Office Documents Skill

This skill provides comprehensive tools and workflows for working with Microsoft Word (.docx) and WPS Office documents. It covers creation, editing, conversion, analysis, and troubleshooting of professional documents.

Quick Start

Basic Operations

Read document content:

# Use python-docx for .docx files
from docx import Document
doc = Document('document.docx')
text = '\n'.join([paragraph.text for paragraph in doc.paragraphs])

Create new document:

from docx import Document
from docx.shared import Inches

doc = Document()
doc.add_heading('Document Title', 0)
doc.add_paragraph('This is a new paragraph.')
doc.save('new_document.docx')

Common Tasks

1. Text extraction - See TEXT_EXTRACTION.md
2. Format conversion - See CONVERSION.md
3. Document analysis - See ANALYSIS.md
4. Troubleshooting - See TROUBLESHOOTING.md

Core Tools and Libraries

Python Libraries

For .docx files:

• python-docx - Primary library for reading/writing .docx
• docx2txt - Simple text extraction
• docxcompose - Advanced document composition
• docx-mailmerge - Mail merge functionality

For WPS files:

• pywps - WPS file manipulation (when available)
• Conversion to .docx first recommended

For format conversion:

• pandoc - Universal document converter
• libreoffice - Office suite for conversion
• unoconv - Universal office converter

Command Line Tools

Document conversion:

# Convert .docx to PDF
libreoffice --headless --convert-to pdf document.docx

# Convert .docx to text
pandoc document.docx -o document.txt

# Batch convert WPS to .docx
for file in *.wps; do libreoffice --headless --convert-to docx "$file"; done

Document analysis:

# Extract metadata
exiftool document.docx

# Check file integrity
file document.docx

Workflows

1. Document Creation Workflow

When creating new documents:

1. Choose template - Start from template or create from scratch
2. Add structure - Headings, paragraphs, lists
3. Apply formatting - Styles, fonts, spacing
4. Add elements - Tables, images, hyperlinks
5. Finalize - Page setup, headers/footers, save

See CREATION.md for detailed patterns.

2. Document Editing Workflow

When modifying existing documents:

1. Backup original - Always create backup first
2. Analyze structure - Understand document layout
3. Make changes - Edit content, update formatting
4. Preserve formatting - Maintain original styles
5. Validate - Check for corruption, save new version

See EDITING.md for detailed patterns.

3. Conversion Workflow

When converting between formats:

1. Identify source format - .docx, .wps, .doc, .rtf, etc.
2. Choose conversion tool - Based on format and requirements
3. Convert - With appropriate options
4. Verify - Check content preservation
5. Clean up - Remove temporary files

See CONVERSION.md for detailed patterns.

Common Issues and Solutions

1. Corrupted Documents

Symptoms: Won't open, error messages, missing content

Solutions:

• Try opening in different application
• Use recovery mode in Word/WPS
• Extract content with python-docx ignoring errors
• Convert to different format and back

See TROUBLESHOOTING.md for detailed recovery procedures.

2. Formatting Issues

Symptoms: Wrong fonts, broken layout, missing styles

Solutions:

• Check style definitions
• Verify font availability
• Use template-based approach
• Simplify complex formatting

3. Compatibility Problems

Symptoms: Different appearance in Word vs WPS, missing features

Solutions:

• Stick to common features
• Test in both applications
• Use standard formats
• Provide alternative versions

Advanced Features

Document Automation

Batch processing:

import os
from docx import Document

def process_documents(folder_path):
    for filename in os.listdir(folder_path):
        if filename.endswith('.docx'):
            doc_path = os.path.join(folder_path, filename)
            process_single_document(doc_path)

Template-based generation:

from docx import Document

def generate_from_template(template_path, data):
    doc = Document(template_path)
    # Replace placeholders with data
    for paragraph in doc.paragraphs:
        for key, value in data.items():
            if f'{{{{ {key} }}}}' in paragraph.text:
                paragraph.text = paragraph.text.replace(f'{{{{ {key} }}}}', value)
    return doc

Document Analysis

Extract statistics:

def analyze_document(doc_path):
    doc = Document(doc_path)
    stats = {
        'paragraphs': len(doc.paragraphs),
        'tables': len(doc.tables),
        'images': len(doc.inline_shapes),
        'sections': len(doc.sections),
        'styles': len(doc.styles)
    }
    return stats

Check formatting consistency:

def check_formatting(doc):
    issues = []
    for i, para in enumerate(doc.paragraphs):
        if para.style.name == 'Normal' and para.text.strip():
            # Check for inconsistent formatting
            if len(para.runs) > 1:
                issues.append(f"Paragraph {i}: Multiple runs in Normal style")
    return issues

Best Practices

1. Always Backup

import shutil
import os

def backup_document(filepath):
    backup_path = filepath + '.backup'
    shutil.copy2(filepath, backup_path)
    return backup_path

2. Use Version Control

• Save incremental versions
• Use descriptive filenames
• Document changes made

3. Test Thoroughly

• Test in target application
• Verify all content preserved
• Check formatting integrity

4. Handle Errors Gracefully

try:
    doc = Document(filepath)
except Exception as e:
    print(f"Error opening {filepath}: {e}")
    # Try alternative methods
    return extract_text_fallback(filepath)

Reference Files

For detailed information on specific topics, consult these reference files:

• TEXT_EXTRACTION.md - Text extraction methods and patterns
• CONVERSION.md - Format conversion guides
• ANALYSIS.md - Document analysis techniques
• TROUBLESHOOTING.md - Common issues and solutions
• CREATION.md - Document creation patterns
• EDITING.md - Document editing workflows
• AUTOMATION.md - Automation scripts and templates

Scripts

Available scripts in the scripts/ directory:

• extract_text.py - Extract text from .docx files
• convert_format.py - Convert between document formats
• batch_process.py - Process multiple documents
• document_stats.py - Generate document statistics
• repair_document.py - Attempt to repair corrupted documents

Run scripts with appropriate parameters:

python scripts/extract_text.py input.docx output.txt

Getting Help

If you encounter issues not covered in this skill:

1. Check the relevant reference file
2. Search for specific error messages
3. Try alternative approaches
4. Consider converting to simpler format

Remember: When in doubt, create a backup and work on a copy.