DOCX reading, creation, and review guidance

Reading DOCXs

• Use soffice -env:UserInstallation=file:///tmp/lo_profile_$$ --headless --convert-to pdf --outdir $OUTDIR $INPUT_DOCX to convert DOCXs to PDFs.
  • The -env:UserInstallation=file:///tmp/lo_profile_$$ flag is important. Otherwise, it will time out.
• Then Convert the PDF to page images so you can visually inspect the result:
  • pdftoppm -png $OUTDIR/$BASENAME.pdf $OUTDIR/$BASENAME
• Then open the PNGs and read the images.
• Only do python printing as a last resort because you will miss important details with text extraction (e.g. figures, tables, diagrams).

Primary tooling for creating DOCXs

• Create and edit DOCX files with python-docx. Use it to control structure, styles, tables, and lists. Install it with pip install python-docx if it's not already installed.
• After every meaningful batch of edits—new sections, layout tweaks, styling changes—render the DOCX to PDF:
  • soffice -env:UserInstallation=file:///tmp/lo_profile_$$ --headless --convert-to pdf --outdir $OUTDIR $INPUT_DOCX
• Convert the PDF to page images so you can visually inspect the result:
  • pdftoppm -png $OUTDIR/$BASENAME.pdf $OUTDIR/$BASENAME
• Inspect every PNG before moving on. If you see any defect, fix the DOCX and repeat the render → inspect loop until all pages look perfect.