Upgrade StorageWord opens automatically after reinstalling Zotero plugin
Hi everyone,
I'm experiencing a recurring issue where Microsoft Word opens by itself, without any user interaction, even when I'm working in other applications.
After some research, I found similar reports on Microsoft forums suggesting that third-party plugins might be involved — including Zotero. To troubleshoot, I followed a series of steps:
Deleted AutoRecover and temporary files from:
C:\Users\[YourUsername]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Word\
Cleared the "Startup" folder:
C:\Users\[YourUsername]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Word\Startup
Removed custom templates from:
C:\Users\[YourUsername]\OneDrive\Documents\Custom Office Templates\
Uninstalled the Zotero plugin via:
Word > File > Options > Add-ins > COM Add-ins
After doing all of this, the issue stopped — Word no longer opened automatically.
However, once I reinstalled the Zotero plugin and started using Zotero again, the problem returned: Word began launching on its own again.
One detail I noticed is that I'm located in Brazil, and other users reporting similar behavior also seem to be in the same region (https://learn.microsoft.com/pt-br/answers/questions/5534157/word-abre-sozinho). While both my work and home setups use different language settings (English and Portuguese, respectively), the issue occurs in both environments. This makes me wonder whether regional configurations or localized Microsoft 365 builds could be contributing to the problem — even though I’m not sure how geographically customized Office installations are.
I’m wondering if anyone else has experienced this behavior or if the Zotero team has any insight into what might be triggering Word to open automatically when the plugin is installed.
Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions!
I'm experiencing a recurring issue where Microsoft Word opens by itself, without any user interaction, even when I'm working in other applications.
After some research, I found similar reports on Microsoft forums suggesting that third-party plugins might be involved — including Zotero. To troubleshoot, I followed a series of steps:
Deleted AutoRecover and temporary files from:
C:\Users\[YourUsername]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Word\
Cleared the "Startup" folder:
C:\Users\[YourUsername]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Word\Startup
Removed custom templates from:
C:\Users\[YourUsername]\OneDrive\Documents\Custom Office Templates\
Uninstalled the Zotero plugin via:
Word > File > Options > Add-ins > COM Add-ins
After doing all of this, the issue stopped — Word no longer opened automatically.
However, once I reinstalled the Zotero plugin and started using Zotero again, the problem returned: Word began launching on its own again.
One detail I noticed is that I'm located in Brazil, and other users reporting similar behavior also seem to be in the same region (https://learn.microsoft.com/pt-br/answers/questions/5534157/word-abre-sozinho). While both my work and home setups use different language settings (English and Portuguese, respectively), the issue occurs in both environments. This makes me wonder whether regional configurations or localized Microsoft 365 builds could be contributing to the problem — even though I’m not sure how geographically customized Office installations are.
I’m wondering if anyone else has experienced this behavior or if the Zotero team has any insight into what might be triggering Word to open automatically when the plugin is installed.
Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions!