Word for Windows: Zotero plugin reinstalls with yellow warning, Quick Format dialog won't open

emadhooshyar
Subject: Word for Windows: Zotero plugin reinstalls with yellow warning, Quick Format dialog won't open

Dear Zotero Team,

I am experiencing a critical failure with the Word for Windows plugin. The plugin was working perfectly for my thesis, but suddenly stopped without any system changes.

**Symptoms:**
- The Zotero tab is visible in Microsoft Word.
- Clicking "Add/Edit Citation" or "Add/Edit Bibliography" does nothing. The quick format dialog box never appears.
- The plugin does not respond to any input.

**Troubleshooting performed (none resolved the issue):**
1. Closed Word and used the official "(Re)install Microsoft Word Add-in" button in Zotero Settings (Cite → Word Processors).
2. Manually deleted `Zotero.dotm` from `%AppData%\Microsoft\Word\STARTUP` and reinstalled via Zotero.
3. Checked permissions (Full Control) on the STARTUP folder.
4. Enabled all macros and VBA access in Word Trust Center (Trust Center → Macro Settings).
5. Temporarily disabled antivirus/firewall software.

**The core issue:**
When I press "Reinstall", Zotero shows "Installation was successful" but the pop-up appears with a **YELLOW/ORANGE warning icon** instead of green. This indicates Word is actively blocking or failing to load the `Zotero.dotm` file despite it being physically present in the correct Startup folder.

**System Info:**
- Zotero Version: 9.0.5 (or the latest, I just updated)
- Word Version: [Microsoft Word 2013 (15.0.4569.1504) 32-bit]
- Windows Version: [Windows 10 Enterprise Version 22H2 (OS Build 19045.5011), 64-bit]
- Report ID: [1416397085]
I suspect this is related to the recent Zotero 9 update. Please advise on how to force Word to load the add-in or debug this further. I am happy to provide any additional logs or screenshots.

Thank you.
  • dstillman Zotero Team
    edited yesterday at 5:30pm
    When I press "Reinstall", Zotero shows "Installation was successful" but the pop-up appears with a **YELLOW/ORANGE warning icon** instead of green. This indicates Word is actively blocking or failing to load the `Zotero.dotm` file despite it being physically present in the correct Startup folder.
    Please don't copy and paste AI-generated diagnoses here. This is just made-up nonsense.

    Your Report ID shows you running Zotero 7.0.30. We can't help until you're running 9.0.5 and have provided a Report ID from that. Reinstall from the download page if necessary.

    If it's still not working in 9.0.5, these are the steps to follow:

    https://www.zotero.org/support/word_processor_plugin_troubleshooting#error_or_non-responsive_plugin_buttons

    Note in particular that you need to make sure the plugin is completely gone from Word before reinstalling.
  • emadhooshyar
    Hello, good morning
    This is my new Zotero version report ID :[1954886456]. I have done all the steps mentioned. I completely deleted the previous Zotero program and its plugin again and after installing the latest version and installing the Word plugin through Zotero settings, the installation was successful with this message, but the warning box appears and after testing in a Word file, none of the Zotero plugin options work at all. I would appreciate it if you could give me more detailed guidance on why Zotero is not working for me?
  • dstillman Zotero Team
    edited 3 hours ago
    See the steps I linked to above for 9.0.5. You have to try each one if the plugin isn't responding. Most importantly, you should confirm that you've deleted Zotero.dotm and made sure that the Zotero tab was gone from Word before reinstalling.

    There's no "warning" here — forget about that. That's just a generic icon for the dialog telling you that installation was successful.
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