Who is this article for?

Users who want to learn about resolving a disappearing Word Plugin after Windows updates.

Elevated permissions are not required.

Sometimes, after Windows updates, users may encounter issues where plugins disappear from Microsoft Word upon closing the application. This problem is often caused by changes in the load behaviour settings. This article outlines the process of resolving the disappearing Word Plugin after Windows updates.

1. Opening the Registry Editor

1. Open Registry Editor by
   1. Press the Windows key + R to open the Run dialog box.
   2. Type regedit and press Enter to open the Registry Editor.

2. Navigating the Registry Editor

1. Expand the following registry keys in the left pane.
   1. HKEY_CURRENT_USER
   2. SOFTWARE
   3. Microsoft
   4. Office
   5. Word
   6. Addins
2. Select the Plugin Entry.
3. Locate and select the entry corresponding to the affected plugin, typically named something like GaelLtd.QPulseWordPlugin

3. Modifying the Load Behaviour

1. Locate the LoadBehavior entry in the right-hand panel. 
2. Right-click on LoadBehavior and choose Modify from the context menu.
3. Within the Edit DWORD Value window, ensure that the Base is set to Hexadecimal.
4. Change the Value data to 3.
5. Click OK to save the changes.
6. Close the Registry Editor window to complete the process.

4. Reinstalling the plugin

If the attempts to edit the Windows Registry fail, in some cases, reinstalling the plugin can also resolve issues related to its visibility in Microsoft Word.  Installation steps can be found in the How To Install the Microsoft Office Plugin artcile.

Some Windows updates mess up the load behaviour for the Plugin which makes it disappear each time Word is closed down.

The following solution will make it "stick" again.

What to do: 

-Open the registry editor (press the windows button + R button and then type regedit) 
-Then expand HKEY_CURRENT_USER 
-Then expand SOFTWARE 
-Then expand Microsoft 
-Then expand Office 
-Then expand Word 
-Then expand Addins 
-Select GaelLtd.QPulseWordPlugin 
-On the right-side right click on 'LoadBehavior' 
-Click Modify 
-In the Edit DWORD value window type 3 in the [Value data] field and then OK and then exit the Registry Editor