WD2002: Smart Tag Indicators Don't Appear in Document After You Turn on Smart Tags (292136)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Excel 2002
  • Microsoft Word 2002
This article was previously published under Q292136
IMPORTANT: This article contains information about modifying the registry. Before you modify the registry, make sure to back it up and make sure that you understand how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For information about how to back up, restore, and edit the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows Registry

SYMPTOMS

When you turn on smart tags in one of the Office XP programs listed at the beginning of this article, the smart tag indicators may not appear in your document.

CAUSE

This problem can occur in the following situation:
  1. You uninstall a prerelease version of an Office XP program.

    -and-
  2. You install a released version of an Office XP program.
The released version of Office XP does not overwrite the user settings that the pre-release Office XP program creates.

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, remove the UserData registry key before you upgrade to the released Office XP product. To do this, follow these steps.

NOTE: This workaround removes previously saved Microsoft Office settings.

WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.
  1. Uninstall the pre-release version of Office XP.
  2. On the Start menu, click Run.
  3. In the Open box, type Regedit, and then click OK.
  4. In the Registry Editor, expand the following registry subkey:

    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\Common\UserData

  5. On the Edit menu, click Delete.

    A "Confirm Key Delete" message appears.
  6. Click Yes.
  7. Quit Registry Editor.
  8. Install the released version of Office XP.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.

MORE INFORMATION

The Smart Tag registry key is normally created in the following registry subkey:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\Common\

This section of the registry contains user-specific data. When an earlier version of Office XP creates these keys, a later version of Office XP does not overwrite the keys when you upgrade. The Smart Tag registry key is not created in this section because the earlier version of Office XP did not create a Smart Tag registry key.

NOTE: The problem that is described in the "Symptoms" section of this article can also occur if you uninstall Office XP, remove or rename the Smart Tag registry key, and then reinstall Office XP.
Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:7/27/2006
Keywords:kbbug kbnofix KB292136
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