DOCX creation, editing, and analysis

Overview

A .docx file is a ZIP archive containing XML files.

Quick Reference

Task	Approach
Read/analyze content	pandoc or unpack for raw XML
Create new document	Use python-docx — see Creating New Documents below
Edit existing document	Unpack → edit XML → repack — see Editing Existing Documents below

Converting .doc to .docx

Legacy .doc files must be converted before editing:

python scripts/office/soffice.py --headless --convert-to docx document.doc

Reading Content

# Text extraction with tracked changes
pandoc --track-changes=all document.docx -o output.md

# Raw XML access
python scripts/office/unpack.py document.docx unpacked/

Converting to Images

python scripts/office/soffice.py --headless --convert-to pdf document.docx
pdftoppm -jpeg -r 150 document.pdf page

Accepting Tracked Changes

To produce a clean document with all tracked changes accepted (requires LibreOffice):

python scripts/accept_changes.py input.docx output.docx

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Creating New Documents

Use python-docx to generate .docx files programmatically. Install: uv pip install python-docx

Setup

from docx import Document
from docx.shared import Inches, Pt, RGBColor, Cm
from docx.enum.text import WD_ALIGN_PARAGRAPH
from docx.enum.table import WD_TABLE_ALIGNMENT
from docx.oxml.ns import qn

doc = Document()
doc.save("output.docx")

Validation

After creating, validate with:

python scripts/office/validate.py output.docx

If validation fails, unpack, fix the XML, and repack.

Page Size

from docx.shared import Inches
from docx.oxml import OxmlElement

section = doc.sections[0]
section.page_width  = Inches(8.5)   # US Letter
section.page_height = Inches(11)
section.left_margin = section.right_margin = Inches(1)
section.top_margin  = section.bottom_margin = Inches(1)

Common page sizes:

Paper	Width	Height
US Letter	8.5"	11"
A4	8.27"	11.69"

Landscape:

from docx.enum.section import WD_ORIENT
section.orientation = WD_ORIENT.LANDSCAPE
section.page_width, section.page_height = section.page_height, section.page_width

Headings & Paragraphs

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

p = doc.add_paragraph("Body text here.")
p.alignment = WD_ALIGN_PARAGRAPH.LEFT

# Page break
doc.add_page_break()

Text Formatting (Runs)

p = doc.add_paragraph()
run = p.add_run("Bold italic text")
run.bold = True
run.italic = True
run.font.size = Pt(14)
run.font.color.rgb = RGBColor(0x36, 0x36, 0x36)
run.font.name = "Calibri"

Lists

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

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

# Nested (level 2)
p = doc.add_paragraph("Sub-item", style="List Bullet 2")

Tables

from docx.oxml import OxmlElement
from docx.shared import Inches, RGBColor, Pt

table = doc.add_table(rows=2, cols=3)
table.style = "Table Grid"

# Set column widths
for i, width in enumerate([2.5, 4.0, 1.5]):
    for row in table.rows:
        row.cells[i].width = Inches(width)

# Fill cells
cell = table.cell(0, 0)
cell.text = "Header"
run = cell.paragraphs[0].runs[0]
run.bold = True

# Header row shading
def set_cell_bg(cell, hex_color):
    tc = cell._tc
    tcPr = tc.get_or_add_tcPr()
    shd = OxmlElement("w:shd")
    shd.set(qn("w:fill"), hex_color)
    shd.set(qn("w:val"), "clear")
    tcPr.append(shd)

set_cell_bg(table.cell(0, 0), "D5E8F0")

Images

from docx.shared import Inches

# Add image (width, optionally height — preserves aspect ratio if height omitted)
doc.add_picture("photo.jpg", width=Inches(4))

# Inside a paragraph (inline)
p = doc.add_paragraph()
run = p.add_run()
run.add_picture("chart.png", width=Inches(6))

Headers & Footers

section = doc.sections[0]

# Header
header = section.header
header.paragraphs[0].text = "My Company — Confidential"

# Footer with page number
from docx.oxml import OxmlElement
footer = section.footer
p = footer.paragraphs[0]
p.text = "Page "
run = p.add_run()
fldChar = OxmlElement("w:fldChar")
fldChar.set(qn("w:fldCharType"), "begin")
run._r.append(fldChar)
instrText = OxmlElement("w:instrText")
instrText.text = "PAGE"
run._r.append(instrText)
fldChar2 = OxmlElement("w:fldChar")
fldChar2.set(qn("w:fldCharType"), "end")
run._r.append(fldChar2)

Hyperlinks

from docx.oxml.shared import OxmlElement, qn
import docx.opc.constants

def add_hyperlink(paragraph, url, text):
    part = paragraph.part
    r_id = part.relate_to(url, docx.opc.constants.RELATIONSHIP_TYPE.HYPERLINK, is_external=True)
    hyperlink = OxmlElement("w:hyperlink")
    hyperlink.set(qn("r:id"), r_id)
    run = OxmlElement("w:r")
    rPr = OxmlElement("w:rPr")
    rStyle = OxmlElement("w:rStyle")
    rStyle.set(qn("w:val"), "Hyperlink")
    rPr.append(rStyle)
    run.append(rPr)
    t = OxmlElement("w:t")
    t.text = text
    run.append(t)
    hyperlink.append(run)
    paragraph._p.append(hyperlink)

p = doc.add_paragraph("Visit ")
add_hyperlink(p, "https://example.com", "Example Site")

Critical Rules for python-docx

• Units: Always use Inches(), Pt(), Cm() — never raw integers
• Lists: Use built-in styles 'List Bullet', 'List Number' — never manual bullet characters
• Page breaks: doc.add_page_break() or run.add_break(WD_BREAK.PAGE)
• Table widths: Set per-cell widths explicitly after adding the table
• Images: Omit height to auto-preserve aspect ratio
• Never \n in runs: Use separate paragraphs or run.add_break()

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Editing Existing Documents

Follow all 3 steps in order.

Step 1: Unpack

python scripts/office/unpack.py document.docx unpacked/

Extracts XML, pretty-prints, merges adjacent runs, and converts smart quotes to XML entities (“ etc.) so they survive editing. Use --merge-runs false to skip run merging.

Step 2: Edit XML

Edit files in unpacked/word/. See XML Reference below for patterns.

Use "Claude" as the author for tracked changes and comments, unless the user explicitly requests use of a different name.

Use the Edit tool directly for string replacement. Do not write Python scripts. Scripts introduce unnecessary complexity. The Edit tool shows exactly what is being replaced.

CRITICAL: Use smart quotes for new content. When adding text with apostrophes or quotes, use XML entities to produce smart quotes:

<!-- Use these entities for professional typography -->
<w:t>Here&#x2019;s a quote: &#x201C;Hello&#x201D;</w:t>

Entity	Character
‘	‘ (left single)
’	’ (right single / apostrophe)
“	“ (left double)
”	” (right double)

Adding comments: Use comment.py to handle boilerplate across multiple XML files (text must be pre-escaped XML):

python scripts/comment.py unpacked/ 0 "Comment text with & and ’"
python scripts/comment.py unpacked/ 1 "Reply text" --parent 0  # reply to comment 0
python scripts/comment.py unpacked/ 0 "Text" --author "Custom Author"  # custom author name

Then add markers to document.xml (see Comments in XML Reference).

Step 3: Pack

python scripts/office/pack.py unpacked/ output.docx --original document.docx

Validates with auto-repair, condenses XML, and creates DOCX. Use --validate false to skip.

Auto-repair will fix:

• durableId >= 0x7FFFFFFF (regenerates valid ID)
• Missing xml:space="preserve" on <w:t> with whitespace

Auto-repair won't fix:

• Malformed XML, invalid element nesting, missing relationships, schema violations

Common Pitfalls

• Replace entire <w:r> elements: When adding tracked changes, replace the whole <w:r>...</w:r> block with <w:del>...<w:ins>... as siblings. Don't inject tracked change tags inside a run.
• Preserve <w:rPr> formatting: Copy the original run's <w:rPr> block into your tracked change runs to maintain bold, font size, etc.

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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>

Inside <w:del>: Use <w:delText> instead of <w:t>, and <w:delInstrText> instead of <w:instrText>.

Minimal edits - only mark what changes:

<!-- Change "30 days" to "60 days" -->
<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/list items - when removing ALL content from a paragraph, also mark the paragraph mark as deleted so it merges with the next paragraph. Add <w:del/> inside <w:pPr><w:rPr>:

<w:p>
  <w:pPr>
    <w:numPr>...</w:numPr>  <!-- list numbering if present -->
    <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 being deleted...</w:delText></w:r>
  </w:del>
</w:p>

Without the <w:del/> in <w:pPr><w:rPr>, accepting changes leaves an empty paragraph/list item.

Rejecting another author's insertion - nest deletion inside their insertion:

<w:ins w:author="Jane" w:id="5">
  <w:del w:author="Claude" w:id="10">
    <w:r><w:delText>their inserted text</w:delText></w:r>
  </w:del>
</w:ins>

Restoring another author's deletion - add insertion after (don't modify their deletion):

<w:del w:author="Jane" w:id="5">
  <w:r><w:delText>deleted text</w:delText></w:r>
</w:del>
<w:ins w:author="Claude" w:id="10">
  <w:r><w:t>deleted text</w:t></w:r>
</w:ins>

Comments

After running comment.py (see Step 2), add markers to document.xml. For replies, use --parent flag and nest markers inside the parent's.

CRITICAL: <w:commentRangeStart> and <w:commentRangeEnd> are siblings of <w:r>, never inside <w:r>.

<!-- Comment markers are direct children of w:p, never inside w:r -->
<w:commentRangeStart w:id="0"/>
<w:del w:id="1" w:author="Claude" w:date="2025-01-01T00:00:00Z">
  <w:r><w:delText>deleted</w:delText></w:r>
</w:del>
<w:r><w:t> more 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>

<!-- Comment 0 with reply 1 nested inside -->
<w:commentRangeStart w:id="0"/>
  <w:commentRangeStart w:id="1"/>
  <w:r><w:t>text</w:t></w:r>
  <w:commentRangeEnd w:id="1"/>
<w:commentRangeEnd w:id="0"/>
<w:r><w:rPr><w:rStyle w:val="CommentReference"/></w:rPr><w:commentReference w:id="0"/></w:r>
<w:r><w:rPr><w:rStyle w:val="CommentReference"/></w:rPr><w:commentReference w:id="1"/></w:r>

Images

1. Add image file to word/media/
2. Add relationship to word/_rels/document.xml.rels:

<Relationship Id="rId5" Type=".../image" Target="media/image1.png"/>

3. Add content type to [Content_Types].xml:

<Default Extension="png" ContentType="image/png"/>

4. Reference in document.xml:

<w:drawing>
  <wp:inline>
    <wp:extent cx="914400" cy="914400"/>  <!-- EMUs: 914400 = 1 inch -->
    <a:graphic>
      <a:graphicData uri=".../picture">
        <pic:pic>
          <pic:blipFill><a:blip r:embed="rId5"/></pic:blipFill>
        </pic:pic>
      </a:graphicData>
    </a:graphic>
  </wp:inline>
</w:drawing>

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Dependencies

# Core Python library
uv pip install python-docx

# System tools (macOS)
brew install pandoc libreoffice poppler

• python-docx — create and edit .docx programmatically
• pandoc — text extraction and format conversion
• LibreOffice (soffice) — PDF/image conversion (via scripts/office/soffice.py)
• Poppler (pdftoppm) — PDF to images