Microsoft Reader plugin "Read in" for Word doesn't load anymore

[K-Thom]

Hi!

Hope somebody here may have a clue.

For years I've been using the Read-in plugin for Word to create eBooks in .lit-format for Microsoft Reader.

Today after starting Word the icon for the "Read-in" shows up for a split second, the the space in the menu bar is empty. With each restart or even reboot the same. I tried everthing I could think of.

Cleaning up the registry - nope
De-installing and re-installung - nope
System recovery back to the last day I used it (last Saturday) - nope

I would like to avoid reinstalling MS Office. Especially if I'm may not be sure if this is of any help after all.

So, any idea is very much appreciated!

Best, Thomas

[igorsk]

You can also use standalone ReaderWorks.

[K-Thom]

I could, but the Standard version is quite limited, and the Publisher version ist still for sale at about US$ 120.

So, the plug-in just did a nice job.

[comtrjl]

Has it become 'disabled'? Look under Word -> Help -> About -> disabled items.
On my system, there is WordRMR.dll in c:\windows\system32 and also WordRMRComAddin.dll in %appdata%\Microsoft\Addins.
It has lots of registry entries starting with 'WordRMR ....'
Microsoft has a 'Windows install clean up utility' which sometimes helps with removal and reinstallation. Run it, select 'WordRMR addin', then reinstall.

bob

[=X=]

Originally Posted by K-Thom

Hi!

Hope somebody here may have a clue.

For years I've been using the Read-in plugin for Word to create eBooks in .lit-format for Microsoft Reader.

Today after starting Word the icon for the "Read-in" shows up for a split second, the the space in the menu bar is empty. With each restart or even reboot the same. I tried everthing I could think of.

Cleaning up the registry - nope
De-installing and re-installung - nope
System recovery back to the last day I used it (last Saturday) - nope

I would like to avoid reinstalling MS Office. Especially if I'm may not be sure if this is of any help after all.

So, any idea is very much appreciated!

Best, Thomas

The problem sounds like more of an office issue than with the WordRWR plug in. I've had the pluign show up twice but it still works for me. I'm not sure what could all of a sudden cause the problem. I are you using Office 2003 or lower? Did you apply a patch from MS auto update?


An aside, I quit using WordRMR once calibre created their any2lit support. The LIT files produced by calibre are actually better than those created by WordRWR.

I created most of my LIT files using a tool I wrote called BookCreator, a template with Macros.

Here is the link to a beta version that builds LIT files is .

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...44&postcount=5

The link to the BookCreator tool is
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28313

=X=

[K-Thom]

@ comtrjl:
No, it hasn't been disabled. Right now the icon shows up when I start Word. But as soon as I open any file, it vanishes completely. Restart of Word > icon reappears, and so on.

@ =X=:
I'm using Word 2002. No, I didn't apply any Office patch from MS lately. Could the last Netframe update possibly be the cause for this problem?

So, thanks alot for your advice and/or work on both the any2lit function and your BookCreator as maybe more than suitable alternatives! I'll give both a try during the weekend.

[=X=]

Originally Posted by K-Thom

@ =X=:
I'm using Word 2002. No, I didn't apply any Office patch from MS lately. Could the last Netframe update possibly be the cause for this problem?

It's hard to tell what has cause the problem. Software is not like hardware that wears. Something has to change for it to break. Or some inherent bug that does not trigger until recourse are exhausted. This is why uninstalling/re-installing usually fixes the problem. Comment if you choose to re-install Office I recommend you uninstall it first and any trace that it leaves, before you install Office.

Originally Posted by K-Thom

So, thanks alot for your advice and/or work on both the any2lit function and your BookCreator as maybe more than suitable alternatives! I'll give both a try during the weekend.

Thanks, I am the author of BookCreator but llahsram is the author of the any2lit tool. Oh and many kudos to him he did a great job.

=X=

[K-Thom]

Okay ...

I've got the "Read in"-Addin working again (sort of). But this is not a story for the faint of heart, so Linux & Mac users: cover your eyes. I won't be held rensponsible for any mental damage by reading this post. This is just for those hardened by years of Windows frontline duty. )

First, you've got to admit that Microsoft nevers ceases to amaze its users. It even enhances their abilities by encouraging them to use creativeness and unorthodox, non-linear thinking.

Right ...

So I had to uninstall and reinstall Office XP as well as my Adobe Acrobat (along with the Word-plugin) and the Read in-Addin.
After installing Office I tried "Read in". Same procedure as last time: Opening Word, Addin shows, opening any new file, Addin vanishes.

Enter Acrobat: With installing Acrobat and the Word-plugin for creating pdf out of Word, the Read in-Addin just showed up for a split second, then gone again. About the same as last night.

Now ...

I just considered the possibility that starting another Office program right before Word might create some "detour". Opening Excel. Didn't help. Opening Outlook ... ahhh, the magic was back!

When you open Outlook it pre-loads Word as an editor. But - at least on my PC - it doesn't load the Acrobat-plugin. BUT it did load the Read in-Addin. And it stays visible and stable, no matter how many files I open. I just did a restart just to make sure this isn't a one-trick pony, but I get the same result (yowza!).

Pure Word: Acrobat, but no Read in.
Outlook, then Word: No Acrobat, but I get the Read in.

Silly, plain silly. But it's working. Maybe some registry or dll guru can explain the magic behind for me. I can't.


=X=:
I gave the BookCreator a try, and I do take into consideration that I'm just too dumb to understand it. 'cause I don't.

I read through the whole thread, and I still don't know, WHAT to do, WHERE to do it, HOW and WHY. If anyone out there could give me some step-by-step manual for Word 2002 I would really appreciate it very much. I do! As I wrote above - I already took some deep look at those listed in the thread.

[=X=]

It's actually quite easy, the tool is a template file with built in macros. There is no install needed.

Just download the zip file, unzip the file and place the BookCreator.dot file in your template directory. (or any directory you choosing)

Now double click on the BookCreator.dot file and it will open with a "New Document". (If you place it in the template directory, you can open it using the "File|New..." menu option)

You can cut-n-past your text in the document or import, using the "Import..." button.

To create a LIT file click on the "LIT..." menu button.

Note: this template has built in Macros if you don't allow macros this tool will not work.

You also need calibre to build LIT and LRF.

=X=

[comtrjl]

Looks like a problem with the toolbars themselves rather than WordRMR. They can be reset quite easily.
There's also a 'COM Addins' menu entry under 'Tools' but you may have to manually add it first.
bob

[K-Thom]

=X=, obviously something was wrong with my Macro settings. I just had a blank file the first few times I opened it. Now I got to see the menu - which makes the whole process much more self-explanatory ...

comtrjl: Could you help me with both issues - resetting the toolbar and/or adding the "Addins" menu? That would be great!

[comtrjl]

I was thinking of something like this:
http://www.officearticles.com/word/r...osoft_word.htm
If you Google for 'reset Word toolbar' there are plenty of results, but a lot of them talk about renaming a Word 'data' entry in the registry - I can't see that on mine, so I'm not sure if that's helpful or not.
I've also found when I installed WordRMR on a different pc that it comes up with an error if the Microsoft Reader cannot be found...
Here is an MS article about Word COM add-ins:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/228856

bob

[K-Thom]

Thanks, comtrjl, this finally did it! Though I still had try try a lot ...

The article for Word 2002 (which has a different system menu) can be found at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/319719/de.

Now, the problem ist: The Read in-addin is activated by default, but still not shown. So I have to deactivate it first, close the submenu, open it again, activate it, then it is shown.
Not the best of all solutions, but still quite better than opening Outlook all the time and now being able to print pdf as well ...

Bricks and stones won't hurt my Word, and glue and tape hold it together ...

[comtrjl]

Also haven't mentioned so far 'normal.dot' which contains your basic styles etc as well as some customisation info. This is prone to getting corrupted.
If you close Word, search on your pc for 'normal.dot' and rename it e.g. normal.dot.old then start Word again, it will create a new one. You can either keep the new one if it helps, or delete it and rename the old one back again if it doesn't.
Worth trying - it still seems to be behaving strangely.

bob

[K-Thom]

A corrupted normal.dot ... comtrjl, just followed your advice, renamed the file, and - look who's back! O-h m-y g-o-o-d-n-e-s-s!

Thanks!!!