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Add-ins for Office programs may be registered under the \Wow6432Node

  • Article
  • Applies to:
    Outlook 2013, Word 2013, Excel 2013, Microsoft Outlook 2010, Microsoft Word 2010, Excel 2010, Microsoft Office Outlook 2007, Microsoft Office Excel 2007, Microsoft Office Outlook 2003, Microsoft Office Word 2003, Microsoft Office Excel 2003

Original KB number:   2778964

Summary

If you have a 32-bit version of Office installed on a 64-bit version of Windows, add-ins that are registered under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE will be registered under the \Wow6432Node subkey. For example:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\software\Wow6432Node\microsoft\office\Outlook\Addins

This is important to remember if you are troubleshooting problems in your Office programs and you need to disable add-ins. If you are not modifying the correct registry data (because you do not realize you are running 32-bit Office on a 64-bit version of Windows), then your changes will not change the add-in behavior.

More information

COM add-ins register themselves in the Windows Registry under either the HKEY_CURRENT_USER or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE hives. But, if you are using a 64-bit version of Windows, the subkey under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE will vary depending on the bitness of your Office installation. See the following table for the correct registry location for the different combinations of 32-bit/64-bit versions of Office and Windows.

Window bitness Office bitness COM add-in registry location under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
32-bit 32-bit HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Office\<application>\Addins
64-bit 64-bit HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Office\<application>\Addins
64-bit 32-bit HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Wow6432Node\Microsoft\Office\<application>\Addins
32-bit 64-bit It is not possible to install a 64-bit version of Office on a 32-bit version of Windows

Note

If you have a 64-bit version of Windows, add-ins that register themselves under HKEY_CURRENT_USER are not affected by this nuance.

Use the following steps to determine the bitness of Windows you are using.

  • Windows 7
    1. Select Start, right-click Computer and then select Properties.
    2. Note the bitness of Windows next to System type under System.
  • Windows 8
    1. Press Window+X.
    2. Select System.
    3. Note the bitness of Windows next to System type under System.

Use the following steps to determine the bitness of Office you are using.

  • Office 2010

    1. Start an Office program.
    2. On the File tab, select Help.
    3. Note the bitness next to the version number in the right-side of the Help section.

  • Office 2013

    1. Start an Office program.
    2. On the File tab, select Account (select Office Account in Outlook).
    3. In the right-pane, select About <program>.
    4. Note the bitness next to the version number in the About <program> dialog box.