How to get the developer tab in Word to modify ribbon?

Question

I'm trying to create a forms field for simple calculations in Word, and I gathered that I have to subscribe to Office 365. I did that, and tried following directions. I got the welcome email and the instant sandbox. When I go to Word settings, it's not seeing that I've subscribed to Office 365.

I'm not sure how much I need to set up since it's just me trying to get to the developer tab, so I can set Calculate on exit.

I downloaded node.js and yo-main.zip but I don't know what to do with them. Please help.

Answer 1

Hi @Ivy S

Do you want to the Developer tab like following image?

If so, please go to File > Options > Customize Ribbon , tick the box of 'Developer'.

If this step does not work, please check whether there is any related error message.

If yes, please take a screenshot and share with us for better analysis.

Besides, please go to File > Account > Product Information, check whether Office is Microsoft 365 Apps and whether it is activated.

If it is not Microsoft 365 Apps, you may go to https://myaccount.microsoft.com/, click Apps & devices, and then click Install Office to install Microsot 365 Apps. (Please note, you need to uninstall previous Office on your machine first, restart your machine, and then re-install Office.)

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Answer 2

Thank you, Emily! I figured it out. Somehow my version 16.16.27 doesn't have File in the menu. But I was able to find the Developer tab to check off in Word >Settings>View>Ribbons. I was previously going to Settings>Ribbons & Toolbar and that's where it is all grayed out with a message saying "it's only available if you have an Office 365 subscription." Anyway, after checking off Developer under Ribbons, the tab appeared. Now I can do all my forms field formatting, including calculate on exit!!

Answer 3

Hello,

To access the Developer tab on the ribbon of an Office application, you must configure it to show that tab because it doesn't appear by default. For example, you must show that tab if you want to add a GroupContentControl to a document-level customization for Word.

Answer 4

Hi @Ivy S Thanks for your kind sharing.

By the way, since the Microsoft Q&A community has a policy that "The question author cannot accept their own answer. They can only accept answers by others.", and according to the scenario introduced here: Answering your own questions on Microsoft Q&A, I would make a brief summary of this thread:

Issue Symptom: Word can not show Developer tab on Ribbon.

Current Status: Solved via Ivy S. In Word > Settings > View > Ribbon, find the Developer tab to check off, after this action, the tab appeared.

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If the answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and kindly upvote it. If you have extra questions about this answer, please click "Comment". Note: Please follow the steps in our documentation to enable e-mail notifications if you want to receive the related email notification for this thread.

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