In this post you will find instructions on how you can disable Word, Excel & Outlook add-ins in Office 2016, 2013, 2010, 2007 & 2003. Disabling an add-in, is the first step to troubleshoot problems in all Office applications, especially if you face one of the following problems.
- You receive a runtime error when you try to open Outlook.
- When you try to launch Word, Excel or Outlook you get a runtime error.
- When your close Word, Excel or Outlook you get a runtime error.
- When you double-click to open a Word document, Word opens but the document doesn’t.
- You cannot print a Word or Excel document.
Add-ins can commonly causes problems, after updating them, or after updating Windows, or Office, or because they have installed incorrectly on the system. In all that cases, you have to disable them, or to completely uninstall the third party program that installs the add-in in your Office application. After turning off the problematic add-in and if your Office program functionality returns to normal, then you can try to reinstall the Add-in, by downloading its latest version from the plugin developer.
If an add-on prevents the normal startup of the Microsoft Office application (e.g. the application crashes upon boot), then you can start the Office application in the special diagnostic mode (also known as “Safe Mode”) in order to be able to locate and deactivate the add-in that is causing the problem.
To start an Office application in Safe Mode, just hold down the CTRL key on your keyboard before opening the application shortcut, or simultaneously press the Windows + R keys to open the “Run” command box and:
- Type excel /safe and click OK to open Excel in Safe Mode.
- Type outlook /safe and click OK to open Excel in Safe Mode.
- Type powerpnt /safe and click OK to open PowerPoint in Safe Mode.
- Type winword /safe and click OK to open Word in Safe Mode.
How to Enable or Disable Add ins in Word, Outlook & Excel in All Office Versions.
- Outlook 2016, 2013 & 2010 – Outlook 2007 – Outlook 2003
- Word 2016, 2013 & 2010 – Word 2007 – Word 2003
- Excel 2016, 2013 & 2010 – Excel 2007 – Excel 2003
Outlook
How to Manage Outlook 2016, Outlook 2013 & Outlook 2010 Add-ins:
1. Click the File menu and select Options.
2. Select Add-ins at the left pane.
3. At the right pane, select COM Add-ins and click Go…
4. Uncheck the checkbox next to the Add-in that you want to disable and click OK.
5. Restart Outlook
How to Disable or Enable Outlook 2007 Add-ins:
1. On the Tools menu, click Trust Center.
2. Select Add-ins on the left pane.
3. At the right pane, select COM Add-ins and click Go…
4. Uncheck the checkbox next to the Add-in that you want to disable and click OK.
5. Restart Outlook.
How to Disable Add-ins in Outlook 2003:
1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
2. At the Other tab, click Advanced Options.
3. Press the COM Add-Ins button.
4. Uncheck the checkbox next to the Add-in that you want to disable and click OK.
5. Restart Outlook.
Word
How to Manage Word 2016, Word 2013 or Word 2010 Add ins:
1. Click the File menu and select Options.
2. Select Add-ins at the left pane.
3. At the right pane, select COM Add-ins and click Go…
4. Uncheck the checkbox next to the Add-in that you want to disable and click OK.
5. Restart Microsoft Word.
How to Disable Add-ins in Word 2007
1. From the Microsoft Office Button 
menu, click Word Options.
2. Select Add-ins at the left pane..
3. At the right pane, select COM Add-ins and click Go…
4. Uncheck the checkbox next to the Add-in that you want to disable and click OK.
5. Restart Microsoft Word.
To Disable Add ins in Word 2003.
1. On the Tools menu select Customize.
2. In the Customize window, select the Commands tab.
3. At the left pane, select Tools.
4. Drag the COM Add-Ins from the right pane the the Word toolbar and then click Close.
5. Click the COM Add-Ins button on the toolbar to open the COM Add-Ins dialog.
6. Uncheck any unwanted plugin and click OK.
Excel
How to Enable or Disable Add-ins in Excel 2016, Excel 2013 or Excel 2010:
1. Click the File menu and select Options.
2. Select Add-ins at the left pane.
3. At the right pane, select COM Add-ins and click Go…
4. Uncheck the checkbox next to the Add-in that you want to disable and click OK.
5. Restart Microsoft Excel.
How to Disable Add ins in Excel 2007:
1. From the Microsoft Office Button menu, click Excel Options.
2. Choose Add-ins on the left pane.
3. At the right pane, select COM Add-ins and click Go…
4. Uncheck any unwanted plugin and click OK.
How to Disable Excel 2003 Add-ins:
1. From the Tools menu, select Add-ins.
2. Uncheck the checkbox next to the Add-in that you want to disable and click OK.
That’s all folks! Did it work for you?
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