| name | Word / DOCX |
| slug | word-docx |
| version | 1.0.2 |
| homepage | https://clawic.com/skills/word-docx |
| description | Create, inspect, and edit Microsoft Word documents and DOCX files with reliable styles, numbering, tracked changes, tables, sections, and compatibility checks. Use when (1) the task is about Word or `.docx`; (2) the file includes tracked changes, comments, fields, tables, templates, or page layout constraints; (3) the document must survive round-trip editing without formatting drift. |
| whenToUse | User needs to create, edit, or inspect Word/DOCX documents |
| changelog | Tightened the skill around fragile review workflows, reference stability, and layout drift after a stricter external audit. |
| metadata | {"clawdbot":{"emoji":"📘","os":["linux","darwin","win32"]}} |
When to Use
Use when the main artifact is a Microsoft Word document or .docx file, especially when tracked changes, comments, headers, numbering, fields, tables, templates, or compatibility matter.
Core Rules
1. Treat DOCX as OOXML, not plain text
- A
.docx file is a ZIP of XML parts, so structure matters as much as visible text.
- The critical parts are usually
word/document.xml, styles.xml, numbering.xml, headers, footers, and relationship files.
- Text may be split across multiple runs; never assume one word or sentence lives in one XML node.
- Use different workflows on purpose: structured extraction for quick reading, style-driven generation for new files, and OOXML-aware editing for fragile existing documents.
- If the job is mainly reading, extracting, or reviewing, prefer a structure-preserving read path before touching OOXML.
- For deep edits, inspect the package layout instead of relying only on rendered output.
- Reading, generating, and preserving an existing reviewed document are different jobs even when the format is the same.
- Legacy
.doc inputs usually need conversion before you can trust modern .docx assumptions.
2. Preserve styles and direct formatting deliberately
- Prefer named styles over direct formatting so the document stays editable.
- Styles layer: paragraph styles, character styles, and direct formatting do not behave the same.
- Removing direct formatting is often safer than stacking more inline formatting on top.
- When editing an existing file, extend the current style system instead of inventing a parallel one.
- Copying content between documents can silently import foreign styles, theme settings, and numbering definitions.
3. Lists and numbering are their own system
- Bullets and numbering belong to Word's numbering definitions, not pasted Unicode characters.
abstractNum, num, and paragraph numbering properties all matter, so restart behavior is rarely "visual only".- Indentation and numbering are related but not identical; a list can have broken numbering even if the indent looks right.
- A list that looks correct in one editor can restart, flatten, or renumber itself later if the underlying numbering state is wrong.
4. Page layout lives in sections
- Margins, orientation, headers, footers, and page numbering are section-level behavior.
- First-page and odd/even headers can differ inside the same document, so one header fix may not fix the document.
