Stop the Research Pane appearing in Microsoft Office

After fighting with this myself for years, I found out the answer.

From Word, press Alt-F11 to open the VB Editor.

Press Ctrl-G to open the Immediate Window.

Type this line and press Enter:

Application.CommandBars("Research").Enabled = False

Note that nothing will seem to happen, but you can go ahead and close the VB Editor and Word. The next time you open Outlook, the feature should be disabled.

Unfortunately, the answer is "No, this can't be switched off".

People have been wondering this for quite a while now (here's some examples dating back to like 2007):

• http://ask.metafilter.com/48486/How-do-you-turn-off-an-annoying-Outlook-2003-feature
• http://www.ozgrid.com/forum/showthread.php?t=60022&page=1
• http://forums.techarena.in/ms-office-support/899432.htm
• http://www.eggheadcafe.com/software/aspnet/29325828/how-do-i-disable-or-uninstall-research.aspx

You'll probably have to rig up something kludgy to trap the keys using AutoHotkey or AutoIt or alike.

Couple things you can try to live with it:

• Remove all entries from the Research Options and ensure it's not trying to access network-based research services (so at least it will open quickly).
• Leave the pane open all the time (just shrink it down a bit, or undock it and hide it someplace out of the way).

Not the answer you want I'm sure, but it's the answer as far as I can find.

I was able to turn mine off by opening the Outlook options menu (File > Options). Then go down to the Add-Ins sub-tab.

Once in the Add-Ins menu, go to the bottom where it says, "Manage [COM Add-Ins]" and click on the Go button. Uncheck the box next to "Business Connectivity Services Add-In", then click OK.

This should keep the research pane from opening.