docx

name: docx description: > Word document handler for creating, reading, editing, and manipulating .docx files. Use when: (1) creating Word documents with formatting, (2) reading/extracting from .docx, (3) working with tables of contents, headings, page numbers, (4) tracked changes/comments. Triggers: "Word doc", "word document", ".docx", "report", "memo", "letter", "template", "manuscript", "essay", "documentation", "tracked changes".

Word Document Handler

Create, read, and edit Microsoft Word (.docx) documents with python-docx.

Capabilities

• Create professional documents from scratch
• Read and extract text from .docx files
• Format with headings, styles, fonts, colors
• Add tables, images, and lists
• Create tables of contents
• Work with headers, footers, page numbers
• Handle tracked changes and comments
• Use templates and document sections

Python Library

from docx import Document
from docx.shared import Inches, Pt, RGBColor
from docx.enum.text import WD_ALIGN_PARAGRAPH
from docx.enum.style import WD_STYLE_TYPE
from docx.enum.table import WD_TABLE_ALIGNMENT

Common Operations

Create New Document

from docx import Document
from docx.shared import Pt

doc = Document()

# Add title
doc.add_heading("Document Title", level=0)

# Add paragraph
doc.add_paragraph("This is the first paragraph of the document.")

# Add formatted paragraph
p = doc.add_paragraph()
run = p.add_run("Bold text")
run.bold = True
p.add_run(" and ")
run = p.add_run("italic text")
run.italic = True

doc.save("document.docx")

Add Headings

doc.add_heading("Main Section", level=1)
doc.add_heading("Subsection", level=2)
doc.add_heading("Sub-subsection", level=3)

Format Text

from docx.shared import Pt, RGBColor

p = doc.add_paragraph()
run = p.add_run("Formatted text")
run.font.name = "Arial"
run.font.size = Pt(14)
run.font.bold = True
run.font.color.rgb = RGBColor(0x00, 0x66, 0xCC)

Add Bullet List

doc.add_paragraph("First item", style="List Bullet")
doc.add_paragraph("Second item", style="List Bullet")
doc.add_paragraph("Third item", style="List Bullet")

Add Numbered List

doc.add_paragraph("Step one", style="List Number")
doc.add_paragraph("Step two", style="List Number")
doc.add_paragraph("Step three", style="List Number")

Add Table

table = doc.add_table(rows=3, cols=3)
table.style = "Table Grid"

# Header row
hdr_cells = table.rows[0].cells
hdr_cells[0].text = "Name"
hdr_cells[1].text = "Age"
hdr_cells[2].text = "City"

# Data rows
row = table.rows[1].cells
row[0].text = "Alice"
row[1].text = "30"
row[2].text = "New York"

Add Image

from docx.shared import Inches

doc.add_picture("image.png", width=Inches(4))

Add Header and Footer

section = doc.sections[0]

# Header
header = section.header
header_para = header.paragraphs[0]
header_para.text = "Document Header"

# Footer
footer = section.footer
footer_para = footer.paragraphs[0]
footer_para.text = "Page "

Add Page Break

doc.add_page_break()

Read Existing Document

doc = Document("existing.docx")

for para in doc.paragraphs:
    print(para.text)

for table in doc.tables:
    for row in table.rows:
        for cell in row.cells:
            print(cell.text)

Find and Replace

def find_replace(doc, find_text, replace_text):
    for para in doc.paragraphs:
        if find_text in para.text:
            for run in para.runs:
                if find_text in run.text:
                    run.text = run.text.replace(find_text, replace_text)
    return doc

Set Margins

from docx.shared import Inches

section = doc.sections[0]
section.top_margin = Inches(1)
section.bottom_margin = Inches(1)
section.left_margin = Inches(1.25)
section.right_margin = Inches(1.25)

Add Table of Contents

# Note: TOC needs Word to update field codes
from docx.oxml.ns import qn
from docx.oxml import OxmlElement

paragraph = doc.add_paragraph()
run = paragraph.add_run()
fldChar = OxmlElement('w:fldChar')
fldChar.set(qn('w:fldCharType'), 'begin')
run._r.append(fldChar)

run = paragraph.add_run()
instrText = OxmlElement('w:instrText')
instrText.text = 'TOC \\o "1-3" \\h \\z \\u'
run._r.append(instrText)

run = paragraph.add_run()
fldChar = OxmlElement('w:fldChar')
fldChar.set(qn('w:fldCharType'), 'end')
run._r.append(fldChar)

Document Styles

Best Practices

1. Use styles - Maintain consistency with built-in styles
2. Structure - Use headings for document outline
3. Tables - Use "Table Grid" style for visibility
4. Images - Set appropriate width, maintain aspect ratio
5. Fonts - Stick to common fonts (Arial, Times, Calibri)
6. Spacing - Use paragraph spacing, not empty paragraphs