How to Remove (Disable) Add-Ins in Excel?

Excel add-ins are helpful when you want to enhance the functionalities in Excel and do things not available by default.

Sometimes, you may even have to install and use third-party add-ins.

While add-ins are useful, you may want to remove them when you’re done using it. Or, sometimes, it may interfere with the proper functioning of Excel and needs to be disabled or completely removed for Excel to work properly.

In this article, I will show you some simple methods to disable or remove add-ins in Excel.

Disable Add-ins in Excel

When you disable an add-in Excel, you turn off its functionality while still having the option to enable it if needed in the future.

There are two methods you can use to disable add-ins in Excel.

Using the Developer Tab Option in the Ribbon

Below are the steps to disable the add-in using the Developer tab in the ribbon:

1. Click the Developer tab.
2. In the Add-ins group, click on Excel Add-ins. This will open an add-ins dialog box that will show you all the add-ins that are currently available in your Excel file.

3. Uncheck the add-in that you want to disable.

4. Click OK.

Once the add-in is disabled, you will no longer use the additional functionality it provided. Also, if it was causing any issues with your Excel, this should fix it.

You can also restart Excel after disabling the add-in in case any interference because of the add-in persists.

In case you have COM Add-ins that you want to disable, you need to click on the COM Add-ins option in Step 2.

Note: If you do not see the Developer tab in the ribbon in your Excel workbook, you can use the steps shown in this article to get the Developer tab.

Using the File Tab Options

Another option to disable add-ins in Excel is by using the Excel Options dialog box. This can be opened using the File tab in the ribbon.

Below are the steps to do this:

1. Click the File tab in the ribbon.

2. In the workbook backstage area, click on Options. This will open the Excel options dialog box.
3. In the Excel Options dialog box, click on the Add-ins option.

4. In the Manage drop-down, make sure Excel Add-ins is selected. If not, select it from the drop-down.

5. Click on the Go button.

6. In the Add-ins dialog box, uncheck the add-ins that you want to disable.

7. Click OK.

In case you have COM Add-ins that you want to disable, you need to select the COM Add-ins option in Step 4.

Also read: How to Create and Use an Excel Add-in

Remove the Add-in File from Your System

If you want to remove an add-in from your system completely, you need to remove the add-in file that is saved and is being used by Excel.

Disabling an add-in would not remove that file, so you need to manually go and delete it from a folder.

Below are the steps to find out the location of the add-in file and then delete it from the folder on your system.

1. Click the File tab in the ribbon.
2. In the workbook backstage area, click on Options. This will open the Excel options dialog box.
3. In the Excel Options dialog box, click on the Add-ins option.

4. You should now see a list of all the active and inactive add-ins in your Excel application. Note the location of the add-in that you want to remove from your Excel file.

5. Open the location of the added that you want to remove, and then delete the add-in file from the folder. In this example, I opened the folder that contains the add-in file for the Solver add-in.

6. Close all the open Excel workbooks and reopen Excel again.

Once you have deleted the add-in file from the folder, that add-in is permanently deleted from your Excel application. If you want to use that add-in again, you will have to install it.

Also read: How to Remove Macros From Excel 

Excel Add-in Vs Com Add-in

Excel Add-ins and COM Add-ins are both used to extend the functionality of Microsoft Excel, but they differ in their integration and development methods:

Excel Add-ins:

• Mostly written in VBA (Visual Basic for Applications).
• It can be easily shared and installed in Excel without requiring registration in the system registry.
• Mostly used for simple automation and creating custom User-Defined Functions.

COM Add-ins:

• Coded in programming languages supporting COM (Component Object Model), such as C++, Visual Basic, or .NET.
• They interact with Excel through a more complex COM interface, which can offer deeper integration and more control over Excel’s environment.
• COM add-ins need to be registered with the system’s registry. This makes the deployment more complex compared with regular Excel add-ins.

While there is a difference between the Excel add-ins and Com add-ins, the method to disable or remove them remains the same.

Some Issues That May Require You to Remove Excel Add-ins

• Performance issues: While add-ins allow you to add additional functionalities to your Excel, they may utilize more resources and slow down your workbooks. Removing these add-ins can help improve the performance of the Excel application.
• Conflicts or errors: Add-ins may conflict with each other or the built-in functionalities in Excel, causing errors or crashes. Disabling or removing add-ins can help solve these conflicts.
• Security concerns: If your Excel file has add-ins from untrusted sources, it could lead to security risks. It’s best to remove these add-ins in such a scenario.
• No longer needed: Once you no longer require an add-in, it’s best to remove it as it would lead to better performance of the Excel application.
• Troubleshooting: Temporarily disabling add-ins is a common step in troubleshooting Excel problems to identify the cause. If an issue persists when the add-in is enabled and goes away when it is disabled, you know that the add-in is causing the problem and needs to be removed.

In this article, I showed you three methods to disable or remove add-ins from Excel. If you want to remove the add-in temporarily, it’s best to disable it so that it can be enabled easily. And if you want to get rid of the add-in permanently, you need to remove the add-in file from your system.

I hope you found this article helpful. In case you have any questions or suggestions, do let me know in the comments section.

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