Fix Compile Error in Hidden Module in 4 Ways

This article is about an error message that users might receive when they open MS Excel - Compile error in hidden module. We will tell you why you would see this error message and what methods you can apply to fix this problem. Moreover, a bonus solution for repairing damaged and corrupted Excel files is also included.

When talking about MS Office error messages, it's always a long story. Users would report hundreds of different error messages they received when they open Word, Excel, or PowerPoint. For some common errors like Runtime Error 1004 or add-in template is not valid, we have already introduced how can you fix them. This time, we will talk about another error message - Compile error in hidden module.

Users often received this error message when they start Excel. In rare times, when users start MS Word, this error would also pop up. Usually, users would see one of the following error messages:

• Compile error in hidden module: AutoExec
• Compile error in hidden module: AutoExecNew
• Compile error in hidden module: DistMon

The different suffixes indicate that you have different culprits to blame, and that's why there is more than one solution for you to solve the problem. Before checking the solutions, you should know the reasons why you see these error messages.

Why Do I See the Error Message of Compile Error in Hidden Module?

Now Office 2016 is upgraded from a 32-bit version to a 64-bit version. The Compile error in hidden module error message usually appears when there are dome 32-bit add-ins versions of the office in your computer, and they are incompatible with the 64-bit version.

Two common conditions that would cause this error are as follow:

1. When MS Excel startup folder contains both the following two template files on Adobe Acrobat PDF Maker add-in:

• Pdfmaker.dot
• Pdfmaker.xla

2. Your computer has installed the Norton Anti-virus software.

After knowing what causes this error message, now it's time to apply the solutions. Here we have listed four solutions, you can try them one by one until you solve the problem.

Method 1. Re-register OCX Files with CMD

The first solution you can try is to re-register some basic Excel function files. In this method, we need to apply Windows Command Prompt.

Step 1. Press Windows + R keys at the same time. Type cmd in the run box.

Step 2. Type the following command and press Enter.

For 32-bit:

regsvr32 -u c:\windows\system32\mscomctl.ocx

regsvr32 c:\windows\system32\mscomctl.ocx

For 64-bit:

regsvr32 -u c:\windows\system64\mscomctl.ocx

regsvr32 c:\windows\system64\mscomctl.ocx

Step 3. Now run MS Excel again to check if the error message still exists.

Method 2. Delete .exd Files

The exd file is a control information cache file of Microsoft Office. These files are created when a user inserts an ActiveX control into a document using the Control Toolbox in an MS Office program. You can delete this cache file to see if it can fix the Compile error in the hidden module error.

Step 1. Press Windows + R keys at the same time. Type %appdata% in the run box.

Step 2. It will open your AppData folder. Go to Roaming > Microsoft > Forms.

Step 3. Find the .exd files, select comctllib.exd and mscomctllib.exd, and delete these two files.

Step 4. Restart your Excel and check if the problem is solved.

Method 3. Move PDF Maker Files

As we have mentioned above, one of the reasons you will see this error message is because there are two template files on Adobe Acrobat PDF Maker add-in. So in this method, you can move the PDF Maker files to another place to fix your problem. Here are the detailed steps.

Step 1. Open Windows File Explorer, search pdfmaker.* on your computer.

Step 2. Choose the pdfmaker.dot and pdfmaker.xla files, right-click on both files, and select cut.

Step 3. Paste these two files to your Desktop.

Now you can restart the MS Excel to see if the problem is solved.

Method 4. Update to the Latest Adobe Acrobat

If the above methods can't help you solve the Compile error in hidden module problem, the last resort is to update the Adobe Acrobat to the latest version. It's because this problem is associated with the Adobe Acrobat that is installed on your computer.

Go to the Adobe official website, find the latest version of Acrobat, download and install it on your computer.

Bonus Solution: Repair Damaged or Corrupted MS Excel Efficiently

With the above methods, you might have solved the Excel Compile error in the hidden module issue. Then we'd like to share a good bonus tool - EaseUS Fixo Document Repair with you. 

This is an advanced 4-in-1 specialized fix tool that enables you to repair corrupted  PDF documents and Office files in multiple formats. If your documents got damaged, EaseUS file repair software will scan and repair them efficiently. 

If you want to try on this file repair software, you can download it and follow the guide to see how to use this tool. In the following guide, we have introduced how to repair Excel documents.

Step 1. Download and launch Fixo on your PC or laptop. Choose "File Repair" to repair corrupted Office documents, including Word, Excel, PDF, and others. Click "Add Files" to select corrupted documents.

Step 2. To repair multiple files at once, click the "Repair All" button. If you want to repair a single document, move your pointer to the target file and choose "Repair". You can also preview the documents by clicking the eye icon.

Step 3. Click "Save" to save a selected document. Select "Save All" to save all the repaired files. Choose "View Repaired" to locate the repaired folder.

The Bottom Line

That's all about Compile error in hidden module error message. Hope you can fix your problem after reading this article. Once again, we'd like to introduce EaseUS file repair tool. No matter whether you need to repair Word, Excel, PPT, or PDF documents, applying this tool is a wise choice.