How to fix citations from Mendeley cit plug in, that will not insert the citations

Hi Lydia Martin,

Welcome to Microsoft Q&A.

Sorry for this frustrating experience regarding the Mendeley Cite plugin in Microsoft Word for Mac (v19.99.1) issue. To resolve this, here are some troubleshooting steps you can try:

1. Fix Citation Insertion Failures

Update Software:

• Ensure Mendeley Reference Manager and Word are fully updated (check for updates in both apps).
• Use the latest macOS-compatible versions.

Reinstall the Plugin:

• Quit Word and Mendeley.
• Open Mendeley Reference Manager.
• Go to Tools → Install MS Word Plugin.
• Restart Word and check the References tab for the Mendeley toolbar.

Reset Word Add-ins:

• In Word, go to Word → Preferences → File Locations.
• Note the path for Startup (usually ~/Library/Group Containers/UBF8T346G9.Office/User Content/Startup/Word).
• Navigate to this folder in Finder and remove any Mendeley-related files (e.g., Mendeley Cite.pkg, Mendeley Cite.dotm).
• Reinstall the plugin via Mendeley (as above).

Repair Office Installation:

Use the Microsoft Office Reset Tool or reinstall Office via Microsoft AutoUpdate (in Applications).

2. Fix Font Mismatch in Citations

Modify Mendeley's Style:

• In Word, go to References → Mendeley Cite → Citation Settings → Change Citation Style.
• Select your style (e.g., APA) → Edit Style.
• Adjust the font settings under Bibliography and Citations to match your document.
• Save the style with a new name and apply it.

Edit Word Styles:

• In Word, open Styles (press ⌘ + Option + Shift + S).
• Right-click Mendeley Bibliography → Modify.
• Set your preferred font and formatting (match document font).
• Repeat for Mendeley Citation.

3. Stop Citations Changing When Editing Online

Avoid Online/Web Editing:

Mendeley plugins are not fully compatible with Word Online. Edit documents only in the desktop app.

Refresh References:

• After reopening the document in desktop Word, click Refresh in the Mendeley toolbar.
• If citations corrupt, Unlink and Relink your Mendeley library: References → Mendeley Cite → Settings → Unlink Library → then Link Library.

Prevent Sync Conflicts:

• Disable auto-save in Word (File → Options → Save → uncheck AutoSave) while working offline.
• Use OneDrive sync only after closing the document.

Advanced Troubleshooting

Clear Word Cache:

• Quit Word.
• Delete the Word cache folder: ~/Library/Containers/com.microsoft.Word/Data/Library/Caches/.
• Restart Word.

Recreate the Document:

• Create a new Word document.
• Copy/paste your content (without citations).
• Reinsert citations fresh.

Check for Conflicts:

• Disable other Word plugins via Word → Preferences → File Locations → Add-ins.
• Test with only Mendeley enabled.

Verify System Compatibility

• Ensure your macOS version supports both Word and Mendeley (e.g., macOS 12+).
• Use Rosetta for Intel-based plugins if on Apple Silicon (M1/M2): Right-click Word → Get Info. Check Open using Rosetta.

Contact Support:

In case you need further support, you can contact Mendeley Support via this link:

https://support.mendeley.com/

Note: Microsoft is providing this information as a convenience to you. The sites are not controlled by Microsoft. Microsoft cannot make any representations regarding the quality, safety, or suitability of any software or information found there. Please make sure that you completely understand the risk before retrieving any suggestions from the above link 

I hope this can help resolve your issue. Feel free to get back if you have other concerns. 

Best regards, 

Kai Ho | Microsoft Q&A Specialist 

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