Templafy VSTO and Web add-in are visible in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel

About this article

This article is describing a known Microsoft issue in which both the Templafy web add-ins and VSTO add-ins are shown in the ribbon of Office applications. Templafy reported the bug which can be found here https://github.com/OfficeDev/office-js/issues/3041.

Microsoft feature

Templafy manifest version 1.0.0.7 makes use of a Microsoft feature which allows for the Templafy Web add-in to become hidden if the equivalent VSTO add-ins is installed and present. This feature allows for Windows users to see only one Templafy add-in (VSTO add-in on the left) rather than both the VSTO add-in and Web add-in (on the right).

Technical details

The issue

There is a known Microsoft bug with this feature in Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint where the equivalent Web add-ins will still be visible, even though the VSTO add-in is installed. Below is a screenshot of what you would expect to see in Word for example.

The solution

There is currently no solution and no timeline as to when this will be resolved by Microsoft. Templafy have an Idea logged internally and we are actively looking for a solution while we wait for Microsoft to resolve this.

Possible work arounds

Please be aware that the below work arounds may not work or be suitable in your case.

• Open Office Add-ins from the Insert Tab from within the ribbon. Click Admin managed followed by clicking the refresh button. This will trigger the Web add-ins to become hidden correctly however they will re-appear again if the Office application is restarted.

• Click on the Web add-in which will open the taskpane followed by closing the taskpane. This will trigger the Web add-ins to become hidden correctly however they will re-appear again if the Office application is restarted.

• Clear the Office cache as per the steps outlined by Microsoft here. This will trigger the Web add-ins to become hidden correctly however they will re-appear again if the Office application is restarted.