Basics of python-docx library

Download and install the latest version of python from Python Website if not already done.

Setting up virtual environment is not a must. But this is a best practice when working on python projects. Click virtual environment for more details.

Install python-docx using the command: pip install python-docx

Type command pip freeze
Should give an output like:

lxml==4.7.1
python-docx==0.8.11

Blank word documents can be easily created using python-docx. Import Document module from docx library and also import the os standard library. We need os module functionalities to Open or Save files.

Then create a Document object and add the necessary contents and save the file by calling Save() function.

from docx import Document
import os

newDoc = Document()
newDoc.add_paragraph("First Line")

filepath = os.path.dirname(__file__) + '\TestFile.docx'
newDoc.save(filepath)

To open word files, call Document class and pass the file path as parameter as shown below. Then, we can loop through paragraphs or headings of any other type of contents to access the data.

from docx import Document
import os

filepath = os.path.dirname(__file__) + '\TestFile.docx'
d = Document(filepath)

print(len(d.paragraphs))

for p in d.paragraphs:
    print(p)

To modify a document, open it and add or remove paragraphs as needed and apply styles and save.

To add all the text content use add_paragraph built-in function. All content added are by default of normal style. Apply different styles as below. To add a line break, add an empty paragraph.

from docx import Document
import os

newDoc = Document()
newDoc.add_paragraph("Top Heading", style = 'Heading 1')#'Heading 1'
newDoc.add_paragraph("First Line")#'Normal'
newDoc.add_paragraph("List 1", style = 'List Number')#'Ordered List'
newDoc.add_paragraph("List 2", style = 'List Number')#'Ordered List'

newDoc.add_paragraph("List 1", style = 'List Bullet')#'Unordered List'
newDoc.add_paragraph("List 2", style = 'List Bullet')#'Unordered List'

filepath = os.path.dirname(__file__) + '\TestFile.docx'
newDoc.save(filepath)

To align content left, right, center or justified, import WD_ALIGN_PARAGRAPH and use it as below.

from docx import Document
from docx.enum.text import WD_ALIGN_PARAGRAPH
import os

newDoc = Document()
htop = newDoc.add_paragraph("Top Heading", style = 'Heading 1')
htop.alignment = WD_ALIGN_PARAGRAPH.CENTER

c = newDoc.add_paragraph("This is a justified paragraph.\nThis is a justified paragraph")
c.alignment = WD_ALIGN_PARAGRAPH.JUSTIFY

filepath = os.path.dirname(__file__) + '\TestFile.docx'
newDoc.save(filepath)

To apply additional styles to a content we have to use add_run function. This function returns an object variable to which we can apply styles.

from docx import Document
from docx.enum.text import WD_ALIGN_PARAGRAPH
import os

newDoc = Document()

a1 = newDoc.add_paragraph().add_run('Bold Line')
a1.bold = True

filepath = os.path.dirname(__file__) + '\TestFile.docx'
newDoc.save(filepath)

We can change the style of the text content to Bold, Italics or Underlined by using the built-in properties shown below.

from docx import Document
from docx.enum.text import WD_ALIGN_PARAGRAPH
import os

newDoc = Document()

p = newDoc.add_paragraph()
p.add_run('Bold Content\n')
p.bold = True
p.add_run('Italic Content\n').italic = True
p.add_run('Underline Content\n').underline = True

filepath = os.path.dirname(__file__) + '\TestFile.docx'
newDoc.save(filepath)

To modify the font color, size or family, import RGBColor, Pt from docx.shared module of python-docx.

from docx import Document
from docx.shared import RGBColor, Pt
import os

newDoc = Document()

p = newDoc.add_paragraph().add_run('Test Content')
p.font.color.rgb = RGBColor(115, 52, 100)
p.font.name = 'Calibri'
p.font.size = Pt(20)

filepath = os.path.dirname(__file__) + '\TestFile.docx'
newDoc.save(filepath)

Table creation sample provided below. To access the table content, we can use a loop.

from docx import Document
import os

newDoc = Document()

t = newDoc.add_table(rows = 2, cols = 2)
t.rows[0].cells[0].text = 'Cell 1'
t.rows[0].cells[1].text = 'Cell 2'
t.rows[1].cells[0].text = 'Cell 3'
t.rows[1].cells[1].text = 'Cell 4'
t.add_row()
t.rows[2].cells[0].text = 'Cell 5'
t.rows[2].cells[1].text = 'Cell 6'

filepath = os.path.dirname(__file__) + '\TestFile.docx'
newDoc.save(filepath)

Use add_tab function as below to create a tabbed paragraph.

from docx import Document
import os

newDoc = Document()

p = newDoc.add_paragraph()
p.add_run().add_tab()
p.add_run('After Tab')

filepath = os.path.dirname(__file__) + '\TestFile.docx'
newDoc.save(filepath)

To use images in the word file, import RGBColor, Pt, Inches from docx.shared module of python-docx.

from docx import Document
from docx.shared import RGBColor, Pt, Inches
import os

newDoc = Document()

img = newDoc.add_picture(imgpath, height=Inches(3), width=Inches(2))

filepath = os.path.dirname(__file__) + '\TestFile.docx'
newDoc.save(filepath)

We can use for loop to navigate through the contents of the document. There are options to access the content based on the type like Paragraphs, Images, Headings, etc. Or we can provide a common property to a group of contents and access those.

To see how this works, refer the sample application link provided below.

import docx as doc
import os

filepath = os.path.dirname(__file__) + '\TestFile.docx'
d = doc.Document(filepath)

print(len(d.paragraphs))

for p in d.paragraphs:
    print(p)