Office Add-in troubleshooting guide

Use this troubleshooting guide to resolve Smokeball and Microsoft Office Add-in issues.

Check Smokeball Add-in Status

If the Smokeball Add-in is non-interactive, unresponsive or missing:

1. Open any Office application (e.g. Word).
2. Select File from the top-left corner of the application, then select Options on the bottom-left corner.
   
   
3. Select Add-ins from the left panel and choose COM Add-ins from the drop-down menu at the bottom of the window.
4. Select Go.
   
   
5. Untick Smokeball Toolbar and select OK.
   
6. Return to the Options > Add-ins > COM Add-ins window and re-tick Smokeball Toolbar. Then, select OK.
   
   

If the Smokeball Toolbar add-in is listed in Word or Excel under Inactive Add-ins, uninstall and reinstall Smokeball.

If the add-in is listed as a "Disabled Application add-in", open the COM Add-ins window and tick Smokeball Toolbar. Then, select OK. If the add-in reverts itself to Disabled, uninstall and reinstall Smokeball.

Check Office Updates

1. Open any Office application (e.g. Word).
2. Select File from the top-left corner of the application, then select Account from the bottom-left corner.
3. On the right-hand side of the screen, click on Update Options, then select Update Now.
   
   

Compare Smokeball and Office installation dates

1. Open the Start menu and type "Apps & features" to access the Windows Apps & features list. 
2. Use the search bar to find "Smokeball". Take a screenshot of the result.
   
   
3. Use the search bar to find "365". Take a screenshot of the result.
   
   
4. If the Smokeball installation date is after Office 365, continue the troubleshooting steps in this guide.
5. If the Office 365 installation date is after Smokeball, uninstall and reinstall Smokeball.

Check Office Safe Mode

If the issue relates to Smokeball conflicting with the usage of standard Office application features, confirm if this is replicable in Office's safe mode state. 

In safe mode, the Smokeball add-in does not run, along with other third-party features. Running safe mode can confirm if the Smokeball add-in is the issue.

To open Office in safe mode:

1. Open Windows Run (Windows Key + R).
2. Type in the command [appName].exe /safe (where appName = the official name of the Office application, such as Winword, Outlook, Excel). Safe mode will now boot.
   • If you are experiencing issues running the command, refer to this guide from the Microsoft website.
3. Document all results while attempting to replicate the issue in safe mode. 

Repair and reinstall Office

If an issue with Office persists after disabling Smokeball add-in or uninstalling Smokeball, perform an Office repair.

Learn more about repairing Office from the Microsoft website.

If repairing Office does not resolve the issue, consider reinstalling Office as a last resort. This should be completed by IT or the administrator.