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Recently since I moved to Excel 2010 64-bit I discovered that many add-ins (XLLs) I used regularly stopped working (Excel reports an "invalid add-in" error when I try to add it).

Does it always hold that 32-bit built add-ins are never compatible to 64-bit Excel, or is it just the case of my add-ins?

Johan
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Steve06
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  • To address Steve06, I am having the exact same issue. To answer your question, right now I am currently running, on the same machine, Office365 64-bit and Office2010 Pro 32-bit. So yes it is possible. – Chris P. Dec 21 '17 at 15:57

1 Answers1

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32-bit plug-ins won't run in IE 64-bit. 32-bit drivers won't run under 64-bit Windows. 32-bit add-ins won't run in 64-bit Office. It's not just you, it's because 64-bit programs can't load 32-bit modules.

Please see Compatibility Between the 32-bit and 64-bit Versions of Office 2010

"Native 64-bit processes in Office 2010 cannot load 32-bit binaries. This is expected to be a common issue when you have existing Microsoft ActiveX controls and existing add-ins,"

One more link from MS about the differences between 32 and 64 bit versions of Office, and how 64-bit versions cannot run 32-bit add-ons.

James L.
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  • Thanks, I had suspected it would be like that. Is there ANY way to run 32 and 64-bit Office simultaneously? – Steve06 Oct 10 '12 at 18:34
  • Haven't tried myself, but it seems fraught with problems. File extension will be mapped to one or the other. Unless the OLE objects have different GUIDs between 32-bit and 64-bit, then only one flavor can register its OLE servers. And the list goes on... If you're on Win7Pro, then you have a license to run a WinXP VM. You could install the 32-bit version of Office in the VM... – James L. Oct 10 '12 at 18:43
  • Here's a link that suggests that you cannot install both on the same computer: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2269468 – James L. Oct 10 '12 at 19:04