Chemistry Add-in for Word (Chem4Word): What It Is and Where It Stands Today
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The Chemistry Add-in for Word, later developed as Chem4Word, is an open-source add-in for Microsoft Word for inserting and editing chemical information, such as labels, formulas and 2-D structure drawings. Microsoft Research presented it in 2010. The Version 2 repository is now obsolete, and the project site lists V3.3 as the current release.
What is the Chemistry Add-in for Word?
It is a Word add-in that makes it easier to insert and modify chemical information inside a document. It handled labels, formulas and 2-D depictions, and it supported inline chemical zones, so a formula or structure could sit inside a sentence instead of being pasted in as a loose picture.
It also produced print-ready images of chemical structures and stored the chemical information in a semantically rich way.
Who presented it, and when?
Microsoft Research published the video page for the add-in in March 2010 and filed the work under mathematics and under medical, health and genomics research.
How did it evolve into Chem4Word?
The project continued under the name Chem4Word. Its second major version lives in the Chem4Word/Version2 repository on GitHub, released under the Apache-2.0 license. The repository's topics include cheminformatics, openxml and microsoft-word, and its main branch holds 251 commits.
The README says plainly that the version is "now obsolete, please use V3.2". It gives no link to that newer version; the project's own website is the place to look.
The domain this page sits on once belonged to the Outercurve Foundation, which hosted research and .NET project galleries until 2017. The foundation's wider legacy and its CodePlex-era project hosting have their own pages.
Which version is current?
V3.3 is the current release according to chem4word.co.uk, as of November 2026. The newest release post there, "V3.3.10 Release 8," is dated 19 February 2025.
| Version | Status | Where it lives |
|---|---|---|
| Chemistry Add-in for Word (2010) | Historic | Microsoft Research video page |
| Chem4Word Version 2 | Obsolete; README points to V3.2 | GitHub, 251 commits |
| Chem4Word V3.3 | Current | Project website, download page |
What does Chem4Word V3.3 do?
It runs from the ribbon inside Word and keeps a library of chemistry that you can reuse in other documents. It can search the web for structures through PubChem or ChEBI, or generate them from a name with OPSIN. Its structure editor is built on ACME, which the project describes as a brand-new editor introduced in Chem4Word 2020. These are features of the current version, not of the 2010 add-in.
How do I draw chemical structures in Word with it?
You draw them with the add-in's structure editor and insert them as 2-D depictions in the document. The project website carries the documentation and downloads; menus and options change between releases, so check it for the current ones.
Before installing or updating, close Word. The download page asks you to make sure Word is not running.
Where can I follow the project today?
Follow releases and news on chem4word.co.uk, which has posts into August 2026, and the code on the Chem4Word organization's GitHub page.
Because the code is open source, the license matters when you reuse it. See choosing an open-source license and how open-source licenses differ. This is general information, not legal advice. Another research-oriented project of the period is covered as well.
FAQ
What is the Chemistry Add-in for Word?
A Word add-in for inserting and editing chemical labels, formulas and 2-D depictions, introduced by Microsoft Research in 2010.
Is the Chemistry Add-in for Word the same as Chem4Word?
Yes. The project now called Chem4Word continues the Chemistry Add-in; the GitHub repository and the project website use the Chem4Word name.
Is Chem4Word still maintained?
The project website lists V3.3 as the current release, with a release post dated February 2025 and news posts into 2026. The Version 2 repository is marked obsolete.
Can I draw chemical structures in Word with it?
Yes, it inserts 2-D structure depictions into a document. The project website has the documentation and downloads.
Does it work on Mac?
Mac support isn't documented on the project's pages; check the download page.
Sources
- Microsoft Research, "Chemistry Add-in for Word" (video page, March 2010)
- GitHub, Chem4Word/Version2 repository
- chem4word.co.uk, official project website