Table of contents
Uninstall and Reinstall Smart workpapers Add-in
Enable disabled or inactive Smart Workpaper Add-in Components
Troubleshooting #N/A or #NAME? formula errors in Smart Workpapers
Clean Install of Smart workpapers add-in
Workpapers menu item is missing from the Excel ribbon
Workpapers pane is collapsed or won't expand
'Reference isn't valid' and Broken Formulae
Conflicting 3rd Party Add-ins
Workpapers Add-in is still not loading with Excel
Uninstall and Reinstall Smart workpapers Add-in
When the addin is disabled or you are experiencing issues with Smart workpapers in Excel (e.g. inserting a workpaper on the index screen, changing status, name/date populating, reference isn't valid error, formulas showing #NAME? error, side pane not showing etc), please try Reinstalling the Smart workpapers Add-inn as a first troubleshooting step:
1. Close Excel completely.
2. Open the Windows Start Menu and search for Add or Remove Programs. (You can find this in the Windows Control Panel > Add/Remove programs list as well)
3. In the programs list, locate HowNow Smart Workpapers and click Uninstall.
4. Follow the prompts to complete the uninstallation process.
5. Once uninstalled, navigate to the Smart Workpaper Add-In Installation help article and follow the instructions to download and install the smart workpapers add-in.
6. Once installed, open a Smart workpaper in Excel and test its functionality.
Enable disabled or inactive Smart Workpaper Add-in Components
Tip: After a successful Smart workpapers installation, Open Excel to confirm that both of the Smart workpaper add-in components have installed correctly.
You can verify this by Opening Excel, go to File > Options > Add-ins. You should see the following two components listed:
HowNow Smart Workpapers COM Add-in
HowNow Smart Workpapers Formulas Excel Add-in
If either of the above Smart workpaper add-in components are missing, on the same screen:
a) Check the Inactive Add-ins section. If the missing one is listed there:
In the Manage dropdown at the bottom of the same screen, Select the appropriate type (COM Add-ins or Excel Add-ins) at the bottom of the window.
Click Go.
Tick the box next to the missing smart workpapers add-in component and click OK.
b) Check the Disabled Application Add-ins section. If the missing Smart workpapers component is listed there:
In the Manage window at the bottom of the same screen, select Disabled Items and press Go.
Look for an add-in named adxloader (or similar).
If found, click Enable and then press OK.
Afterwards, Restart your Excel program and reopen your Smart workpapers file to retest the issue.
Troubleshooting #N/A or #NAME? formula errors in Smart Workpapers
Please see the help article below:
How To Troubleshoot Smart workpaper #N/A or #NAME? errors in cells that Still Retain Their Formulas
Clean Install of Smart workpapers add-in
If Issues persist after basic uninstall and reinstall, try a clean uninstall and reinstall of the Smart Workpapers Add-in with the steps below:
1. Close all open Excel sheets and exit Excel.
2. Open File Explorer and navigate to:
%localappdata%\Business Fitness\HowNow Smart Workpapers
3. In the folder, run unins000.exe and follow the steps to complete the uninstallation.
4. Once uninstalled, check that the above HowNow Smart Workpapers folder is deleted. If it is not, delete it manually.
5. Close File Explorer and open Registry Editor.
WARNING: It is recommended that your qualified IT team perform steps involving the Registry.
6. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\Excel and check any sub-keys for references to the Smart Workpapers Add-in, delete these keys.
7. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office, expand the highest version folder, then the Excel folder, and remove references to the Smart Workpapers Add-in (commonly in AddInLoadTimes).
8. Delete the key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\businessfitness\SmartWorkpapers
9. Close Registry Editor and open Credential Manager.
10. In Credential Manager, click Windows Credentials, locate SmartWorkpapersCredential, and click Remove. Do not remove any other items.
11. Once removed close Credential Manager and navigate to the Workpapers website.
12. navigate to the Smart Workpaper Add-In Installation help article and follow the instructions to download and install the smart workpapers add-in.
13. Once installed, open a Smart workpaper in Excel and test its functionality.
Workpapers menu item is missing from the Excel ribbon
If the Workpapers menu is missing from Excel, We generally see this when the Workpapers COM add-in has become disabled, inactive, or unloaded in Excel.
1. In Excel, go to File > Options > Add-ins.
2. From the Manage dropdown, select COM Add-ins and click Go.
3. Ensure that HowNow Smart Workpapers is ticked and click OK.
- If it isn’t listed, perform a basic uninstall and reinstall of the Add-in (see above).
4. Return to the Workpaper and verify the Workpapers tab is present in the Ribbon.
Workpapers pane is collapsed or won't expand
This issue often occurs on low-resolution monitors. Ensure you are working on a monitor with a resolution of 1920x1080 or higher.
If the pane is not visible or is fully collapsed to the right:
Open the Workpaper and go to the Index sheet. Click an Insert button to prompt the pane to appear.
Look to the right of the scroll bar for five dots. (shown below).
3. Click these dots to expand the pane.
4. If the pane doesn’t expand or expands only partially:
Hover the mouse over the pane’s edge until a horizontal double-ended arrow appears.
Click and drag to the left until the side pane appears and a grey vertical line follows the cursor.
Release the mouse.
Tip: When dragging the collapsed side pane, ensure to drag the side pane more than half way across the screen to the left until the side pane appears.
5. If you do not get the horizontal arrow, click the five dots again and try hovering over the edge of the pane once more to repeat the steps above.
6. Once the side pane is visible, click the Close button in the top right of the pane, then click an Insert button in the Workpaper again to ensure that the pane reopens at the same width.
Tip: The width of the Side pane is remembered when you insert a workpaper on the index sheet. Therefore, once you have expanded the side pane to your desired width, insert a workpaper on the index screen and repeat the above steps until Excel remembers the side pane's width.
'Reference isn't valid' and Broken Formulae
Please refer to the help article below:
How to troubleshoot 'Reference isn't valid' and Broken Formulae in Smart Workpapers
Conflicting 3rd Party Add-ins
Here are also some conflicting 3rd party add-ins from previous testing, which can cause issues with the Smart workpapers addin functioning correctly. This includes the following addins:
LEAP Excel Add-in
Templafy Excel Add-in
Sage X3 Office Excel Add-in (may require Office repair after disabling)
HowNow Office Add-in
Kofax Convert PDF Excel Addin & Kofax Export PDF Addin
Workpapers Add-in is still not loading with Excel
This issue is generally caused by the LoadBehaviour value in the Smart Workpapers registry key.
Note: IT assistance is strongly recommended as this involves sensitive system settings
To fix:
Open Registry Editor.
Navigate to:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Office\Excel\Addins\Workpapers.Next.AddinModule.Ensure the
LoadBehaviourvalue is set to 3. If it isn’t, edit the value to 3.Close Registry Editor and open a Workpaper.
Verify that the Add-in is loading by checking the Workpapers tab in the Excel ribbon.
If unresolved, perform a clean uninstall/reinstall of the Add-in (see above) or conduct an Office repair install followed by Add-in reinstallation.