| name | docx |
| description | Use this skill whenever the user wants to create, read, edit, or manipulate Word documents (.docx files). Triggers include: any mention of 'Word doc', 'word document', '.docx', or requests to produce professional documents with formatting like tables of contents, headings, page numbers, or letterheads. |
DOCX Skill
This skill handles Word document creation, editing, and analysis using .docx files (ZIP archives containing XML).
Core Workflows
Creating New Documents: Use docx-js (npm install -g docx) with JavaScript. Set page size explicitly (US Letter: 12240x15840 DXA), use LevelFormat.BULLET for lists (never unicode), and apply dual widths for tables with both columnWidths and cell width set to DXA values.
Editing Existing Documents: Unpack → Edit XML → Repack. Use python scripts/office/unpack.py, edit directly with the Edit tool, then python scripts/office/pack.py.
Critical Rules
- Always set page size explicitly (defaults to A4, not US Letter)
- Use DXA for widths, never PERCENTAGE
- Tables need dual widths (columnWidths + cell width)
- PageBreak must be inside a Paragraph
- ImageRun requires
type parameter
- Use ShadingType.CLEAR for table backgrounds
- Never use tables as dividers
XML Editing
For tracked changes, use <w:ins> and <w:del> elements. Comments require running comment.py then adding markers where commentRangeStart/End are siblings of <w:r>, never inside them.
Dependencies
pandoc (text extraction), docx npm package, LibreOffice (PDF conversion), Poppler (image export).
