyles to function alongside your Word macros.


You can then go back to the Templates tab and recheck any of the other templates that you need.