Word 2007 randomly disabling COM Add-In

[Myles]

Hi there, We have a COM Add-In for Word that is developed in Delphi
using Add-In Express components. Works fine in Office 2003, and we
created a version to support RibbonX for Office 2007. In installed
the Add-In for Word 2007 on Windows Vista Business Edition and fired
up Word, and there it was. Perfect. Has its own group we defined in
the RibbonX toolbar, and works great.

Then we produced an update to the Add-In. Didn't do anything special
in the update, compiled and released in exactly the same way.
Installed in Word 2003 and it came right up without a problem.
However when I uninstalled the previous one in Word 2007, rebooted the
computer and the installed the newer version, nothing displayed when I
started Word 2007.

I checked 'Word Options' and see the Add-In listed under 'Disabled
Application Add-ins'. I attempted to enable it with 'Manage COM Add-
Ins' and I click the checkbox to enable it, but it keeps showing as
Disabled.

So I thought this was pretty strange. I uninstalled it, attempted re-
installing it again, and the same thing keeps happening. I did this 3
or 4 times, and no difference. All while it is working perfectly well
in Word 2003.

Finally I uninstalled it, and rebooted the computer. Then I went to
install the previous version that had been working great. Now its not
showing up. Again, its listed in as Disabled in Word options.

My question is why does this behavior happen? I tried to register the
DLL manually using RegSvr32, and it doesn't give any errors, etc.
Seems fine. But Word 2007 is detecting something about it that it
doesn't like and disabling it.

Are there any guides as to what to do with this? Is there any
information in a log file, or somewhere that could tell me WHY this is
happening, so I can address it?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions or assistance.

Regards,
Myles

 

[Nick Hebb]

I've had this problem in the past in Excel. Typically it boils down to
two things: errors in your code or slow loading. Either will get you
dumped into the Disabled Items list. Make sure you have aggressive
error trapping and handling in your startup routine.

Also, if this is a commercial add-in and you're using any 3rd party
tools for managing licensing, find out whether they are activated when
the DLL is invoked. You'll want to make sure that you're manually
calling all registration checks after startup, not during.

Nicholas Hebb
BreezeTree Software
http://www.breezetree.com

 

[Andrei Smolin]

Hello Myles,

This can happen if there is an unhandled exception in the code of
AddinInitialize or AddinStartupComplete. As to the behavior of the first
version, did you try to enable it?

Regards from Belarus,

Andrei Smolin
Add-in Express Team Leader
www.add-in-express.com