Troubleshooting

Writage tab not visible in Word

Word window is too narrow

Word hides custom ribbon tabs when the window is not wide enough to show them. If you cannot see the Writage tab, try maximising the Word window or making it wider. The tab will reappear once there is enough space.

Add-in is disabled

Word sometimes disables add-ins automatically after a crash or an update. To re-enable Writage:

Windows:

1. Open Microsoft Word.
2. Go to File → Options → Add-ins.
3. At the bottom of the dialog, set Manage to COM Add-ins and click Go….
4. In the list, make sure Writage has its checkbox ticked.
5. Click OK and restart Word.

If Writage is not listed at all, reinstall it from the Download section.

macOS:

1. Quit Microsoft Word.
2. Open Finder and use “Go → Go to Folder” menu command to navigate to /Library/Application Support/Microsoft/Office365/User Content.localized/Startup.localized/Word/.
3. Verify that Writage.dotm is present. If it is missing, reinstall Writage.
4. Reopen Word. If prompted about macros, click Enable Macros.

Images are not appearing after conversion

If images are missing after opening a Markdown file in Word:

1. Check that the image files exist in the location referenced from Markdown file.
2. Open Writage Settings and verify the Media folder name matches the folder where your images are stored.
3. Make sure you opened the Markdown file directly in Word, rather than copying only the .md file to a new location without also copying the images folder.

Equations are not converting

If equations in a Markdown file are not converted to Word format, or equations in a Word document are saved as plain text rather than LaTeX:

• Ensure the equation was created with Word’s native Equation Editor (via Insert → Equation). Equations typed as plain text (e.g. E=mc^2) are not recognized — they must use the Equation Editor to be treated as math by Writage.
• For Markdown → DOCX: verify the equation uses supported delimiters: $...$, $$...$$, \(...\), or \[...\].

See Math & Equations for full details.

Citations are not rendering

If [@key] citation syntax appears as plain text in the output rather than formatted citations:

1. Make sure the Citation Style in Writage Settings is set to something other than None.
2. Ensure a bibliography file named references.bib or references.json is present in the same directory as the Markdown file.
3. Check the bibliography file for syntax errors. An invalid .bib or .json file may silently prevent all citations from being processed.
4. Verify the citation keys in the Markdown file exactly match the id or key fields in the bibliography file (keys are case-sensitive).

See Citations for full details.

Writage not working after a Word or system update

If Writage stops working after updating Word or Windows:

1. Open File → Options → Add-ins → COM Add-ins and check whether Writage is still listed and enabled (see above).
2. If the problem persists, reinstall Writage from the Download section.

macOS-specific issues

Permission prompts when opening or saving files

macOS may show permission prompts the first time Writage accesses a folder. Click Allow to grant access. If you accidentally clicked Deny, close the document and click “Open Markdown” button on Writage tab again.

Still having issues?

If none of the above helps, please contact us at support@writage.com and include a description of the problem and your Word and macOS/Windows version.