Referencing styles

Question

Hi. I only see APA and MLA as referencing styles. How do I also add other referencing styles, as I am busy with my thesis, and I need the Harvard style for my thesis referencing?

Answer 1

You are not alone. One workaround that works for many is to set the language to English-US.

• My feedback, feel free to vote and comment: https://feedbackportal.microsoft.com/feedback/idea/819280c6-99fe-ef11-a4dd-7c1e52ead3c1
• https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/all/how-to-i-get-harvard-referencing/48acb707-144e-4ead-899d-bbff5b0f23fb
• https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/msoffice/forum/all/why-is-harvard-reference-not-showing-in-my-word/b3623a2f-85fc-497b-bf3a-9a4e13528705
• 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

Answer 2

Joseph,

First, make sure you have all the XSL files for the styles installed at

%appdata%\Microsoft\Bibliography\Style\

If any are missing, you can copy them from either

%programFiles%\Microsoft Office\root\Office16\Bibliography\Style\

or

%programfiles%\Microsoft Office\Office14\Bibliography\Style\

depending on your version of Word. After copying any file, be sure to close and reopen Word.

If you have all the files, and the other Styles are still not showing in the Style list box, then it may be because of the display language you are using. (Don't confuse display language with authoring language or proofing language.) A display language is used to display text on the ribbon and GUI, not in a document.

There is a bug that causes a style guide name not to appear when your display language is not one of the 44 key languages. There is only one key display language for English, and that is English (US). The other English-speaking countries such as English (UK), English (Canada), English (Australia), etc. are not key languages.

To change a display language, click on the Language icon in the Language group and select Language Preferences. Once the Word Options dialog box opens, the display language(s) are shown at the top in the section titled Office display language. The display language marked <preferred> is the one that Word is using. If it's not English (United States), then select the English US language and set it as Preferred, or click the Add a Language button to add it. Then reboot your PC.

If you don't want to change the display language, then you need to edit each XSL file that is not displayed in the Style dropdown list using Notepad (not Word). This link describes how to do that. Make sure you backup the files before editing them.

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/answers/questions/2337806/bibliography-styles-missing-in-word

Answer 3

In Microsoft Word, you can set various bibliography styles beyond just APA and MLA. To add other referencing styles like Harvard, you can follow these steps:

1. Check Available Styles: Word includes several built-in bibliography styles. You can access them by going to the References tab and selecting the style from the Style dropdown menu.
2. Custom Styles: If Harvard style is not available, you can create your own custom bibliography style. This involves defining the style in XML format and placing it in the appropriate directory on your computer. The directory for custom styles is typically located at C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office15\1033\Bibliography\Style.
3. Using Add-ins: You can also explore third-party add-ins that may offer additional citation styles, including Harvard. These can be found in the Office Store.

By following these steps, you should be able to incorporate the Harvard referencing style into your thesis work.

Answer 4

Hello Joseph Gawaseb, thanks for posting this in our community.

First, check the current version of Word. Harvard style is included in most recent versions of Microsoft Word. Go to the References tab and look at the Style dropdown. If Harvard is missing, your version might be outdated or using a limited template.

If it is still missing, you can install Harvard style manually. Download the Harvard referencing style file (.XSL) from a trusted source such as an official university library or BibWord. Place the file in:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\OfficeXX\Bibliography\Style

Replace "OfficeXX" with your version, for example Office16 for Office 2016. After placing the file, restart Word and Harvard should now appear in the Style dropdown.

Harvard referencing in Word

Hope this helps.

Kind regards,

John Oli

Answer 5

I don't follow the suggested steps. I had all the reference styles, but suddenly they are not displayed. I have changed the language of my Word document to Afrikaans and then back to English. After that, I realised that my reference style has also two styles, APA and MLA. I'm not sure whether that change could have altered the styles. I have Windows 11 Pro on my system, and the latest Microsoft 365, as I am subscribed to Microsoft.