office-documents

name	office-documents
description	Create and edit Microsoft Office documents (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) using Node.js libraries. Provides templates and code patterns for generating .docx, .xlsx, and .pptx files programmatically.
keywords	word, excel, powerpoint, document, spreadsheet, presentation, docx, xlsx, pptx
triggers	create document, write document, generate report, make spreadsheet, create presentation

Office Documents Skill

Create professional Microsoft Office documents programmatically using Node.js libraries.

When to Use This Skill

• Creating Word documents (.docx)
• Generating Excel spreadsheets (.xlsx)
• Building PowerPoint presentations (.pptx)
• Automating report generation
• Creating document templates
• Batch document creation

---

Quick Start

Required Libraries

# Install document creation libraries
npm install docx xlsx pptxgenjs

---

Word Documents (.docx)

Use the docx library for creating Word documents.

Basic Word Document

import { Document, Packer, Paragraph, TextRun, HeadingLevel, Table, TableRow, TableCell } from 'docx';
import { writeFileSync } from 'fs';

// Create a simple document
const doc = new Document({
  sections: [{
    properties: {},
    children: [
      new Paragraph({
        text: "My Document Title",
        heading: HeadingLevel.TITLE,
      }),
      new Paragraph({
        children: [
          new TextRun("Hello World!"),
          new TextRun({
            text: " This is bold.",
            bold: true,
          }),
        ],
      }),
    ],
  }],
});

// Save the document
const buffer = await Packer.toBuffer(doc);
writeFileSync("document.docx", buffer);

Word Document with Table

const doc = new Document({
  sections: [{
    children: [
      new Table({
        rows: [
          new TableRow({
            children: [
              new TableCell({ children: [new Paragraph("Header 1")] }),
              new TableCell({ children: [new Paragraph("Header 2")] }),
            ],
          }),
          new TableRow({
            children: [
              new TableCell({ children: [new Paragraph("Cell 1")] }),
              new TableCell({ children: [new Paragraph("Cell 2")] }),
            ],
          }),
        ],
      }),
    ],
  }],
});

Word Document with Styles

const doc = new Document({
  styles: {
    paragraphStyles: [{
      id: "customStyle",
      name: "Custom Style",
      run: { font: "Calibri", size: 28, color: "333333" },
      paragraph: { spacing: { after: 200 } },
    }],
  },
  sections: [{
    children: [
      new Paragraph({
        text: "Styled paragraph",
        style: "customStyle",
      }),
    ],
  }],
});

---

Excel Spreadsheets (.xlsx)

Use the xlsx library for creating Excel files.

Basic Excel Spreadsheet

import * as XLSX from 'xlsx';

// Create workbook and worksheet
const workbook = XLSX.utils.book_new();
const data = [
  ["Name", "Age", "City"],
  ["Alice", 30, "New York"],
  ["Bob", 25, "Los Angeles"],
  ["Charlie", 35, "Chicago"],
];

const worksheet = XLSX.utils.aoa_to_sheet(data);
XLSX.utils.book_append_sheet(workbook, worksheet, "Sheet1");

// Save the file
XLSX.writeFile(workbook, "spreadsheet.xlsx");

Excel from JSON Data

const jsonData = [
  { name: "Alice", age: 30, city: "New York" },
  { name: "Bob", age: 25, city: "Los Angeles" },
];

const worksheet = XLSX.utils.json_to_sheet(jsonData);
const workbook = XLSX.utils.book_new();
XLSX.utils.book_append_sheet(workbook, worksheet, "Data");
XLSX.writeFile(workbook, "from-json.xlsx");

Excel with Column Widths

const worksheet = XLSX.utils.aoa_to_sheet(data);

// Set column widths
worksheet['!cols'] = [
  { wch: 20 }, // Column A width
  { wch: 10 }, // Column B width
  { wch: 15 }, // Column C width
];

const workbook = XLSX.utils.book_new();
XLSX.utils.book_append_sheet(workbook, worksheet, "Sheet1");
XLSX.writeFile(workbook, "styled.xlsx");

---

PowerPoint Presentations (.pptx)

Use pptxgenjs for creating PowerPoint presentations.

Basic PowerPoint

import PptxGenJS from 'pptxgenjs';

const pptx = new PptxGenJS();

// Title slide
const slide1 = pptx.addSlide();
slide1.addText("My Presentation", {
  x: 1, y: 2, w: "80%",
  fontSize: 36, bold: true,
  color: "363636",
  align: "center",
});

// Content slide
const slide2 = pptx.addSlide();
slide2.addText("Key Points", {
  x: 0.5, y: 0.5, w: "90%",
  fontSize: 24, bold: true,
});
slide2.addText([
  { text: "Point 1: Introduction", options: { bullet: true } },
  { text: "Point 2: Main Content", options: { bullet: true } },
  { text: "Point 3: Conclusion", options: { bullet: true } },
], { x: 0.5, y: 1.5, w: "90%", fontSize: 18 });

// Save
pptx.writeFile({ fileName: "presentation.pptx" });

PowerPoint with Images

const slide = pptx.addSlide();

// Add image from file
slide.addImage({
  path: "./image.png",
  x: 1, y: 1, w: 4, h: 3,
});

// Add image from base64
slide.addImage({
  data: "data:image/png;base64,...",
  x: 6, y: 1, w: 3, h: 2,
});

PowerPoint with Charts

const slide = pptx.addSlide();

slide.addChart(pptx.ChartType.bar, [
  {
    name: "Sales",
    labels: ["Q1", "Q2", "Q3", "Q4"],
    values: [100, 200, 300, 400],
  },
], {
  x: 1, y: 1, w: 8, h: 4,
  title: "Quarterly Sales",
  showLegend: true,
});

---

Complete Example: Report Generator

import { Document, Packer, Paragraph, TextRun, HeadingLevel } from 'docx';
import * as XLSX from 'xlsx';
import PptxGenJS from 'pptxgenjs';
import { writeFileSync } from 'fs';

interface ReportData {
  title: string;
  summary: string;
  metrics: { name: string; value: number }[];
}

async function generateReport(data: ReportData, outputDir: string) {
  // 1. Create Word Report
  const doc = new Document({
    sections: [{
      children: [
        new Paragraph({ text: data.title, heading: HeadingLevel.TITLE }),
        new Paragraph({ text: data.summary }),
        new Paragraph({ text: "Metrics", heading: HeadingLevel.HEADING_1 }),
        ...data.metrics.map(m =>
          new Paragraph({ text: `${m.name}: ${m.value}` })
        ),
      ],
    }],
  });
  writeFileSync(`${outputDir}/report.docx`, await Packer.toBuffer(doc));

  // 2. Create Excel Data
  const wb = XLSX.utils.book_new();
  const ws = XLSX.utils.json_to_sheet(data.metrics);
  XLSX.utils.book_append_sheet(wb, ws, "Metrics");
  XLSX.writeFile(wb, `${outputDir}/data.xlsx`);

  // 3. Create PowerPoint Summary
  const pptx = new PptxGenJS();
  const slide = pptx.addSlide();
  slide.addText(data.title, { x: 1, y: 1, fontSize: 36, bold: true });
  slide.addText(data.summary, { x: 1, y: 2, fontSize: 18 });
  slide.addChart(pptx.ChartType.bar, [{
    name: "Metrics",
    labels: data.metrics.map(m => m.name),
    values: data.metrics.map(m => m.value),
  }], { x: 0.5, y: 3, w: 9, h: 4 });
  await pptx.writeFile({ fileName: `${outputDir}/summary.pptx` });

  console.log("Report generated successfully!");
}

// Usage
generateReport({
  title: "Q4 2024 Report",
  summary: "This quarter showed strong growth across all metrics.",
  metrics: [
    { name: "Revenue", value: 1200000 },
    { name: "Users", value: 50000 },
    { name: "Engagement", value: 85 },
  ],
}, "./output");

---

Tips

1. Memory Management: For large documents, use streaming APIs when available
2. Templates: Consider creating reusable template functions for consistent styling
3. Error Handling: Always wrap file operations in try-catch blocks
4. Testing: Test generated documents by opening them in the actual Office applications
5. Cross-Platform: These libraries work on Windows, macOS, and Linux