Word / DOCX

When to Use

User needs to create, read, or edit Word documents (.docx). Supports template filling, table generation, and professional styling.

Architecture

This skill uses python-docx for DOCX manipulation. All processing happens locally.

Quick Reference

Core Rules

1. Use Templates for Consistency

When generating documents repeatedly (quotations, proposals), use templates with placeholder text that gets replaced.

2. Handle Chinese Filenames Carefully

Use glob wildcards or pathlib for Chinese filename compatibility:

from pathlib import Path
for f in Path(".").glob("*.docx"):
    doc = Document(str(f))

3. Tables Need Explicit Styling

Word tables require explicit border and cell styling. Use Table Grid style as baseline.

4. Section Properties Control Layout

Page margins, orientation, and headers/footers are controlled at section level:

for section in doc.sections:
    section.left_margin = Cm(2.5)
    section.right_margin = Cm(2.5)

5. Runs vs Paragraphs

Text formatting happens at run level. A paragraph can contain multiple runs with different styles.

Common Traps

• Merged cells - Only top-left cell holds value in merged ranges
• Page breaks - Insert explicitly with doc.add_page_break()
• Images - Require absolute paths or file-like objects
• Styles - Built-in styles vary by Word version; test compatibility

Dependencies

pip3 install python-docx

Security & Privacy

Data that stays local:

• All file processing happens locally
• No external services called

This skill does NOT:

• Send data to external endpoints
• Require network access

Related Skills

• read-docx — Read-only DOCX extraction
• excel-xlsx — Excel file handling
• pdf-text-extractor — PDF text extraction

Feedback

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