Fixing Mendeley Desktop Citation Plugin for Microsoft Word on macOS

If you’re still using Mendeley Desktop for Mac (yep, same here) and writing your research paper in Microsoft Word, chances are you’ve hit this annoying problem:

You click Install Word Plugin in Mendeley Desktop and it responds with something like Unable to install the Microsoft Word plugin.

Super helpful. 🙃

The good news? It’s totally fixable—and once you know how, it’s actually pretty simple. I’ve had to do this more than once, so here’s the exact workaround that worked for me on macOS.

Not in the mood for reading? Watch the video instead.

The Problem (Quick Context)

Mendeley Desktop thinks it can install the Microsoft Word plugin automatically. In reality, macOS permissions and newer Microsoft Word versions often get in the way. Most likely, it’s blocked by Apple’s TCC Full Disk Access restrictions.

So instead of fighting it, we’ll just install the plugin manually.

Step 1: Locate the Mendeley Word Plugin Manually

First, open the Finder app and follow these steps:

1. Go to Applications from the left sidebar
2. Find Mendeley Desktop.app
3. Right-click it and select Show Package Contents

4. Navigate to the following path:

   Contents/Resources/macWordPlugin/word2016/

5. If you’re comfortable with Terminal, you can go directly to the full path:

   '/Applications/Mendeley Desktop.app/Contents/Resources/macWordPlugin/word2016/Mendeley-word2016-1.19.8.dotm'

6. Copy the plugin file you see there.

That’s the plugin Word actually needs. We just have to put it in the right place inside Microsoft Word’s plugin directory on macOS.

Step 2: Open Microsoft Word’s Startup Folder

Now open the Microsoft Word app and follow these steps:

1. Click Tools in the top menu bar
2. Choose Templates and Add-ins

3. Click the Plus (+) button under Global Templates and Add-ins

4. A folder selection dialog will appear.
5. Navigate to the Startup folder.
6. You’ll see the Word folder. Right-click it.
7. Click Show in Finder.

This opens the exact folder Word checks for plugin files when it launches.

Step 3: Paste the Plugin

Inside the Startup folder:

1. Open the Word folder
2. Paste the Mendeley plugin file you copied earlier

That’s it for the file part. The next time Microsoft Word launches, it will detect the Mendeley Desktop plugin.

Step 4: Restart Microsoft Word and Mendeley Desktop

Close all dialogs or windows opened by Microsoft Word. Quit Microsoft Word (use command + q).

Do the same with Mendeley Desktop. It’s not strictly required, but it’s better to restart it as well.

Step 5: Test the Plugin

Create a blank document in Microsoft Word. Open the References tab.

If everything worked, you should see the Mendeley Desktop citation plugin there.

Click it, allow access if prompted, and you can now:

• Insert citations
• Insert bibliographies
• Sync directly from Mendeley Desktop

Video

Final Thoughts

This is one of those classic “the button doesn’t work, but the feature still does” situations.

Once installed, the Mendeley Desktop for Mac’s Microsoft Word plugin works just fine. It just needs a little manual help getting there. If you’re writing papers regularly, this is absolutely worth the five-minute setup.

Alright, that’s it for today. As usual, if you have any questions or a better method, leave a comment below. Thanks for reading, and good luck with your paper 📚✍️