DOCX Creator Skill

Overview

Create and edit Microsoft Word (.docx) documents programmatically using python-docx. Handles documents from simple letters to complex reports with tables, headers, footers, and styles.

Library Setup

pip install python-docx

For reading complex .docx files: python-docx handles most cases. For advanced conversion (docx → PDF, docx → HTML), add libreoffice (CLI) or pandoc.

Step-by-Step Process

Step 1: Understand the Document Structure

Ask or infer:

• Document type (letter, report, contract, resume, technical doc)
• Sections and headings needed
• Whether it needs tables, images, or lists
• Target audience (formal vs. informal tone)
• Page setup (orientation, margins, headers/footers)

Step 2: Create a New Document

from docx import Document
from docx.shared import Inches, Pt, RGBColor
from docx.enum.text import WD_ALIGN_PARAGRAPH

doc = Document()

Step 3: Set Document Styles and Page Setup

from docx.oxml.ns import qn
import docx

# Set margins
sections = doc.sections
for section in sections:
    section.top_margin = Inches(1)
    section.bottom_margin = Inches(1)
    section.left_margin = Inches(1.25)
    section.right_margin = Inches(1.25)

Step 4: Add Headings

doc.add_heading("Document Title", level=0)   # Title style
doc.add_heading("Section 1", level=1)          # Heading 1
doc.add_heading("Subsection 1.1", level=2)     # Heading 2

Step 5: Add Paragraphs with Formatting

para = doc.add_paragraph("This is a paragraph with ")
run = para.add_run("bold text")
run.bold = True
para.add_run(" and normal text.")

# Alignment
para.alignment = WD_ALIGN_PARAGRAPH.JUSTIFY

# Custom font
run.font.name = "Calibri"
run.font.size = Pt(11)
run.font.color.rgb = RGBColor(0x00, 0x00, 0x00)

Step 6: Add Tables

table = doc.add_table(rows=1, cols=3)
table.style = "Table Grid"

# Header row
header_cells = table.rows[0].cells
header_cells[0].text = "Name"
header_cells[1].text = "Role"
header_cells[2].text = "Department"

# Data rows
data = [("Alice", "Engineer", "Platform"), ("Bob", "Designer", "Product")]
for name, role, dept in data:
    row_cells = table.add_row().cells
    row_cells[0].text = name
    row_cells[1].text = role
    row_cells[2].text = dept

Step 7: Add Lists

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

# Numbered list
doc.add_paragraph("Step one", style="List Number")
doc.add_paragraph("Step two", style="List Number")

Step 8: Add Images

doc.add_picture("chart.png", width=Inches(5.0))
# Add caption
doc.add_paragraph("Figure 1: Quarterly Revenue", style="Caption")

Step 9: Add Headers and Footers

section = doc.sections[0]
header = section.header
header_para = header.paragraphs[0]
header_para.text = "Confidential - Company Name"
header_para.alignment = WD_ALIGN_PARAGRAPH.RIGHT

Step 10: Save

doc.save("output.docx")

Reading Existing .docx Files

doc = Document("existing.docx")

# Extract all text
for para in doc.paragraphs:
    print(para.style.name, ":", para.text)

# Extract tables
for table in doc.tables:
    for row in table.rows:
        print([cell.text for cell in row.cells])

Edge Cases

• Template-based generation: Load an existing .docx as a template with Document("template.docx") to inherit styles
• Large documents: Add a page break with doc.add_page_break() between major sections
• Complex formatting: Use doc.styles to list available styles before applying custom ones
• Track changes / comments: python-docx does not support these - use LibreOffice CLI for conversion instead