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Word Support FAQ

Error "The system cannot find the file specified." when clicking on word document link in a File Attribute (Aligned Elements Windows Client)

Problem: when clicking on the blue File Attribute link to open a Word Document, the error "The system cannot find the file specified." is displayed and MS Word does not open, even though MS Word is installed on the computer. 

Solution: this error might occur if the Windows Operating System cannot find the WinWord.exe file on your computer, needed to start Word.

Do the following checks to verify this problem:

Check 1) Click the Windows Button + R to open a Run window. Type "WINWORD.EXE" in the text field in the Run window and click OK. If MS Word does not start, then this is another indication that Windows cannot find the WinWord.exe file.

Check 2)  Click the Windows Button + R to open a Run window. Type "regedit" in the text field in the Run window and click OK. This will open the Registry Editor. Navigate to the path "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\Winword.exe". If this location does not contain 4 entries (but only an empty string), then this is another indication that Windows cannot find the WinWord.exe file.

To find where MS Word is installed on the computer, open the start menu and find the Word icon. Right-click on the word icon and select "Open File Location" or More => Open File Location in the context menu. This will open the file location of the Word shortcut. Right-click on the word shortcut and select "Properties" in the context menu. In the Shortcut tab page, find the Target text field which contains the path to the WinWord.exe.

Use this win word exe path to update the Registry for the registry path defined above, using the following pattern:

Word_App_Path.png 

 

Word Add-In or Template Builder does not display properly when using Dark mode

Word Add-in or Template Builder does not display properly using Dark mode.

Word Add In Dark mode

 

Solve the problem by switching back to Standard Mode.

Use these settings:

Click the File tab => Options à General => Office Theme => Select “Use System Setting”.

Set Standard Mode to fix Dark Mode problem

Close and reopen the MS Word application. The data will appear as expected.

 

An clicking on a File Object file link to open a Word document, an error occurs

This happens for the Aligned Elements Windows client on Windows 11.

The error says "An unexpected error occurred. Please mail the logfile to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. ..." 

On Windows 11 machines, the Microsoft Word installer sometimes do not set the path to the “Winword.exe” in the registry.

Consequently, Aligned Elements fails to start “Winword.exe” since its path is unknown to AE.

How to solve it

Manually adding registry values for this makes the problem go away.

The image below displays the expected registry settings:

Registry_For_Word.PNG

An error appears when starting the Word Add-In

When using the Aligned Elements Windows Client, starting the Word Add-In displays the following error:

Incorrect_Installer.PNG

The error is an indication of that Word is installed as 64-bit on this computer but the Aligned Elements application expects a 32-bit Word application.

How to solve it

First, verify that you are using a Word 64 bit version.

Then uninstall your current Aligned Elements application.

Go to the Download Setups page and make sure you download the "Aligned Elements Windows Client - Word as 64 bit" set up. Make sure you download the correct version!   

The Aligned Elements Web Client Word Add-In does not display any icons

If the Aligned Elements Web Client Word Add-In does not display any icons, proceed as follows:

1) Open MS Word.

2) Click File => Options => Trust Center => Protected View

3) Make sure that the first to checkboxes ( "Enabled Protected View for files originating from the Internet" and "Enabled Protected View for files located in potentially unsafe locations") are not selected.

TrustCenter

Strange Word Add-in display in Windows 10, version 20H2

Word documents and the Word Add-in displays in an awkward manner in Windows 10, version 20H2

How to solve it:

1) Find the Aligned Elements shortcut

2) Display Properties => Compatibility Tab

3) At the bottom of the tab click "Change high DPI settings"

4) At the bottom of the displayed dialog, in the section "High DPI scaling override", if the check box for "Override high DPI scaling" is selected, select "System" (and not e.g. "System (Enhanced)") in the dropdown.

Cannot uninstall a VSTO Customisation

If a VSTO customization cannot be uninstalled with the regular Control Panel - Apps & Features dialog, then access the "old" Programs and Features Dialog by clicking "Programs and Features" under the section "Related Settings" in the Apps & Feature dialog of the Control Panel. In this dialog, the VSTO customization can be uninstalled.

Aligned Elements will not install even though I have Word installed

If the Aligned Elements installer complains about your installed Word application, it might have to do with how it was installed.

Aligned Elements is incompatible with Microsoft Word if Word is installed from the Windows Store / Micorosft App Store.

To check if your Word is installed from the Windows Store, click File -> Account.

If the dialog mentions "Windows Store", then the application was installed as an App from the Windows Store.


office 2016 for windows store a closer look 14933

If you possess an Office 365 license, you can install MS Word as a regular desktop application (Microsoft recommends the 32 bit version) instead (and it would be installed in “C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\root\Office16” or similar). The integration provided from Aligned Elements is built on Microsoft technology but only works with Word distributed as a desktop application.

E.g. MS Word 2016 Desktop Application can be downloaded from here.

The Word Aligned Elements Add-In/Plugin does not show the project explorer.

After starting MS Word, the Aligned Elements Word Add-on/Plugin is visible, but it does not show the Navigation Bar or Project Explorer, only the Message View at the bottom of the pane: 

Empty Action Pane

In order to fix this, select Main Menu => File => Options.

In the dialog, select the section called "General".

In the top most section called the "User Interface options", tick/select the check box for "Optimize for compatibility" to activate it.

Word Options

When completed, restart MS Word for the change to take effect.

I use Office 2007 (or above). How do I get rid of the Security Alert I get each time I open a Word Document with Aligned Elements?

You need to define the AE application directory as “Trusted Location”. If you hold the mouse over the file path string in the dialog "Security Alert" the Aligned Elements application directory is displayed. Click “Open the Trust Center” in the dialog (down to the left) and added the application path as a trusted location and add the option “Trust all subfolders”.

The Word Action Pane does not display in my Word Integration. What have I done wrong?

Note! For Word 2003, you must use Word 2003 Professional SP1 or later. Word 2003 Standard or Small Business will not work.

There are three possible reasons: a) the word templates are corrupt or b) the Action Pane is hidden by Word but accessible or c) it is inaccessible all together. Click Ctrl-F1 in word (Word 2003) to attempt access the general task pane and see if you can find the Action Pane in the drop down list.

If you cannot see it, it might also be the case that the Action Pane Active X component is blocked on your computer. Check for the registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\ActiveX Compatibility\{5f61f809-422a-4152-91f5-9ec1b935efd7}

If you find it, delete it and start Aligned Elements again. This time the Action Pane should be accessible in Word.

If this does not correct the error, you need to reinstall Visual Studio Tools For Office. VSTO 2005 SE can be downloaded here. When you have downloaded and installed VSTO, then repeat the installation of Aligned Elements.

If that also fails, then send us the logfiles and we'll check if the templates are corrupt.

I use Office 2007. When I open a word document I get an error message claiming that the customization could not be copied due to security issues. What is wrong?

If it is the case that your windows user name contains a blank space (like "Peter Stein"), then Aligned Elements is not able to copy the customizations correctly. We are working on a solution for this problem.

Whenever I close a Word document, I get question about saving Normal.dot. This is really annoying.

Do the following:

  • Make sure that no Word instances are running
  • Start Regedit, (Start->Run->Regedit )
  • Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\Word\Addins
  • If there are any Add-In entries listed then set the LoadBehaviour entry to 0 (instead of 3) for the first Add-In
  • Start Aligned Elements and Word and check if you still have the Normal.dot problem.
  • If you still have the problem, set the LoadBehavior entry back to 3 and try the next Add-In in the list.
Suddenly it takes forever to open Word Documents in Aligned Elements. A normal word document opens fast, but an AE word document takes considerably longer to open.

This is a known phenomenon when using the Trend Micro Antivirus software. In the Antivirus "Behavior Monitoring" section, add ProjectView.exe (the Aligned Elements main exe) to the Approved Program List.

Can I print an old revision of a Test Case?
Yes, you can. Create a new File Object and attach a blank Word Document. Select the Test Case (or any Document Object) you want to insert and use the "Insert Frozen Objects" button in the tool bar to specify which revision of the object you want to insert. When the object has been inserted you can use Word's normal print-out mechanism to print it out.
When I drop objects in Word, the document is left blank even though the application says that they have been inserted. Why?

This is caused by the application "WinZip email companion V2". You either have to uninstall it or install version 1 of the application.

When I open a word document from Aligned Elements, I get this message

You need to reinstall Visual Studio Tools For Office. VSTO 2005 SE can be downloaded here. When you have downloaded and installed VSTO, then repeat the installation of Aligned Elements.

Can I filter out the requirements/specifications that have not been inserted in my PRD/SRS Word Document?

Yes, you can. Select "Display Inconsistencies" for the objects you want to check and filter on the Inconsistency called "Document Object Not In File".

When I insert Document Objects in Word I get this Conversion dialog (see below). How do I get rid of it?

In MS Word, open the menu Item Tools -> Options and select the Tab Page called "General".

Deselect the 5th option called "Confirm conversion at Open" and try again.