Smart tags stopped working
Logos smart-tags have just started crashing Windows. Happens every time, on two machines, different versions of Word. Crash in wwlib.dll. It was fine last week. Can anybody help with this?
Comments
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Curious about Logos version ?
FYI: Logos 8 is no longer supported => https://support.logos.com/hc/en-us/articles/360007391412 Purchasing Logos 9 Basic and/or Verbum 9 Basic provides free upgrade to supported Logos 9 (keeps everything already purchased while "purchase" adds version 9 software engine license).
Keep Smiling [:)]
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C Russell said:
Logos smart-tags have just started crashing Windows.
Crashing Windows? More like a crash of Word in wwlib.dll?
What exactly are you doing when Word crashes? Provide details of your Word versions, and whether 32/64 bit. Does other use of Word cause it to crash?
NB. Whether on Logos 8 or Logos 9, Smart tags are not supported by Faithlife and are deprecated by Microsoft
Dave
===Windows 11 & Android 13
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Yes, careless wording on my part. I meant crashing Word in Windows.
I am running 32-bit 365 on one machine, and 32-bit Office 16 on the other. I place my cursor over the reference and simply select Additional Actions, without specifying one one of them. There is a momentary freeze, then Word simply disappears. Event log shows:
Faulting application name: WINWORD.EXE, version: 16.0.13801.20266, time stamp: 0x6039ca15
Faulting module name: wwlib.dll, version: 16.0.13801.20266, time stamp: 0x6039cd16
Exception code: 0xc0000005
Fault offset: 0x00009144
Faulting process ID: 0xa70
Faulting application start time: 0x01d7151c8d8cf962
Faulting application path: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\root\Office16\WINWORD.EXE
Faulting module path: C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft Office\root\Office16\wwlib.dll
Report ID: 229f45db-0ade-491f-af25-059a78e04b86
Faulting package full name:
Faulting package-relative application ID:I'm mystified that this has occurred on two disparate machines at the same time.
Logos has updated in that time, and I believe Windows has applied maintenance too.
I do have full backups, but I'm not in a position to recover the whole machine.No other use of Word causes any problems. One machine is only a couple of weeks old.
Do you have any thoughts, Dave?
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We haven't changed the L4SmrtTg.dll file in almost a year (it may even show a date of 3/13/2020 on your system?) so while it's possible this is related to Logos 9.3, that seems like a less likely explanation to me (particularly if other users are not crashing with the Smart Tag).
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C Russell said:
Faulting module name: wwlib.dll, version: 16.0.13801.20266,
Sadly, I discovered that this version causes the Additional Actions menu item to be unresponsive with a Smart Tag (and other Actions) on two machines. No crash. This doesn't look like Actions are being phased out, so a future update of Office could resolve the problem.
The previous version 16.0.13628.20380 was OK with Smart Tags.
Dave
===Windows 11 & Android 13
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Dave Hooton said:
Sadly, I discovered that this version causes the Additional Actions menu item to be unresponsive with a Smart Tag (and other Actions) on two machines.
This is what I've been experiencing for the last week or so with Word. It freezes up when I attempt to open the Additional Actions options menu. One such crash offered me the opportunity to report it to MS which I did. The others have not.
Back to using Copy Bible Verses for now.
Pastor, North Park Baptist Church
Bridgeport, CT USA
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Thanks Dave.
Glad to discover it is not something I have broken.
Bless you.
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Thanks Mark.
Yes that is a workable remedy for the time being.
Bless you.
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I installed Proclaim this week, and now I have the same problem in that Word crashes when I try to access 'Additional Actions' in the right-click context menu in Word. I don't know if the two are related.
Sometimes it crashes, and other times it just becomes slow to input text. A selection is only highlighted 'after' I let go of the mouse, and a word typed only appears all at once after the whole word has been typed.
Once the problem was initiated, closing Word and restarting it didn't remove the problem. However, after closing Word, when I ended the task titled 'Microsoft Text Input Application' and then restarted Word, it was back to normal again. If I selected 'Additional Actions' the same problem would return. I would have to close Word and end that task again to get back to normal.
Glad it isn't just me experiencing the problem in one sense. But sad that others have it too.
The Copy Verses is a workaround at the moment.
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I am also having difficulty with the Smart tag function in Word.
If I try to use it, Word slows down drastically and has to be restarted. When I hover on "Additional Actions", Nothing happens. Nothing to click on. After that Word slows to a crawl and everything seems to have a 1-2 second delay in response.
If I disable the Logos smart tag function in Word, and restart the word file, The "Additional actions" Function is restored and word runs as usual.
If I have the Logos Smart tag enabled in Word and Logos is not running the "Additional Actions" function works as normal and Word does not slow down.
So it seems that there is a disconnect of some kind between Logos and Word.
I am running Word 365 with latest updates and Logos 9.3 SR2.
I would really like for this function to be restored as I use it quite often.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Jim McGuire
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I have been having the same problem as well. I run both Word 2016 and 2019 in 64 bit.
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My problem likewise is with Logos 9 and Word 365, but if I open Word 2010 everything works perfectly! I apparently have a lot to be thankful for. I am practically paralyzed without Smart Tags because I use them constantly. I am not at all optimistic about a fix coming anytime soon. Oh me of little faith!
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Has anyone found a fix for this yet? Smart Tags worked fine for me in Logos 8 but is crashing Word 365 since I upgraded to Logos 9.
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Gary Eller said:
Has anyone found a fix for this yet? Smart Tags worked fine for me in Logos 8 but is crashing Word 365 since I upgraded to Logos 9.
There has been a recent update of Office 365 but the problem remains whether you use L8 or L9.
Dave
===Windows 11 & Android 13
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Dave Hooton said:
this version causes the Additional Actions menu item to be unresponsive with a Smart Tag (and other Actions) on two machines.
Add my laptop to the list of those for whom Smart Tags are broken. Right click on Smart Tags, & Word Hangs. It'll eventually come back, but the smart tag won't. And from then on until restart, word isn't terribly responsive. Found this thread while looking to see if there was a fix. Happened with either a release of L9 or a Microsoft 365, not sure which.
Win 10 (latest version)
Microsoft 365
Logos 9.5.0.0014
Grace & Peace,
Bill
MSI GF63 8RD, I-7 8850H, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD, 2TB HDD, NVIDIA GTX 1050Max
iPhone 12 Pro Max 512Gb
iPad 9th Gen iOS 15.6, 256GB0 -
BillS said:
Happened with either a release of L9 or a Microsoft 365, not sure which.
It was a MS 365 release, and subsequent releases have not changed the behaviour.
Dave
===Windows 11 & Android 13
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I debugged the Smart Tag code tonight with Word and WWLIB.DLL version 16.0.13801.20626.
There is a crash in WWLIB.DLL that (as far as I can tell) isn't due to buggy code in the Logos Smart Tag. (However, without debug symbols for WWLIB.DLL and MSO.DLL, it's not possible to pinpoint exactly, and I don't plan to debug the raw assembly.)
Given that we haven't updated the Smart Tag code in years, and that it's worked fine with Word 2003 - 2016 (until this latest update), this suggests that Microsoft introduced an incompatibility in a recent Word update. (Although it's a mystery why they'd be touching the deprecated smart tag code.)
An additional piece of evidence is that I can't get any other "Additional Actions" to work. For example, if I disable the Logos Smart Tag, but leave Measurement Converter enabled, then type "1 cm" in a document, Word crashes if I right-click and choose Additional Actions for that text. It seems that all Smart Tags in Word are broken, not just Logos.
Meanwhile, Microsoft has deleted all the documentation for the Office COM API for Smart Tags from MSDN (it has been deprecated for 10+ years), so even figuring out how this is all supposed to work is difficult.
My only suggestion at this point is to contact Microsoft Support and report this failure in Additional Actions in Word. Until they fix it, it looks like the Logos Smart Tag is no longer functional.
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Given that we haven't updated the Smart Tag code in years, and that it's worked fine with Word 2003 - 2016 (until this latest update)
Per my post of March 10 above, I found the Additional Actions menu item for Smart Tags (and other Actions) to be unresponsive with wwlib.dll, version 16.0.13801.20266; whereas it was OK with the previous version. All future updates of Office 365 have not resolved the problem.
I can't find any independent reports online for Additional Actions! Someone with an MS account could report it.
Dave
===Windows 11 & Android 13
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Dave Hooton said:
I can't find any independent reports online for Additional Actions!
I don't think anyone uses them any more. "Enable additional actions in the right-click menu" is buried three layers deep in the Options dialog and disabled by default, correct?
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I've been having the same problem for a while now, but thought I'd wait to see if anyone else on the Forums mentioned it before reporting it. I'm not sure if it was triggered by an update to Logos (9.3 to 9.4?) or to Word 365, but now any attempt to use Additional Actions in Word makes it extremely unresponsive. I currently have 'Enable additional actions in the right-click menu' checked, but none of the specific Additional Actions (including Logos) checked, and Word runs normally. If I check Logos in the Available actions list, Word stops running normally and is extremely slow to respond, while the Logos Bible Reference function does not work at all. The only way to restore it is to clear all the Additional Actions check-boxes and restart Word. This is extremely sad as I have used this function extensively for sermon and Bible study prep for years, both to add Bible texts to my Word doc and even to get Logos to open a Bible to a text whose reference I type into a Word doc. Copy Bible verses is a work-around, but way slower, less efficient, and less convenient. If anyone comes up with a solution, or if MS posts a fix somewhere, please let us know on this Forum, as the Additional Actions function connecting Logos and Word is one of the most beneficial I've ever used in Logos! Thanks a bunch!
Darcy
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"Enable additional actions in the right-click menu" is buried three layers deep in the Options dialog and disabled by default, correct?
Yes.
Dave
===Windows 11 & Android 13
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I lost the tags function six months ago on a Dell PC with Windows 10 Pro 32-bit, Office 365, and Logos 7 and got it back 5/14/21 after numerous updates.
In short: I assume the update to 64-bit Windows and Word, update to Logos 9, and registering or installing LSmtTg64.dll recovered the tags function, but I can’t confirm. Maybe the text below isn't necessary, but over many weeks, I appreciated thorough ID of the problem and user-friendly steps others tried. So, I’ll provide a lengthy description.
More information: After updates, Bible reference tags works with my current system:
- Dell Latitude 7480 Intel Core i7-6600U CPU @ 2.60GHz, 2.81 GHz
- Windows 10 Pro, 64-bit, version 20H2, OS Build 19042.985, Windows Feature Experience Pack 120.2212.2020.0
- Microsoft Word version 2008 for Microsoft 365 MSO (16.0.13127.21624), 64-bit
- Logos 9 Bible Software 9.5 SR-1, 9.5.0.0019 (free update, so still with Logos 7 Base Pkg Library)
Problem was same as described by many: right-click on Bible reference > mouse-over Additional Menus immediately disabled specific contextual menus (Additional Actions, Synonyms, Translate, Link, and New Comments) and caused general sluggishness and freeze in Word. Waiting did no good. Necessary force-quit Word (ctrl-alt-delete > Task Manager) or restart even after quitting Logos.
Tags now works perfectly as it worked prior to this problem.
Process included days of research, hard work by our I.T. director, repeatedly “registering” the tags database (whatever that means) per:
and two tech calls with Logos. (Logos reps did not seem familiar with the tags function or the issue, but Logos is clear they “cannot help troubleshoot any problems related to this feature”: https://support.logos.com/hc/en-us/articles/360046413651-Smart-Tags), probably due to dependence on Microsoft for the tags function.
Both of the following files are in C:\Users\brianl\AppData\Local\Logos\System\
L4SmrtTg.dll LSmtTg64.dll Probably only the second is significant.
I cannot locate the wwlib.dll file Mr. Hooten mentions, so I don't know the version I have. He noted that version 16.0.13801.20266 causes trouble, but the previous version 16.0.13628.20380 worked.
Steps:
- No help from Microsoft after much research.
- Logos gave free upgrade Logos 7 to 9 (minus resources that were not included in 7). This was great but did not fix the problem. Nevertheless, may be necessary to the solution. They did not say a fix was possible.
- Per Mr. Hooten’s wiki page https://wiki.logos.com/Smart_Tags, registered tags database with PowerShell script download. It did not fix the problem at this point. Tried troubleshooting with Options (AutoCorrect) within Additional Actions, such as deselecting and re-selecting the checkbox by “Logos Bible Software (Bible References)” and other boxes and enabling/disabling Additional Actions with intermittent restarts. No results.
- I.T. director updated Windows and Word as follows, but that did not help (at least not for several days):
- Repeated various troubleshooting steps.
- Windows 10 Pro version update to 64-bit system and 64-bit Office
- He ran the tags registration script again (several times)
- Since no result, he agreed with Mr. Hooten (3/9/2021 https://community.logos.com/forums/t/199372.aspx?PageIndex=1) that Microsoft “deprecated” tags (no longer servicing it?), or perhaps corrupted in some other way as Mr. Grainger mentioned.
- He gave up. Nothing he tried brought results after three hours.
- I stopped troubleshooting but tried Additional Actions now and then (with freezing) for two days (denial stage).
Several days later, after prayer for my computer (remember the Sparrow) and checking the function, it worked! Something was definitely resolved.
Thank you to Mr. Hooten and Mr. Grainger and all who commented.
Brian
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Hi,
I'm glad to hear that Smart Tags are working again for you, Brian. Unfortunately, they still don't work for me. My set up is not quite the same as yours, though it is fairly similar. I'm using Windows 10 Home version, 64-bit and 32-bit Office 365. My version of Windows 10 is 20H2 and the Build is 19042.985, which appears to be the same update as your version of Windows 10 Pro. My 32-bit Office 365 actually looks like it might be more recent than your 64-bit version (mine is Version 2105, Build 14026.20246), but I'm not sure if the numbers are comparable since one is 32-bit and the other is 64-bit. My laptop has a similar CPU (Intel Core i7-6700HQ @ 2.60 GHz) and my version of Logos 9 is up-to-date (9.5 SR-1, 9.5.0.0019).
I tried reinstalling the Smart Tags dll using PowerShell as per the instructions in the Wiki, but the result is still the same: Word will not access the Logos Reference Smart Tag, and Word slows down incredibly after the attempt. The only way to get Word running properly again is to deselect the Enable Additional Actions check box under the Add-Ins section of the Options menu and then restart Word.
So I guess I'm stuck with using Copy Bible Verses for now, but it is much more of a hassle than using the right click Actions menu in Word the way I have been doing for several years. Hopefully someone will come up with a way of fixing the problem. Will definitely try prayer, as you did, in your journey to success! Thanks for sharing your experience.
Regards,
Darcy
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Darcy S. Van Horn said:
32-bit Office 365 ... Version 2105, Build 14026.20246
I just updated to this version and can confirm that Smart Tags are not working.
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Brian Leicht said:
Microsoft Word version 2008 for Microsoft 365 MSO (16.0.13127.21624), 64-bit
This is older than the version known to cause problems, 16.0.13801.20266, which is probably why your Smart Tag is still working.
It's likely that if you update to 16.0.13801.20266 or later it will stop working again.
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Brian Leicht said:
Microsoft Word version 2008 for Microsoft 365 MSO (16.0.13127.21624), 64-bit
This is older than the version known to cause problems, 16.0.13801.20266, which is probably why your Smart Tag is still working.
It's likely that if you update to 16.0.13801.20266 or later it will stop working again.
Looking at Brian's version of MS Word, I was wondering the same thing. If he updates to a more recent version, he might lose the functionality of Smart Tags. On the other hand, I am wondering if I can roll back my version of Office to an earlier point so that Smart Tags would work again. But this probably isn't a good long term solution because a future update of Word would probably stop Smart Tags from working, and I'd lose any other new/improved features of Word by rolling back to a previous version. But it is tempting - the Smart Tag function in Word calling Bible references from Logos has been so helpful in my sermon prep for many years!
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Hey sir, I am really clueless as to the innerworkings of the smart tag feature and in reading through this discussion you seem to have a very good understanding. My situation is fairly simple. I recently purchased a new Lenovo laptop and upon downloading Logos to it I had to upgrade to logos 9. I run MSWord 7. After getting everything setup the smart tag features do not work. Is there anything simple I can do? I use that feature MULTIPLE times per day.
Thanks for your time,
Taj
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I wish I could help you, but I'm not much of an expert on Smart Tags. I have recovered the functionality in the past by following the instructions on the Wiki page (https://wiki.logos.com/Smart_Tags) but this recent problem seems to be connected to an update in MS Word, and it doesn't look like there's a solution available for the moment. Bradley Grainger (Faithlife) and Dave Hooton (MVP) are both far more well-versed in this subject than I am. Perhaps they could help you. But if the problem you're having is connected to the current loss of functionality connected to the Word update, I'm not sure if a solution has been found yet. Still hoping.
Blessings,
Darcy
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The Copy Bible Verses tool may be the best alternative to the Smart Tags function. It is opened with a keyboard shortcut. Some might prefer it since it’s all keyboard, but there are a couple more steps.
Be sure Logos is running. (No need to type the verse reference in your Word document. Smart Tags are not involved.)
- Place the insertion point in the document where you want the Bible verse to appear.
- While still in Word (according to https://support.logos.com/hc/en-us/articles/360016370932-Keyboard-Shortcuts) “any” Windows or Mac application opens the Copy Bible Verses tool with the keyboard shortcuts Ctrl-Alt-B (Windows) or Opt-Cmd-B (Mac).
- Type the verse reference in the search field.
- Press “Enter” to display the verse in the window.
- Press tab three times to highlight the “Copy and Paste” button. (That’s three moves, ha—we’ll pretend it’s one.)
- Press “Enter.” The verse will appear formatted as it would with the Smart Tags method.
- Click on or toggle back to your document with Alt-Tab (Windows) or Cmd-Tab (Mac). If you leave the Copy Bible Verses tool window open, for additional insertions of verses, toggle to the Copy Bible Verses tool (Alt-Tab or Cmd-Tab or press the keyboard shortcuts Ctrl-Alt-B or Opt-Cmd-B) and click on or Tab to the search field, 3-4 tabs depending if you go forward (Tab presses) or backward (Shift-Tab presses).
The nifty Smart Tags method we’d like to keep: (1) type the verse reference, (2) right-click on the reference, (3) mouse over “Additional Actions,” then (4) mouse over “Replace with Passage” and click. 4-plus steps involving keyboard to type verse reference, then only mouse/trackpad.
The Copy Bible Verses tool alternative is 7++ steps with keyboard only.
An advantage of the Copy Bible Verses tool is you can enter multiple, non-contiguous passages at once and enter them all at once (e.g. Jn 1:1,14,Eph 2:1-10,Ro 8:28-30,1 Co 2:14,2 Co 4:4-6,13,16). That isn’t possible with Smart Tags. On the FaithLife forums there are unanswered questions about that limitation (“Replace with Passage Not Working with Non-Sequential Verses”). Since Word used to be able to recognize “Person Names” which could be rather random (a feature that ended in Word 2010), it would seem verse combinations could be recognized, but it’s surely very complex.
Note about versions: You might know, both Word versions, 16.0.13801.20266 and 16.0.13127.21624 (mine), are (were at time of my first post) the most recent supported within their “update channels” (https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/officeupdates/update-history-microsoft365-apps-by-date). MS has six channel options.
16.0.13801.20266 is associated only with the “Current Channel” (formerly “Monthly Channel”), version 2102, released March 1, 2021.
16.0.13127.21624 (mine) is associated only with the “Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel,” version 2008, released May 11, 2021. Since my first post, updates bring it to Build 13127.21668, version 2008, released June 8. The exact build numbers do not overlap in all versions, but 13127.##### (version 2008) was replaced by an update in the Current Channel September 28, 2020. That’s about when I lost my Smart Tags function (or perhaps in the next version update October 27). I.T. may have changed my channel subscription when they did the large update that restored Smart Tags.
Perhaps due to testing requirements, Semi-Annual Enterprise is always catching up to the other channels. Therefore, it could be that Smart Tags is only functional (for now) in the Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel subscription and will be disabled when the version updates beyond version 2008 or 2009, which happened in some other channels between September 28 and November 10, 2020 or March 9, 2021 for Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel (Preview).
I decided to continue all updates and not try to hold back—as Darcy said, not updating isn’t a good long-term solution. No doubt it will stop working soon. The Copy Bible Verses tool seems a good fallback with the keyboard shortcut.
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Thanks for all the helpful info about Copy Bible Verses, Brian! I had forgotten about the keyboard shortcut (Ctrl-Alt-B) which makes it somewhat better than changing focus from Word to Logos, clicking on Copy Bible Verses, typing, clicking on Copy, changing focus back to Word, typing Ctrl-v, etc. Still miss Smart Tags - it also enabled me to open my Bible in Logos to a passage I typed in Word just to see if it is the passage I was looking for (before actually inserting it in Word). Was all so easy and convenient! Anyway, still thankful to have both Logos and Word. Thanks again for your helpful post. Like you, not allowing updates to Word is not a long term solution that I want to engage in.
Blessings.
Darcy
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