How to add more reference styles to Microsoft Word

Question

Hello,

I essentially have the same problem as this person: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5269308/how-to-add-ieee-to-referencing-styles

I only have APA and MLA available as reference styles in my Microsoft Word, and I want to use one where I can use numerical references (such as IEEE or ISO Numerical). I already checked the Apps>Roaming>Bibliography>Style folder and all twelve reference styles are there. I also performed an online repair to my Microsoft Office (Word is not specified in my App List), to no avail. What is going wrong here? I am using Word on another device as well, from the same Office 365 Subscription, and I do have all the reference styles there.

Hope you can help,

Best regards,

Guido Verburg

Answer 1

Guido,

Your display language may be wrong. See my response to

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/5614667/i-cannot-add-harvard-style-referencing

Answer 2

To add more reference styles to Microsoft Word, you can follow these steps:

1. Check the Styles Directory: Ensure that the reference styles you want to use (like IEEE or ISO Numerical) are indeed present in the styles directory. You can find the styles in the following path:
   %AppData%\Microsoft\Bibliography\Style.
2. Create Custom Styles: If the desired styles are not available, you can create custom bibliography styles in Word. This involves writing XML code to define the output format for your citations and bibliography. You can refer to the documentation on how to create custom bibliography styles for detailed steps and examples.
3. Restart Word: After adding or modifying styles, restart Microsoft Word to ensure that the new styles are loaded.
4. Set the Bibliography Style: Once the styles are available, you can set the bibliography style by using the BibliographyStyle property in VBA or through the Word interface to select your desired style.

If you have already checked the styles folder and performed an online repair without success, it might be worth checking if your Office installation is fully updated or if there are any specific settings that might be limiting the styles available to you.

---

References:

• Create Custom Bibliography Styles
• Work with Bibliographies

Answer 3

Hi Guido,

Word’s citation styles depend on both the bibliography XML files and the Word configuration. Here are the most common reasons:

Profile or device-specific issue Since you mentioned another device with the same subscription shows all styles, this suggests a local configuration problem rather than an account limitation.

Corrupted or missing registry entries Even if the XML files are in Roaming\Bibliography\Style, Word needs registry keys to display them in the dropdown.

Feature availability differs by build Some click-to-run builds or updates load only default styles (APA, MLA) if the registry or configuration isn’t pointing to the full set.

Office repair didn’t reset user profile Online repair fixes binaries but doesn’t always refresh user-specific settings.

 

What you can do now

Check Word version and update

Go to File → Account → About Word and confirm you’re on the latest build.

Reset Word settings

Close Word.

Rename the folder:

%appdata%\Microsoft\Bibliography

Word will recreate it on restart.

Re-register the bibliography styles

Open Registry Editor and check:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office<version>\Common\Bibliography\Style

If missing, Word defaults to APA/MLA only.

Repair Office and clear cache

Perform Quick Repair, then Online Repair again.

Sign out and back into Office to refresh profile sync.

Workaround if urgent

If you need IEEE or ISO immediately, you can manually edit the XML in the Style folder or use a citation manager like Zotero or EndNote until Word loads all styles.

 

I know this feels like a hidden setting issue, but it’s usually tied to registry or profile corruption. Resetting the Bibliography folder and checking registry entries often restores the full list. Let me know how it goes, Help!

 

Answer 4

See

• https://www.reddit.com/r/MicrosoftWord/comments/uc6ruy/comment/iisbtmj/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
• https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/all/why-is-harvard-reference-not-showing-in-my-word/b3623a2f-85fc-497b-bf3a-9a4e13528705
• https://feedbackportal.microsoft.com/feedback/idea/819280c6-99fe-ef11-a4dd-7c1e52ead3c1