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 `docx-js` - 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

Creating New Documents

Generate .docx files with JavaScript, then validate. Install:

npm install -g docx

Setup

const { Document, Packer, Paragraph, TextRun, Table, TableRow, TableCell, ImageRun,
        Header, Footer, AlignmentType, PageOrientation, LevelFormat, ExternalHyperlink,
        TableOfContents, HeadingLevel, BorderStyle, WidthType, ShadingType,
        VerticalAlign, PageNumber, PageBreak } = require('docx');
const doc = new Document({ sections: [{ children: [/* content */] }] });
Packer.toBuffer(doc).then(buffer => fs.writeFileSync("doc.docx", buffer));

Validation

After creating the file, validate it. If validation fails, unpack, fix the XML, and repack.

python scripts/office/validate.py doc.docx

Page Size

// CRITICAL: docx-js defaults to A4, not US Letter
// Always set page size explicitly for consistent results
sections: [{
  properties: {
    page: {
      size: {
        width: 12240,   // 8.5 inches in DXA
        height: 15840   // 11 inches in DXA
      },
      margin: { top: 1440, right: 1440, bottom: 1440, left: 1440 } // 1 inch margins
    }
  },
  children: [/* content */]
}]

Common page sizes (DXA units, 1440 DXA = 1 inch):

Paper	Width	Height	Content Width (1" margins)
US Letter	12,240	15,840	9,360
A4 (default)	11,906	16,838	9,026

Landscape orientation: docx-js swaps width/height internally, so pass portrait dimensions and let it handle the swap:

size: {
  width: 12240,   // Pass SHORT edge as width
  height: 15840,  // Pass LONG edge as height
  orientation: PageOrientation.LANDSCAPE  // docx-js swaps them in the XML
},
// Content width = 15840 - left margin - right margin (uses the long edge)

Styles (Override Built-in Headings)

Use Arial as the default font (universally supported). Keep titles black for readability.

const doc = new Document({
  styles: {
    default: { document: { run: { font: "Arial", size: 24 } } }, // 12pt default
    paragraphStyles: [
      // IMPORTANT: Use exact IDs to override built-in styles
      { 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 } }, // outlineLevel required for TOC
      { 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: [
      new Paragraph({ heading: HeadingLevel.HEADING_1, children: [new TextRun("Title")] }),
    ]
  }]
});

Lists (NEVER use unicode bullets)

// ❌ WRONG - never manually insert bullet characters
new Paragraph({ children: [new TextRun("• Item")] })  // BAD
new Paragraph({ children: [new TextRun("\u2022 Item")] })  // BAD
// ✅ CORRECT - use numbering config with LevelFormat.BULLET
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 item")] }),
new Paragraph({ numbering: { reference: "numbers", level: 0 },
children: [new TextRun("Numbered item")] }),
]
}]
});
// ⚠️ Each reference creates INDEPENDENT numbering
// Same reference = continues (1,2,3 then 4,5,6)
// Different reference = restarts (1,2,3 then 1,2,3)

Tables

CRITICAL: Tables need dual widths - set both

columnWidths

on the table AND

width

on each cell. Without both, tables render incorrectly on some platforms.

// CRITICAL: Always set table width for consistent rendering
// CRITICAL: Use ShadingType.CLEAR (not SOLID) to prevent black backgrounds
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 use DXA (percentages break in Google Docs)
columnWidths: [4680, 4680], // Must sum to table width (DXA: 1440 = 1 inch)
rows: [
new TableRow({
children: [
new TableCell({
borders,
width: { size: 4680, type: WidthType.DXA }, // Also set on each cell
shading: { fill: "D5E8F0", type: ShadingType.CLEAR }, // CLEAR not SOLID
margins: { top: 80, bottom: 80, left: 120, right: 120 }, // Cell padding (internal, not added to width)
children: [new Paragraph({ children: [new TextRun("Cell")] })]
})
]
})
]
})

Table width calculation:

Always use

WidthType.DXA

—

WidthType.PERCENTAGE

breaks in Google Docs.

// Table width = sum of columnWidths = content width
// US Letter with 1" margins: 12240 - 2880 = 9360 DXA
width: { size: 9360, type: WidthType.DXA },
columnWidths: [7000, 2360]  // Must sum to table width

Width rules:

Always use
WidthType.DXA
— never
```
WidthType.PERCENTAGE
```
(incompatible with Google Docs)
Table width must equal the sum of
```
columnWidths
```
Cell
```
width
```
must match corresponding
```
columnWidth
```
Cell
```
margins
```
are internal padding - they reduce content area, not add to cell width
For full-width tables: use content width (page width minus left and right margins)

Images

// CRITICAL: type parameter is REQUIRED
new Paragraph({
  children: [new ImageRun({
    type: "png", // Required: png, jpg, jpeg, gif, bmp, svg
    data: fs.readFileSync("image.png"),
    transformation: { width: 200, height: 150 },
    altText: { title: "Title", description: "Desc", name: "Name" } // All three required
  })]
})

Page Breaks

// CRITICAL: PageBreak must be inside a Paragraph
new Paragraph({ children: [new PageBreak()] })
// Or use pageBreakBefore
new Paragraph({ pageBreakBefore: true, children: [new TextRun("New page")] })

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

Headers/Footers

sections: [{
  properties: {
    page: { margin: { top: 1440, right: 1440, bottom: 1440, left: 1440 } } // 1440 = 1 inch
  },
  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: [/* content */]
}]

Critical Rules for docx-js

Set page size explicitly - docx-js defaults to A4; use US Letter (12240 x 15840 DXA) for US documents
Landscape: pass portrait dimensions - docx-js swaps width/height internally; pass short edge as
```
width
```
, long edge as
```
height
```
, and set
```
orientation: PageOrientation.LANDSCAPE
```
Never use
\n
- use separate Paragraph elements
Never use unicode bullets - use
```
LevelFormat.BULLET
```
with numbering config
PageBreak must be in Paragraph - standalone creates invalid XML
ImageRun requires
type
- always specify png/jpg/etc
Always set table
width
with DXA - never use
```
WidthType.PERCENTAGE
```
(breaks in Google Docs)
Tables need dual widths -
```
columnWidths
```
array AND cell
```
width
```
, both must match
Table width = sum of columnWidths - for DXA, ensure they add up exactly

Always add cell margins - use

margins: { top: 80, bottom: 80, left: 120, right: 120 }

for readable padding

Use
ShadingType.CLEAR
- never SOLID for table shading
TOC requires HeadingLevel only - no custom styles on heading paragraphs
Override built-in styles - use exact IDs: "Heading1", "Heading2", etc.
Include
outlineLevel
- required for TOC (0 for H1, 1 for H2, etc.)

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 (

&#x201C;

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 &amp; and &#x2019;"
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.

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/>

<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

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

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

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

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

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>

Dependencies

pandoc: Text extraction
docx:
```
npm install -g docx
```
(new documents)
LibreOffice: PDF conversion (auto-configured for sandboxed environments via
```
scripts/office/soffice.py
```
)
Poppler:
```
pdftoppm
```
for images

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DOCX creation, editing, and analysis

Overview

Quick Reference

Converting .doc to .docx

Reading Content

Raw XML access

Converting to Images

Accepting Tracked Changes

Creating New Documents

Setup

Validation

Page Size

Styles (Override Built-in Headings)

Lists (NEVER use unicode bullets)

Tables

Images

Page Breaks

Table of Contents

Headers/Footers

Critical Rules for docx-js

Editing Existing Documents

Step 1: Unpack

Step 2: Edit XML

Step 3: Pack

Common Pitfalls

XML Reference

Schema Compliance

Tracked Changes

Comments

Images

Dependencies

Quick Start

Manual Installation

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