You are using Microsoft Word as your word processor in Act!, but find that the Act! menu command does not appear in Word. In some cases, the Act! menu command will be visible, yet when you click a menu option such as Show Field List; nothing happens. In addition, you may find that you have no ability to add fields to Word templates in Act!.
There is more than one possible cause of this issue. The issue may be caused by an Act! Add-in being disabled, Macro Security settings set to high, a damaged normal.dot template --or-- incompatible or a damaged installation of Microsoft Word.
Disabled Act! Add-in
To determine if your issue is caused by a disabled Act! Add-in, follow the steps below. Click next to the version of Microsoft Word you are using:
Microsoft Word 2000/2002(XP)/2003
Microsoft Word 2007
Microsoft Word 2010, 2013, and 2016
Macro Security Settings:
This can result if your Macro Security setting in Microsoft Word is set to high. Use the following steps to lower the setting. Click next to the version of Word you are using:
Microsoft Word 2000/2002(XP)/2003
Microsoft Word 2007
Microsoft Word 2010, 2013, or 2016
Damaged Office Normal.dot or Normal.dotm templates
You may be able to resolve this issue by renaming the Normal.dot (Office 2003) or Normal.dotm (Office 2007 and later) files and forcing Word to recreate them. Before proceeding with these steps, ensure that Act! and all Microsoft Office programs are all closed. Follow the steps below:
Install .NET 2.0 Components: (ACT! 2007 - ACT! 2010 only)
An additional step to try and resolve this issue is by attempting to install two .NET 2.0 components that are located at the bottom of this document; extensibilityMSM.msi and lockbackRegKey.msi. First, check to make sure the components are not already installed by doing the following:
Invalid Registry Value
This issue may also be caused by an invalid value in the registry. Follow these steps to verify and correct if needed:
Damaged Microsoft Word Application:
If the steps above does not resolve this issue, it is likely that your installation of Word is damaged. To resolve this issue, you must either install a newer version of Word or repair your currently installed Word application.
All Microsoft Office 2000-2003 applications come with a Detect and Repair feature that can be accessed under the Help menu. You must have the Microsoft Office (or Microsoft Word) installation CD to complete this process.
Microsoft Office 2007 applications come with an Office Diagnostics feature that is found under the Help menu. You do not need your Office installation CD to run this.
Microsoft Office 2010 and later applications need to be repaired by accessing the Add/Remove Programs (Programs and Features if using Windows 7/Windows Vista) section from the Control Panel. Click Change on Microsoft Office 2010 (or later) in the list and select the Repair option.
IMPORTANT NOTE: When performing the Detect and Repair (Office 2000-2003), do NOT enable the check box "Discard my customized settings and restore default settings" as doing so will necessitate in an uninstall and reinstall of Act!.
For additional details on repairing or reinstalling Microsoft Word, please contact Microsoft.
There is more than one possible cause of this issue. The issue may be caused by an Act! Add-in being disabled, Macro Security settings set to high, a damaged normal.dot template --or-- incompatible or a damaged installation of Microsoft Word.
Disabled Act! Add-in
To determine if your issue is caused by a disabled Act! Add-in, follow the steps below. Click next to the version of Microsoft Word you are using:
Microsoft Word 2000/2002(XP)/2003- Launch Microsoft Word.
- Click the Help menu, and then click About Microsoft Word. The About Microsoft Word dialog box appears.
- Click the Disabled Items button. The Disabled Items dialog box appears.
- If Act! Add-in appears in the list of disabled items, click this file and then click the Enable button.
Microsoft Word 2007- Launch Microsoft Word
- Click the Microsoft Office button.
- Click the Word Options button.
- In the categories pane on the left, Click Add-Ins.
- In the Manage box, click Disabled Items, then click Go. The Disabled Items dialog box will appear.
- If the Act! add-in is in the list, then select it and click Enable.
- Click Close. Click OK.
Microsoft Word 2010, 2013, and 2016- Launch Microsoft Word.
- Click File and then select Options. The Word Options dialog box appears.
- Click Add-Ins on the left.
- Click Disabled Items and click Go.
- Look for a file path that ends with act9ext.dll or act9ab32.dll (capitalization may differ). This path will vary depending on your operating system. (Looking at the end of the path is the easiest method for locating the Act! add-in components.)
- If you see one or both of the items listed above, highlight them and click Enable.
- Restart Word and test.
Macro Security Settings:
This can result if your Macro Security setting in Microsoft Word is set to high. Use the following steps to lower the setting. Click next to the version of Word you are using:
Microsoft Word 2000/2002(XP)/2003- Launch Word.
- Click the Tools menu, and then click Options. The Options dialog box appears.
- Click the Macro Security button. The Security dialog box appears.
- Enable the Low option, click OK to close the Security dialog box, and then click OK to close the Options dialog box.
- Close and reopen Word and test.
Note: If this resolved your issue, you may be able to change the security setting to the Medium option. You will need to test to determine the best setting for you.
Microsoft Word 2007- Launch Microsoft Word
- Click the Microsoft Office button, then click Word Options.
- Click Trust Center, then Trust Center Settings.
- In the Trust Center, click Macro Settings.
- Enable the Disable all macros except digitally signed macros option.
- Click OK to close the Trust Center dialog box, then click OK to close the Word Options dialog box.
Microsoft Word 2010, 2013, or 2016- Open Word
- Click File and then select Options. The Word Options dialog box appears.
- Click Trust Center on the left and then select Trust Center Settings.
- Click Macro Settings and ensure that the option that states "Disable all macros except digitally signed macros", is enabled.
- Restart Word and test
Damaged Office Normal.dot or Normal.dotm templates
You may be able to resolve this issue by renaming the Normal.dot (Office 2003) or Normal.dotm (Office 2007 and later) files and forcing Word to recreate them. Before proceeding with these steps, ensure that Act! and all Microsoft Office programs are all closed. Follow the steps below:
- Depending on your version of Windows, browse to one of the following locations:
- Windows Vista and later: C:\Users\[Your Windows Username]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates
- Server 2003 and Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\[Your Windows Username]\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates
- Windows Vista and later: C:\Users\[Your Windows Username]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Templates
- In the Templates folder, rename any Normal.dot or Normal.dotm files to Normal.old, then close the Windows Explorer window
- Launch Microsoft Word to force Word to recreate the renamed files, then exit Word
- Launch Act! and attempt to create or edit a template to verify that the Menu options are present
Install .NET 2.0 Components: (ACT! 2007 - ACT! 2010 only)
An additional step to try and resolve this issue is by attempting to install two .NET 2.0 components that are located at the bottom of this document; extensibilityMSM.msi and lockbackRegKey.msi. First, check to make sure the components are not already installed by doing the following:
- Click the Windows Start button and then click on the Control Panel.
- Once in the Control Panel, click on the Add or Remove Programs icon.
- Check to see if the two highlighted entries below are installed. If they are, continue to the next section. If not, download the two files at the bottom of the article to your Desktop, and then double-click the files to install them.
- Launch Act! to test.
Invalid Registry Value
This issue may also be caused by an invalid value in the registry. Follow these steps to verify and correct if needed:
- From your Windows Start menu, select Run, then type in regedit. Windows Vista users would type this command in the Search box on the Start menu.
- When the Windows Registry Editor opens, browse to the following registry key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\Word\Addins\ACTOfficeAddIn.Connect - Highlight the key, look in the right-hand pane, locate the LoadBehavior value, and verify that the Data value is 0x00000003 (3).
- If it is not, then double-click on LoadBehavior and change the value to 3. If it is, proceed to the next step.
- Repeat Steps 2-4 for the following registry keys located under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE:
32-bit OS:
\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\Word\Addins\ACTOfficeAddIn.Connect
64-bit OS:
\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Office\Office\Word\Addins\ACTOfficeAddIn.Connect
Damaged Microsoft Word Application:
If the steps above does not resolve this issue, it is likely that your installation of Word is damaged. To resolve this issue, you must either install a newer version of Word or repair your currently installed Word application.
All Microsoft Office 2000-2003 applications come with a Detect and Repair feature that can be accessed under the Help menu. You must have the Microsoft Office (or Microsoft Word) installation CD to complete this process.
Microsoft Office 2007 applications come with an Office Diagnostics feature that is found under the Help menu. You do not need your Office installation CD to run this.
Microsoft Office 2010 and later applications need to be repaired by accessing the Add/Remove Programs (Programs and Features if using Windows 7/Windows Vista) section from the Control Panel. Click Change on Microsoft Office 2010 (or later) in the list and select the Repair option.
IMPORTANT NOTE: When performing the Detect and Repair (Office 2000-2003), do NOT enable the check box "Discard my customized settings and restore default settings" as doing so will necessitate in an uninstall and reinstall of Act!.
For additional details on repairing or reinstalling Microsoft Word, please contact Microsoft.