Word 2010 and Endnote X4 works great after fixing "invalid class string" error

Previously, I was using Word 2007 and Endnote X3.01 on a Widows 7 Home premium platform. I did an upgrade to Office 2010 x86 (32-bit) and Endnote X4. This is what I did after consulting with Endnote Tech support:

  1. Saved all of my customized styles into an another folder.

2. Saved my database as well.

  1. Uninstalled Endnote X3.01 using Control panel Uninstall programs.

  2. Used CCleaner to clean up the registry.

5. Installed Office 2010 x86 (32 bit) as an upgrade and checked programs like Word.

  1. Installed Endnote X4 with the provided product key.

  2. Opened Word 2010 and the addin for endnote x4 did not display. Got an error, “Invalid class string”.

  3. Closed Word 2010.

  4. Open Widows explorer, goto program files where Endnote X4 and right click  on Endnote.exe as an administrator.

  5. Open Word 2010 and addin Endnote X4 worked with no “invalid class string”.

  6. Copied my customized styles to the styles folder in program files for  Endnote X4

  7. Copied my database folder in program files for Endnote X4

I had tried nearly everything to get Endnote X4 and Word to work together.   We are in a corporate environment and although you can use Solution 13 from the FAQ section it is good to note that this solution is likely for a standalone computer.

I had phoned Thomson Reuters support and they were only able to refer me back to solution 13 and only stated it was a permission problem but could not guide me past the posted solution.

Here is the altered version where I was able to get all networked computers to stop the Invalid Class String with X4 and Office 2007

YOU MUST HAVE PERMISSIONS TO CHANGE USER SETTINGS ON YOUR DOMAIN

1.    Close all programs

2.    Do a windows search on the local computer for regedit (normally in C:\WINDOWS)

3.    Right Click on the Regedit.exe and RUN AS…   the local administrator (if you are using the client’s profile)

4.    Select Ctrl + F and search for EndNote14.AddinServer

5.    You should find the two keys below if the program is closed;

            HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID{575B6FEB-477B-4595-A478-9B141A98D869}

            HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\EndNote14.AddinServer

            ***OR***

            HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\EndNote14.AddInServer

6.    On the lefthand side of the regedit, right click on the key and select permissions.

7.    Click on Add

8.     From the Select, Users, Computers or Groups, you MUST SELECT YOUR DOMAIN from location - not the local computer. 

9.    Enter EVERYONE and click on OK

10.  Enter your network credentials

11.  Highlight the “Everyone” group and in the permissions, under the allow column, click on “Full Control”

12.  Click on OK, Repeat this on the second key.

If you are missing either key, open notepad copy and paste the info below and save the document as EndNoteinvalidstringclass.reg. 

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\EndNote14.AddinServer]
@=“EndNote14.AddinServer”

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\EndNote14.AddinServer\CLSID]
@="{575B6FEB-477B-4595-A478-9B141A98D869}"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID{575B6FEB-477B-4595-A478-9B141A98D869}]
@=“EndNote14.AddinServer”

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID{575B6FEB-477B-4595-A478-9B141A98D869}\InprocHandler32]
@=“ole32.dll”

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID{575B6FEB-477B-4595-A478-9B141A98D869}\LocalServer32]
@=“C:\PROGRA~1\ENDNOT~2\EndNote.exe”

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID{575B6FEB-477B-4595-A478-9B141A98D869}\ProgID]
@=“EndNote14.AddinServer”

This worked on the first six Windows XP computers that have had multiple different versions of EndNote Installed.

Corrections for the Registry update tool   I forgot the "Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 at the top.  You should be able to copy and paste below, and follow the directions above.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\EndNote14.AddinServer]
@=“EndNote14.AddinServer”

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\EndNote14.AddinServer\CLSID]
@="{575B6FEB-477B-4595-A478-9B141A98D869}"

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID{575B6FEB-477B-4595-A478-9B141A98D869}]
@=“EndNote14.AddinServer”

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID{575B6FEB-477B-4595-A478-9B141A98D869}\InprocHandler32]
@=“ole32.dll”

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID{575B6FEB-477B-4595-A478-9B141A98D869}\LocalServer32]
@=“C:\PROGRA~1\ENDNOT~2\EndNote.exe”

[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\CLSID{575B6FEB-477B-4595-A478-9B141A98D869}\ProgID]
@=“EndNote14.AddinServer”