Word Activities

Version: 1.0.0  ·  ID: zoan-packages-word  ·  Author: Zoan Software

The Word package reads and creates .docx documents, without the need to have Microsoft Word installed. Its two main uses:

• Read documents: extract their text, paragraphs and tables for processing.
• Generate documents: create letters, contracts, reports or minutes from data, combining paragraphs with styles, tables and images.

Word or PDF?

Word is ideal for generating formatted documents (paragraphs, headings, tables, images) that are then edited or printed. If you only need a simple text PDF, PDF Create is more straightforward. To read PDF, use the PDF package.

Concept 1: Fast Mode vs. session mode

As in Excel, there are two ways to work:

Quick mode (path)

The read and one-time modification activities accept a path directly: they open the file, do the operation, and close it. Ideal for loose operation.

Word Read Text   path = = asset("contrato.docx")   → output: texto

Session mode (session)

For several operations on the same document—and mandatory to build a new document—you open a session with Word Open (existing document) or Word Create (new document), and share that session with the other activities.

Word Create   path = "C:/salida/reporte.docx"
 └─ body:
      Word Append Paragraph   text = "Reporte mensual"   style = Title
      Word Append Table       table = = datos

Within body, activities inherit the session automatically, and when the document is finished it is saved and closed alone (with Create) or closed (with Open).

Building a document requires a session

The activities that add content —Append Paragraph, Append Table, Insert Image— only work within a session (they do not have path mode), because they build the document in memory. The typical pattern is Word Create with body.

Concept 2: Paragraph Styles

When adding paragraphs with Word Append Paragraph, you can apply a style that gives visual structure to the document:

Estilo	for what
Title	The main title of the document
Heading1 / Heading2 / Heading3	Section Headings (Levels)
Normal	Body text (default)

Activities

Session (open, create, save, close)

Activity	Type	Output	What it does
Word Open	word-open	ZoanWordSession	Open an existing .docx
Word Create	word-create	ZoanWordSession	Create a new .docx
Word Save	word-save	—	Save the session to disk
Word Close	word-close	—	Sign out

Read

Activity	Type	Output	What it does
Word Read Text	word-read-text	string	All document text
Word Read Paragraphs	word-read-paragraphs	List	Paragraph List
Word Read Tables	word-read-tables	List	Tables as DataTables

Build content (session required)

Activity	Type	Output	What it does
Word Append Paragraph	word-append-paragraph	—	Add a paragraph (with style)
Word Append Table	word-append-table	—	Add a DataTable as a table
Word Insert Image	word-insert-image	—	Insert an image

Modify and metadata

Activity	Type	Output	What it does
Word Find & Replace	word-find-replace	int	Busca y reemplaza texto
Word Get Property	word-get-property	object	Read metadata (title, author…)
Word Set Property	word-set-property	—	Assign a metadata

A typical flow

Generate a letter from a template with markers:

Copy File   source = = asset("plantilla_carta.docx")   destination = = "C:/cartas/" + cliente.nit + ".docx"   overwrite = true
Word Find & Replace   path = = "C:/cartas/" + cliente.nit + ".docx"   find = "{NOMBRE}"   replace = = cliente.nombre
Word Find & Replace   path = = "C:/cartas/" + cliente.nit + ".docx"   find = "{FECHA}"   replace = = today().ToString("yyyy-MM-dd")

Next steps

• Word Create — generate a document from scratch.
• Word Read Text — read a document.
• Word Find & Replace — rellenar plantillas.