A python-docx alternative for editing existing Word documents

Two edits in one request

from wolfdocx.reporting import author_report, discover_report_targets, parse_report_request

found = discover_report_targets("board_memo.docx")
by_text = {t["expected_old_text"]: t for t in found["targets"]}
report = author_report(parse_report_request({
    "source": "board_memo.docx",
    "destination": "board_memo_final.docx",
    "source_sha256": found["source_sha256"],
    "edits": [
        {**by_text["$0"], "text": "$7,500"},
        {**by_text["Status: Draft"], "expected_old_text": "Draft", "text": "Final"},
    ],
}))
assert report.passed, report.code
print(report.status, report.unselected_parts_preserved)  # published True

discover_report_targets returns each editable table cell and paragraph with its current text and a structure fingerprint, plus the SHA-256 of the source file. The request names the targets to change and the text each one must hold today. If the file or a target changed after discovery, the write is refused with a code such as expected_old_text_mismatch, and no output file appears. Both edits above apply together or not at all.

The phrase Draft sits in its own run next to a bold label, and the replacement takes the formatting of the run that holds it. report.unselected_parts_preserved confirms that every part outside the edits kept its original content.

When python-docx fits

• You build documents from code, add paragraphs, tables, and images, or work with styles.
• You need general read and write access to paragraphs, runs, and tables, and a missing value is acceptable in the output.
• You inspect a document, for example to read the file WolfDocx wrote: Document("board_memo_final.docx") opens it like any other .docx.

What WolfDocx adds for documents that already exist

• Find and replace across runs. python-docx exposes paragraphs and runs and has no built-in find and replace, so a phrase that Word split across runs needs custom code. WolfDocx handles that split for supported runs.
• Edits bound to what you reviewed. A stale source or an unexpected target value stops the write instead of changing the wrong text.
• A verification report. The result states whether the destination was published and whether unselected parts were preserved.

A published example replaces Q2 with Q3 in one memo saved by Word. The python-docx script, which edits runs through paragraphs, hyperlinks, tables, and headers, changed 6 of the 8 places. The other two sat in a content control and a text box, which the python-docx API does not expose. That example ran the wolf command's replace-text operation, so it does not exercise the WolfDocx Python API shown above, and it covers one document. See the side-by-side example on wolfsdk.com.

Limitations

• Discovery lists text that sits in simple runs. Text that intersects fields, tracked revisions, comments, content controls, or other unsupported inline structures is refused.
• A phrase must occur exactly once in the selected paragraph. Ambiguous matches are refused.
• Headers and footers work when you name their part, for example discover_report_targets(path, part="word/header1.xml").
• The WolfDocx Python API edits content and does not lay out pages, and it makes no general Word compatibility promise. The convert guide linked below covers PDF output.

Related tasks: replace text in an existing Word document, update table cells, and convert a .docx to PDF.

Get WolfDocx

WolfDocx Commercial is an organization-scoped subscription. Commercial package access uses the authenticated distribution channel. The package credential is issued on the checkout success page after payment and can be reissued through https://wolfxl.com/recover. There is no public free package.

Review the scoped before-and-after memo files in the reporting walkthrough, or ask about your document before purchasing if compatibility is uncertain.

Related tasks

• Update table cells in an existing Word document with Python
• Replace text in an existing Word document with Python
• Fill a Word template table with rows from Python
• Convert DOCX to PDF in Python without Word or LibreOffice
• A python-docx alternative for editing existing Word documents

Cost

WolfDocx Commercial is an organization-scoped subscription. The pricing page lists the current terms, and the WolfDocx home page links the before-and-after memo files to review first.