QSW Error: Office document customization is not available

If your QuickBooks company file name is 11 characters or more, or if the My Documents folder is redirected to an alternate location over a network drive, one of the following errors may appear when opening QuickBooks Statement Writer (QSW):

Unsupported Folder Location

Office document customization is not available.

The customization assembly could not be found or could not be loaded. You can still edit and save the document. Contact your administrator or the author of this document for further assistance.

Perform these recommended solutions in the order shown to resolve the issue.

Solution 1: Rename your company file

Make sure your company file name is less than 11 characters. If it is not:

1. Search for your company file which will have a .qbw file extension (for example, mycompanyname.qbw) and check to see how many characters it contains.
2. If it is 11 characters or longer, rename the file to less than 11 characters.
3. Open Statement Writer.

Solution 2: Correct redirects and run the Network Fix Tool

Important: You need to have administrator rights to your Windows user login to carry out these steps successfully.

1. When you get the Office Documentation Customization error message, open QSW.
2. Close QSW.
3. Go to Reports > QuickBooks Statement Writer > Preferences and Formats.
4. Ensure that the path for the reports & templates points to a network location:
   • If your My Documents folder is redirected, it should show the redirected server path. If My Documents is not redirected (it is local), then you can specify whatever path you want.
   • If you see C:\ listed and you want to change it to the network drive that your My Documents is redirected to, change it to the path you got from step 1 (if My Documents is redirected).If My Documents is local, then you can change it to whatever network path you wish. For example, if My Documents is being redirected to the H:\ drive (as in the screen shot below), you can just leave the preference set to H:\, but you will need to have a folder structure setup like the screenshot below.NOTE: QSW does not create folders from the Preferences window so you need to manually create 3 new folders on the network drive (whichever path over a network you want to open QSW from):
     1. Name the top level folder Intuit.
     2. Inside the Intuit folder, create a Statement Writer folder.
     3. Inside the Statement Writer folder, create a Templates folder.

     Once you have the folder structure in place, then make sure it looks similar to this:

     

5. Click OK to close the Preferences window.
6. Download the ISW Network Fix Tool and save it to your Windows desktop.
   Note: This file grants full trust to the ISW .dll files, checks to see if and where the My Documents folder is redirected, and grants full trust to the specific network location of the My Documents folder through the Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 assemblies.
7. After the file is downloaded and saved to your Desktop (you will need to unzip it to the desktop), double-click the Primary file and follow the onscreen instructions (if you are using Vista or 7, you may need to click Yes to the UAC prompts a few times).
   Note: The tools within this zip file must be on the desktop, not in a folder on the desktop.
8. Once the tool completes, open QSW and verify that it is working.

If the issue is not resolved, continue to Solution 3.

Solution 3: Run the second QSW Network Fix Tool (Secondary)

Perform these steps on each computer or user account that requires access to QSW.

1. Run the Secondary ISW Network Fix which was added to your desktop when you downloaded the ISW Network Fix tool.
2. Reopen QSW and make sure the issue is resolved.

ADDITIONAL TIPS:

• After running the ISW Fix Tool, if your My Documents was local and was then changed to a network location, repeat Solution 2 Step 7.
• If the My Documents folder was redirected over a network and is now redirected back to being local, you will not need to run the Fix Tool.
• If you are working with QSW in a Terminal Services/Citrix environment, you need to make sure your ISWprefs.ini file is set to not delete itself when the user logs out. The file is located in C:\Documents and Settings\USER NAME\Local Settings\Application Data\Intuit\Statement Writer or C:\Users\USER NAME\AppData\Local\Intuit\Statement Writer (if your are using Windows 7, Vista or Server 2008.
  Important: Consult your IT professional for more information on accomplishing this).
• If running the tool normally doesn't work, run the tool as an Administrator.

If the issue is not resolved, continue to Solution 4.

Solution 4: Check for damage in the file name or directory

1. Show file extensions in Windows.

   For Windows 10 and 8

   1. Press the Windows+E keys to open Windows Explorer.
   2. Select View > Options > Change folder and search options.
   3. Select the View tab.
   4. On the Advanced Settings list, uncheck box labeled Hide extensions for known file types.
   5. Click Apply > OK.

   For Windows Server 2008 and Windows 7:

   1. Open any folder to start Windows Explorer.
   2. Click the Organize menu and select Folder and search options.
   3. Select the View tab.
   4. In the Advanced settings section, click to clear the Hide extensions for known file types checkbox.Note: To hide file name extensions, click to check this checkbox.
   5. Click OK.
2. Rename the QSM file to something else, then revert to its original name.
   1. Locate the .qsm file: C:\Users\Intuit\Statement Writer\Financial Statements\Report Template.qsm.
   2. Navigate to the directory containing the QSM file in Windows Explorer.
   3. Right click the QSM file and select Rename.
   4. Add a character to the file name and click Enter.
3. Revert to the original file name. Check and see if the statement will open.
   1. Rename the folder containing the QSM file and revert to its original name.
   2. In Windows Explorer, navigate to the directory containing the QSM file.
   3. Right click the folder containing the QSM file and select Rename.
   4. Add a character to the name of the folder.
   5. Revert to the original folder name. Check and see if the statement will open.
4. It may also be necessary to rename (then revert) the names of additional folders moving down the branches of the directory.