docx-advanced

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Use this skill for complex Word document operations that go beyond simple creation: editing existing .docx files (tracked changes, comments, find-and-replace), inserting or replacing images, custom styles (headings, fonts, page size), footnotes, headers and footers, table of contents, multi-column layouts, numbered lists, bookmarks and hyperlinks, accepting or rejecting revisions, converting .doc to .docx, or when generate_docx is insufficient and a custom docx-js script is needed. Do NOT use for simple document creation — use the docx skill with generate_docx instead.

BaiGanio By BaiGanio schedule Updated 6/7/2026
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name: docx-advanced description: "Use this skill for complex Word document operations that go beyond simple creation: editing existing .docx files (tracked changes, comments, find-and-replace), inserting or replacing images, custom styles (headings, fonts, page size), footnotes, headers and footers, table of contents, multi-column layouts, numbered lists, bookmarks and hyperlinks, accepting or rejecting revisions, converting .doc to .docx, or when generate_docx is insufficient and a custom docx-js script is needed. Do NOT use for simple document creation — use the docx skill with generate_docx instead." license: Proprietary. LICENSE.txt has complete terms metadata: keywords: "tracked changes, comments, revision, xml, edit existing, footnotes, headers, footers, custom styles, images, bookmarks, hyperlinks, table of contents, numbered list, multi-column, page size, letterhead, template" depends-on: docx

DOCX Advanced — scripted creation, editing, and XML

Creating New Documents with docx-js (Advanced)

Use this path when generate_docx is insufficient — images, footnotes, custom styles, headers/footers, TOC, etc.

Workflow in Aperio:

  1. write_file a .js script into the session workspace.
  2. run_node_script it to emit the .docx.
  3. Validate: run_python_script → <docx>/scripts/office/validate.py with args ["/abs/doc.docx"].

ESM only — Aperio is "type": "module". Use import (never require) and top-level await:

import fs from "fs";
import {
  Document, Packer, Paragraph, TextRun, Table, TableRow, TableCell, ImageRun,
  Header, Footer, AlignmentType, PageOrientation, LevelFormat, ExternalHyperlink,
  InternalHyperlink, Bookmark, FootnoteReferenceRun, PositionalTab,
  PositionalTabAlignment, PositionalTabRelativeTo, PositionalTabLeader,
  TabStopType, TabStopPosition, Column, SectionType,
  TableOfContents, HeadingLevel, BorderStyle, WidthType, ShadingType,
  VerticalAlign, PageNumber, PageBreak,
} from "docx";

const doc = new Document({ sections: [{ children: [/* content */] }] });
const buffer = await Packer.toBuffer(doc);
fs.writeFileSync(new URL("./doc.docx", import.meta.url), buffer);
console.log("wrote doc.docx");

Page Size

// CRITICAL: docx-js defaults to A4 — always set explicitly
sections: [{
  properties: {
    page: {
      size: { width: 12240, height: 15840 }, // US Letter (8.5×11 in DXA)
      margin: { top: 1440, right: 1440, bottom: 1440, left: 1440 } // 1-inch margins
    }
  },
  children: [/* content */]
}]

Landscape: pass portrait dimensions and add orientation: PageOrientation.LANDSCAPE — docx-js swaps them internally.

Styles

const doc = new Document({
  styles: {
    default: { document: { run: { font: "Arial", size: 24 } } },
    paragraphStyles: [
      { id: "Heading1", name: "Heading 1", basedOn: "Normal", next: "Normal", quickFormat: true,
        run: { size: 32, bold: true, font: "Arial" },
        paragraph: { spacing: { before: 240, after: 240 }, outlineLevel: 0 } },
      { id: "Heading2", name: "Heading 2", basedOn: "Normal", next: "Normal", quickFormat: true,
        run: { size: 28, bold: true, font: "Arial" },
        paragraph: { spacing: { before: 180, after: 180 }, outlineLevel: 1 } },
    ]
  },
  sections: [{ children: [] }]
});

Lists (NEVER use unicode bullets)

// ❌ WRONG
new Paragraph({ children: [new TextRun("• Item")] })

// ✅ CORRECT — use numbering config
const doc = new Document({
  numbering: {
    config: [
      { reference: "bullets",
        levels: [{ level: 0, format: LevelFormat.BULLET, text: "•", alignment: AlignmentType.LEFT,
          style: { paragraph: { indent: { left: 720, hanging: 360 } } } }] },
      { reference: "numbers",
        levels: [{ level: 0, format: LevelFormat.DECIMAL, text: "%1.", alignment: AlignmentType.LEFT,
          style: { paragraph: { indent: { left: 720, hanging: 360 } } } }] },
    ]
  },
  sections: [{
    children: [
      new Paragraph({ numbering: { reference: "bullets", level: 0 }, children: [new TextRun("Bullet")] }),
      new Paragraph({ numbering: { reference: "numbers", level: 0 }, children: [new TextRun("Number")] }),
    ]
  }]
});

Tables

CRITICAL: Tables need dual widths — set columnWidths on the table AND width on each cell.

const border = { style: BorderStyle.SINGLE, size: 1, color: "CCCCCC" };
const borders = { top: border, bottom: border, left: border, right: border };

new Table({
  width: { size: 9360, type: WidthType.DXA }, // Always DXA — NEVER PERCENTAGE (breaks Google Docs)
  columnWidths: [4680, 4680],                  // Must sum to table width
  rows: [
    new TableRow({
      children: [
        new TableCell({
          borders,
          width: { size: 4680, type: WidthType.DXA },
          shading: { fill: "D5E8F0", type: ShadingType.CLEAR }, // CLEAR not SOLID
          margins: { top: 80, bottom: 80, left: 120, right: 120 },
          children: [new Paragraph({ children: [new TextRun("Cell")] })]
        })
      ]
    })
  ]
})

Images

// CRITICAL: type is required
new Paragraph({
  children: [new ImageRun({
    type: "png",
    data: fs.readFileSync("image.png"),
    transformation: { width: 200, height: 150 },
    altText: { title: "Title", description: "Desc", name: "Name" }
  })]
})

Headers / Footers

sections: [{
  headers: {
    default: new Header({ children: [new Paragraph({ children: [new TextRun("Header")] })] })
  },
  footers: {
    default: new Footer({ children: [new Paragraph({
      children: [new TextRun("Page "), new TextRun({ children: [PageNumber.CURRENT] })]
    })] })
  },
  children: []
}]

Footnotes

const doc = new Document({
  footnotes: {
    1: { children: [new Paragraph("Footnote text")] },
  },
  sections: [{
    children: [new Paragraph({
      children: [new TextRun("Body text"), new FootnoteReferenceRun(1)]
    })]
  }]
});

Hyperlinks

// External
new Paragraph({
  children: [new ExternalHyperlink({
    children: [new TextRun({ text: "Click here", style: "Hyperlink" })],
    link: "https://example.com",
  })]
})
// Internal (bookmark)
new Paragraph({ heading: HeadingLevel.HEADING_1, children: [
  new Bookmark({ id: "chapter1", children: [new TextRun("Chapter 1")] }),
]})
new Paragraph({ children: [new InternalHyperlink({
  children: [new TextRun({ text: "See Chapter 1", style: "Hyperlink" })],
  anchor: "chapter1",
})]})

Table of Contents

// CRITICAL: Headings must use HeadingLevel only — no custom styles
new TableOfContents("Table of Contents", { hyperlink: true, headingStyleRange: "1-3" })

Page Breaks

new Paragraph({ children: [new PageBreak()] }) // must be inside a Paragraph

Critical Rules for docx-js

  • Set page size explicitly — default is A4; use US Letter (12240×15840 DXA) for US documents
  • Landscape: pass portrait dimensions + PageOrientation.LANDSCAPE
  • Never use \n — use separate Paragraph elements
  • Never use unicode bullets — use LevelFormat.BULLET with numbering config
  • PageBreak must be in Paragraph
  • ImageRun requires type
  • Always use WidthType.DXA for tables — never PERCENTAGE (breaks Google Docs)
  • Tables need dual widths — columnWidths array AND cell width, both must match
  • Use ShadingType.CLEAR — never SOLID for table shading
  • Never use tables as dividers — use border: { bottom: ... } on a Paragraph instead
  • Override built-in styles — use exact IDs: "Heading1", "Heading2", etc.
  • Include outlineLevel — required for TOC (0 for H1, 1 for H2)

Editing Existing Documents

Follow all 3 steps in order.

Step 1: Unpack

run_python_script → <docx>/scripts/office/unpack.py with args ["/abs/document.docx", "/abs/unpacked"].

Add "--merge-runs", "false" to skip run merging. Extracts XML, pretty-prints, and converts smart quotes to XML entities.

Step 2: Edit XML

Edit files in unpacked/word/. Use edit_file directly for string replacement — do not write Python scripts for this.

Use "Claude" as the author for tracked changes and comments.

Smart quotes for new content:

<w:t>Here&#x2019;s a quote: &#x201C;Hello&#x201D;</w:t>
Entity Character
&#x2018; ' (left single)
&#x2019; ' (right single / apostrophe)
&#x201C; " (left double)
&#x201D; " (right double)

Adding comments: run_python_script → <docx>/scripts/comment.py with args ["/abs/unpacked", "0", "Comment text"].

Step 3: Pack

run_python_script → <docx>/scripts/office/pack.py with args ["/abs/unpacked", "/abs/output.docx", "--original", "/abs/document.docx"].

XML Reference

Schema Compliance

  • Element order in <w:pPr>: <w:pStyle>, <w:numPr>, <w:spacing>, <w:ind>, <w:jc>, <w:rPr> last
  • Whitespace: Add xml:space="preserve" to <w:t> with leading/trailing spaces
  • RSIDs: Must be 8-digit hex (e.g., 00AB1234)

Tracked Changes

Insertion:

<w:ins w:id="1" w:author="Claude" w:date="2025-01-01T00:00:00Z">
  <w:r><w:t>inserted text</w:t></w:r>
</w:ins>

Deletion:

<w:del w:id="2" w:author="Claude" w:date="2025-01-01T00:00:00Z">
  <w:r><w:delText>deleted text</w:delText></w:r>
</w:del>

Minimal edits — only mark what changes:

<w:r><w:t>The term is </w:t></w:r>
<w:del w:id="1" w:author="Claude" w:date="..."><w:r><w:delText>30</w:delText></w:r></w:del>
<w:ins w:id="2" w:author="Claude" w:date="..."><w:r><w:t>60</w:t></w:r></w:ins>
<w:r><w:t> days.</w:t></w:r>

Deleting entire paragraphs — add <w:del/> inside <w:pPr><w:rPr> to prevent empty paragraph remnants:

<w:p>
  <w:pPr><w:rPr><w:del w:id="1" w:author="Claude" w:date="2025-01-01T00:00:00Z"/></w:rPr></w:pPr>
  <w:del w:id="2" w:author="Claude" w:date="2025-01-01T00:00:00Z">
    <w:r><w:delText>Entire paragraph content</w:delText></w:r>
  </w:del>
</w:p>

Comments

After running comment.py, add markers to document.xml. <w:commentRangeStart> and <w:commentRangeEnd> are siblings of <w:r>, never inside.

<w:commentRangeStart w:id="0"/>
<w:r><w:t>text</w:t></w:r>
<w:commentRangeEnd w:id="0"/>
<w:r><w:rPr><w:rStyle w:val="CommentReference"/></w:rPr><w:commentReference w:id="0"/></w:r>

Images (XML path)

  1. Add image file to word/media/
  2. Add relationship to word/_rels/document.xml.rels
  3. Add content type to [Content_Types].xml
  4. Reference in document.xml with <w:drawing>
Install via CLI
npx skills add https://github.com/BaiGanio/aperio --skill docx-advanced
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