Read Word Documents With Chinese

---
name: read-word-documents-with-chinese
description: "Read Microsoft Word documents (.docx and .doc) with Chinese support. Extract text, search keywords, and save as UTF-8 text files. No Microsoft Word installation required."
category: "Community"
author: community
version: "1.0.0"
icon: puzzle
---

# Read Word Document

A professional tool for reading Microsoft Word documents, supporting both modern .docx and legacy .doc formats with full Chinese language support.

## Features

- **Read .docx files** - Word 2007 and later format
- **Read .doc files** - Word 97-2003 format via OLE parsing
- **Auto format detection** - Automatically identifies file type
- **Full Chinese support** - Handles Chinese encoding correctly
- **Keyword search** - Search for keywords across all paragraphs
- **Export to text** - Save as UTF-8 text files
- **Document analysis** - Get document statistics and info
- **No Word required** - Works without Microsoft Word installation

## Installation

### Prerequisites

```bash
pip install python-docx olefile
```

### Install Skill

```bash
# Copy to your OpenClaw skills directory
cp -r read-word ~/.openclaw/skills/
```

## Usage

### Command Line

```bash
# Basic reading (shows first 100 paragraphs)
python ~/.openclaw/skills/read-word/read_word.py "document.docx"

# Show more content
python ~/.openclaw/skills/read-word/read_word.py "document.docx" --limit 200

# Search for keywords
python ~/.openclaw/skills/read-word/read_word.py "document.docx" --search "keyword1,keyword2"

# Save as text file
python ~/.openclaw/skills/read-word/read_word.py "document.docx" --output "output.txt"

# Show document info only
python ~/.openclaw/skills/read-word/read_word.py "document.docx" --info
```

### Python API

```python
# Method 1: Import functions
import sys
sys.path.insert(0, '~/.openclaw/skills/read-word')
from read_word import read_word_document, search_in_document

# Read document
paragraphs = read_word_document("document.docx")
for para in paragraphs:
    print(para)

# Search keywords
results = search_in_document("document.docx", ["keyword1", "keyword2"])
```

## Examples

### Example 1: Read and Analyze
```python
from read_word import read_word_document

paragraphs = read_word_document("report.docx")
print(f"Document has {len(paragraphs)} paragraphs")

# Show first 10 paragraphs
for i, p in enumerate(paragraphs[:10]):
    print(f"{i+1}. {p}")
```

### Example 2: Search Keywords
```python
from read_word import search_in_document

# Find paragraphs containing "kitchen" or "feng shui"
results = search_in_document("book.docx", ["kitchen", "feng shui"])
for r in results:
    print(r)
```

### Example 3: Batch Processing
```python
from pathlib import Path
from read_word import read_word_document

desktop = Path.home() / "Desktop"
for doc_file in desktop.glob("*.docx"):
    paragraphs = read_word_document(doc_file)
    print(f"{doc_file.name}: {len(paragraphs)} paragraphs")
```

## API Reference

### `read_word_document(filepath)`
Read a Word document and return a list of paragraphs.

**Parameters:**
- `filepath` (str|Path): Path to the Word document

**Returns:**
- `list`: List of paragraph strings

**Raises:**
- `FileNotFoundError`: If file doesn't exist
- `ValueError`: If file format is not supported

### `search_in_document(filepath, keywords)`
Search for keywords in a Word document.

**Parameters:**
- `filepath` (str|Path): Path to the Word document
- `keywords` (list): List of keywords to search for

**Returns:**
- `list`: Matching paragraphs with format "[Paragraph N] content"

### `save_as_text(paragraphs, output_path)`
Save paragraphs to a UTF-8 text file.

**Parameters:**
- `paragraphs` (list): List of paragraph strings
- `output_path` (str|Path): Output file path

### `analyze_document(filepath)`
Analyze document and return statistics.

**Returns:**
- `dict`: Contains filename, size, paragraphs count, total characters

## Troubleshooting

### Error: ModuleNotFoundError: No module named 'docx'
**Solution:** `pip install python-docx`

### Error: Legacy .doc file shows garbled text
**Reason:** OLE parsing has limitations with complex formatting
**Solution:** Convert .doc to .docx using Microsoft Word, then read

### Error: Chinese characters display incorrectly
**Reason:** Terminal encoding issue
**Solution:** Use `--output` to save to file, then open with editor

## File Support

| Format | Extension | Support Level |
|--------|-----------|---------------|
| Word 2007+ | .docx | Full |
| Word 97-2003 | .doc | Partial (text only) |
| Word 95/6.0 | .doc | Not supported |
| Rich Text | .rtf | Not supported |

## Permissions

- **Read:** User-specified Word documents
- **Write (optional):** Output .txt files when using `--output`
- **Network:** None

## Security

Risk Level: **LOW** - Local file operations only, no network access, original files are never modified.

## Changelog

### v1.0.0 (2026-03-20)
- Initial release
- Support .docx and .doc formats
- Keyword search functionality
- Text export capability
- Chinese encoding support

## Author

叶文洁 (Ye Wenjie) - Created for reading Feng Shui books and Word documents

## License

MIT License