DocX

A small framework that converts NSAttributedString to .docx Word files on iOS and macOS.

Motivation

On iOS, NSAttributedString.DocumentType supports only HTML and Rich Text, while on macOS .doc and .docx are available options. Even then the .docx exporter on macOS supports only a subset of the attributes of NSAttributedString.

This library is used in SimpleFurigana for macOS and SimpleFurigana for iOS, hence the focus on furigana annotation export.

Installation

Add

.package(name: "DocX", url: "https://github.com/shinjukunian/DocX.git", .branch("master"))

to dependencies in your Package.swift file. This requires Swift 5.3, which shipped with Xcode12. Alternatively, add DocX in Xcode via File->Swift Packages->Add Package Dependency, paste https://github.com/shinjukunian/DocX.git as URL and specify master as branch.

Usage

let string = NSAttributedString(string: "This is a string", attributes: [.font: UIFont.systemFont(ofSize: UIFont.systemFontSize), .backgroundColor: UIColor.blue])
let url = URL(fileURLWithPath:"myPath")
try? string.writeDocX(to: url)

You can optionally specify MetaData using DocXOptions:

let font = NSFont(name: "Helvetica", size: 13)! //on macOS
let string = NSAttributedString(string: "The Foundation For Law and Government favours Helvetica.", attributes: [.font: font])

var options = DocXOptions()
options.author = "Michael Knight"
options.title = "Helvetica Document"

let url = URL(fileURLWithPath:"myPath")

try string.writeDocX(to: url, options:options)

See the attached sample projects (for iOS and macOS) for usage and limitations. On iOS, DocX also includes a UIActivityItemProvider subclass (DocXActivityItemProvider) for exporting .docx files through UIActivityViewController.

NSAttributedString has no concept of pagination. For manual pagination, use

try DocXWriter.write(pages:[NSAttributedString], to url:URL)

to render each NSAttributedString as a separate page.

A sample output on macOS opened in Word365.

A sample output on macOS with an embedded image (via NSTextAttachment). in the macOS sample application (which is a simple NSTextView), this can be achieved using drag&drop. Note that there is little control over the placement of the image, the image will be inline with text.

A sample output on iOS opened in Word for iOS. Furigana annotations are preserved. The link is clickable. Please note that Quicklook (on both platforms) only supports a limited number of attributes.

Supported Attributes

most things in NSAttributedString.Key (fonts, colors, underline, indents etc.) except
- NSAttributedString.Key.expansion
- NSAttributedString.Key.kern
- NSAttributedString.Key.ligature
- NSAttributedString.Key.obliqueness
- NSAttributedString.Key.superscript (macOS only, doesnt really work for most fonts anyway)
- NSAttributedString.Key.textEffect
CTRubyAnnotation for furigana (ruby) annotations in CoreText
NSTextAttachment embedded images (inline with text)

Some attributes don't have a direct correspondence. For example NSAttributedString does (typically) not have the concept of a page size.

Dependencies

my fork of AEXML, many thanks to the original author tadija
ZipFoundation

Alternatives

WKDocReader to read old-school .doc files
BSDocxRipperZipper which supports both reading and writing, but only for a subset of attributes.

References

Licence

MIT

chlach / DocX