Add-in missing from PowerPoint

Your add-in tab is gone, but you didn’t remove it. This usually happens after a Windows or Office update, after files were moved, or on a new computer. This is usually a PowerPoint issue, not a licensing problem. Your key has not expired.

Diagnose first: is the add-in still registered?

Before reinstalling anything, check whether PowerPoint still knows about the add-in. That tells you which fix you need.

Windows

1. In PowerPoint, open File → Options → Add-ins.
2. At the bottom, in the Manage dropdown, choose PowerPoint Add-ins and click Go.
3. Look at the active, inactive, and disabled lists for your add-in.

Mac

1. In PowerPoint, open the Tools menu.
2. Choose PowerPoint Add-ins.
3. Check whether your add-in is listed there.

What you see points you to the right section below.

The file was moved, renamed, or deleted

PowerPoint loads an add-in from the exact file path it was added from. If the .ppam file moved, got renamed, or was deleted, the entry breaks and the tab vanishes.

1. In the add-ins list, select the broken entry and remove it.
2. Add the add-in again, pointing at the .ppam file’s current location.
3. Restart PowerPoint completely.

Tip

Keep the .ppam file in a permanent folder you won’t clean out, not your Downloads or Desktop. Moving it later breaks the link again.

An update disabled it

A PowerPoint or Windows update can push an add-in into the disabled list, or drop it from the ribbon entirely.

1. In the add-ins list, find your add-in in the disabled or inactive items and re-enable it.
2. Restart PowerPoint.
3. If it still won’t load, reinstall the latest signed version.

Installing the current version is also the fix if PowerPoint warns about the publisher or certificate. Never lower your macro security to get an add-in back.

Update an add-inDownload and install the latest signed version.

On Mac, check the Tools menu

On Mac, Bearwood Labs add-ins live under the Tools menu, not a ribbon tab of their own. If you’re hunting the ribbon for a tab that was there on Windows, this one trips up a lot of first-time Mac users. Open Tools → PowerPoint Add-ins to confirm it’s loaded.

Last resort: a clean reinstall

If none of the above brings the tab back, start fresh.

1. Uninstall or remove the add-in.
2. Download the latest version.
3. On Windows, PowerPoint may block a freshly downloaded file. See PowerPoint blocked the add-in for the unblock step.
4. Add the add-in again and restart PowerPoint.

For the full step-by-step, see your product’s own install guide.

Note

Setting up a whole new machine? Start with moving to a new computer for the full reinstall and activation steps.

Something not covered here? See contact support.