DOCX Generator When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

Creating Word documents programmatically from data or specifications Populating branded templates with dynamic content while preserving corporate styling Extracting text, tables, and structure from existing DOCX files for analysis Finding and replacing placeholder text like {{TITLE}} or ${author} Automating document generation workflows (reports, contracts, letters)

Do NOT use this skill when:

User wants to open/view documents (use native Word or viewer) Complex mail merge with data sources (use native Word mail merge) Working with older .doc format (DOCX only) PDF output is needed (use pdf-generator skill instead) Prerequisites Deno installed (https://deno.land/) Input DOCX files for template-based operations JSON specification for scratch generation Quick Start Two Modes of Operation

Template Mode: Modify existing branded templates

Analyze template to find placeholders Replace {{PLACEHOLDERS}} with actual content

Scratch Mode: Create documents from nothing using JSON specifications

Instructions Mode 1: Template-Based Generation Step 1a: Analyze the Template

Extract text inventory to understand what can be replaced:

deno run --allow-read scripts/analyze-template.ts corporate-template.docx > inventory.json

Output (inventory.json):

{ "filename": "corporate-template.docx", "paragraphCount": 25, "tableCount": 2, "imageCount": 1, "paragraphs": [ { "index": 0, "style": "Title", "fullText": "{{DOCUMENT_TITLE}}", "runs": [ { "text": "{{DOCUMENT_TITLE}}", "bold": true, "fontSize": 28 } ] } ], "placeholders": [ { "tag": "{{DOCUMENT_TITLE}}", "location": "paragraph", "paragraphIndex": 0 }, { "tag": "{{AUTHOR}}", "location": "footer-default", "paragraphIndex": 0 }, { "tag": "${date}", "location": "table", "tableIndex": 0, "cellLocation": "R1C2" } ] }

Step 1b: Create Replacement Specification

Create replacements.json:

{ "textReplacements": [ { "tag": "{{DOCUMENT_TITLE}}", "value": "Q4 2024 Financial Report" }, { "tag": "{{AUTHOR}}", "value": "Finance Department" }, { "tag": "${date}", "value": "December 15, 2024" }, { "tag": "{{COMPANY}}", "value": "Acme Corporation" } ], "includeHeaders": true, "includeFooters": true }

Step 1c: Generate Output deno run --allow-read --allow-write scripts/generate-from-template.ts \ corporate-template.docx replacements.json output.docx

Mode 2: From-Scratch Generation Step 2a: Create Specification

Create spec.json:

{ "title": "Quarterly Report", "creator": "Finance Team", "styles": { "defaultFont": "Calibri", "defaultFontSize": 11 }, "sections": [ { "header": { "paragraphs": [ { "text": "Acme Corporation", "alignment": "right" } ] }, "footer": { "paragraphs": [ { "text": "Confidential", "alignment": "center" } ] }, "content": [ { "text": "Q4 2024 Financial Report", "heading": 1, "alignment": "center" }, { "runs": [ { "text": "Executive Summary: ", "bold": true }, { "text": "This report provides an overview of our financial performance for Q4 2024." } ] }, { "pageBreak": true }, { "text": "Revenue Breakdown", "heading": 2 }, { "rows": [ { "cells": [ { "content": [{ "text": "Category" }], "shading": "DDDDDD" }, { "content": [{ "text": "Amount" }], "shading": "DDDDDD" }, { "content": [{ "text": "Change" }], "shading": "DDDDDD" } ], "isHeader": true }, { "cells": [ { "content": [{ "text": "Product Sales" }] }, { "content": [{ "text": "$1,250,000" }] }, { "content": [{ "text": "+15%" }] } ] }, { "cells": [ { "content": [{ "text": "Services" }] }, { "content": [{ "text": "$750,000" }] }, { "content": [{ "text": "+8%" }] } ] } ], "width": 100, "borders": true } ] } ] }

Step 2b: Generate Document deno run --allow-read --allow-write scripts/generate-scratch.ts spec.json output.docx

Examples Example 1: Contract Generation

Scenario: Generate contracts from a branded template.

Steps:

1. Analyze template for replaceable content

deno run --allow-read scripts/analyze-template.ts contract-template.docx --pretty

2. Create replacements.json with client data

3. Generate contract

deno run --allow-read --allow-write scripts/generate-from-template.ts \ contract-template.docx replacements.json acme-contract.docx

Example 2: Report with Tables

Scenario: Generate a data report with tables and formatting.

spec.json:

{ "title": "Sales Report", "sections": [{ "content": [ { "text": "Monthly Sales Report", "heading": 1 }, { "text": "January 2025", "heading": 2 }, { "runs": [ { "text": "Total Sales: ", "bold": true }, { "text": "$125,000", "color": "2E7D32" } ] } ] }] }

Example 3: Letter with Headers/Footers

Scenario: Create a formal letter with letterhead.

spec.json:

{ "sections": [{ "header": { "paragraphs": [ { "text": "ACME CORPORATION", "alignment": "center", "runs": [{"text": "ACME CORPORATION", "bold": true, "fontSize": 16}] }, { "text": "123 Business Ave, City, ST 12345", "alignment": "center" } ] }, "content": [ { "text": "December 15, 2024", "alignment": "right" }, { "text": "" }, { "text": "Dear Valued Customer," }, { "text": "" }, { "text": "Thank you for your continued business..." }, { "text": "" }, { "text": "Sincerely," }, { "text": "John Smith" }, { "runs": [{ "text": "CEO", "italic": true }] } ], "footer": { "paragraphs": [ { "text": "www.acme.com | contact@acme.com", "alignment": "center" } ] } }] }

Script Reference Script Purpose Permissions analyze-template.ts Extract text, tables, placeholders from DOCX --allow-read generate-from-template.ts Replace placeholders in templates --allow-read --allow-write generate-scratch.ts Create DOCX from JSON specification --allow-read --allow-write Specification Reference Paragraph Options Property Type Description text string Simple text content runs array Formatted text runs (for mixed formatting) heading 1-6 Heading level alignment string left, center, right, justify bullet boolean Bulleted list item numbering boolean Numbered list item spacing object before, after, line spacing indent object left, right, firstLine indentation pageBreakBefore boolean Insert page break before paragraph Text Run Options Property Type Description text string Text content bold boolean Bold formatting italic boolean Italic formatting underline boolean Underline formatting strike boolean Strikethrough fontSize number Font size in points font string Font family name color string Text color (hex, no #) highlight string Highlight color superScript boolean Superscript subScript boolean Subscript Table Options Property Type Description rows array Array of row specifications width number Table width as percentage borders boolean Show table borders Hyperlink Options Property Type Description text string Link text url string Target URL bold boolean Bold formatting italic boolean Italic formatting Common Issues and Solutions Issue: Placeholders not being replaced

Symptoms: Output DOCX still contains {{PLACEHOLDER}} tags.

Solution:

Run analyze-template.ts to verify exact tag text Tags may be split across XML runs - the script consolidates these automatically Ensure includeHeaders and includeFooters are true if placeholders are there Issue: Formatting lost after replacement

Symptoms: Replaced text doesn't match original formatting.

Solution:

Text replacement preserves the formatting of the original placeholder Ensure placeholder is formatted the way you want the final text to appear Issue: Images not appearing

Symptoms: Image elements are blank in output.

Solution:

Use paths relative to the spec.json file location Verify image file exists and is readable Check supported formats: PNG, JPEG, GIF Issue: Table cell content incorrect

Symptoms: Table cells have wrong content or formatting.

Solution:

Each cell's content must be an array of paragraph specifications Use shading for background color, verticalAlign for alignment Limitations DOCX only: Does not support legacy .doc format No track changes: Cannot add or process track changes No comments: Cannot add document comments No macros: Cannot include VBA macros Basic numbering: Limited support for complex numbering schemes Text run splitting: Word may split text across XML elements; script handles common cases Related Skills pptx-generator: For creating PowerPoint presentations xlsx-generator: For creating Excel spreadsheets pdf-generator: For creating PDF documents