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https://github.com/mwilliamson/mammoth.js

Convert Word documents (.docx files) to HTML
https://github.com/mwilliamson/mammoth.js

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Convert Word documents (.docx files) to HTML

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README 

        
# Mammoth .docx to HTML converter



Mammoth is designed to convert .docx documents,

such as those created by Microsoft Word, Google Docs and LibreOffice,

and convert them to HTML.

Mammoth aims to produce simple and clean HTML by using semantic information in the document,

and ignoring other details.

For instance,

Mammoth converts any paragraph with the style `Heading 1` to `h1` elements,

rather than attempting to exactly copy the styling (font, text size, colour, etc.) of the heading.



There's a large mismatch between the structure used by .docx and the structure of HTML,

meaning that the conversion is unlikely to be perfect for more complicated documents.

Mammoth works best if you only use styles to semantically mark up your document.



The following features are currently supported:



* Headings.



* Lists.



* Customisable mapping from your own docx styles to HTML.

  For instance, you could convert `WarningHeading` to `h1.warning` by providing an appropriate style mapping.



* Tables.

  The formatting of the table itself, such as borders, is currently ignored,

  but the formatting of the text is treated the same as in the rest of the document.



* Footnotes and endnotes.



* Images.



* Bold, italics, underlines, strikethrough, superscript and subscript.



* Links.



* Line breaks.



* Text boxes. The contents of the text box are treated as a separate paragraph

  that appears after the paragraph containing the text box.



* Comments.



## Web demo



The easiest way to try out mammoth is to use the web demo:



* Clone this repository

* Run `make setup`

* Open `browser-demo/index.html` in a web browser



## Installation



    npm install mammoth



## Other supported platforms



* [Python](https://github.com/mwilliamson/python-mammoth).

  Available [on PyPI](https://pypi.python.org/pypi/mammoth).



* [WordPress](https://wordpress.org/plugins/mammoth-docx-converter/).



* [Java/JVM](https://github.com/mwilliamson/java-mammoth).

  Available [on Maven Central](http://search.maven.org/#search|ga|1|g%3A%22org.zwobble.mammoth%22%20AND%20a%3A%22mammoth%22).



* [.NET](https://github.com/mwilliamson/dotnet-mammoth).

  Available [on NuGet](https://www.nuget.org/packages/Mammoth/).



## Usage



### CLI



You can convert docx files by passing the path to the docx file and the output file.

For instance:



    mammoth document.docx output.html



If no output file is specified, output is written to stdout instead.



The output is an HTML fragment, rather than a full HTML document, encoded with UTF-8.

Since the encoding is not explicitly set in the fragment,

opening the output file in a web browser may cause Unicode characters to be rendered incorrectly if the browser doesn't default to UTF-8.



#### Images



By default, images are included inline in the output HTML.

If an output directory is specified by `--output-dir`,

the images are written to separate files instead.

For instance:



    mammoth document.docx --output-dir=output-dir



Existing files will be overwritten if present.



#### Styles



A custom style map can be read from a file using `--style-map`.

For instance:



    mammoth document.docx output.html --style-map=custom-style-map



Where `custom-style-map` looks something like:



    p[style-name='Aside Heading'] => div.aside > h2:fresh

    p[style-name='Aside Text'] => div.aside > p:fresh



A description of the syntax for style maps can be found in the section ["Writing style maps"](#writing-style-maps).



#### Markdown



Markdown support is deprecated.

Generating HTML and using a separate library to convert the HTML to Markdown is recommended,

and is likely to produce better results.



Using `--output-format=markdown` will cause Markdown to be generated.

For instance:



    mammoth document.docx --output-format=markdown



### Library



In node.js and the browser, mammoth can be required in the usual way:



```javascript

var mammoth = require("mammoth");

```



Alternatively, you may use the standalone JavaScript file `mammoth.browser.js`,

which includes both mammoth and its dependencies.

This uses any loaded module system.

For instance, when using CommonJS:



```javascript

var mammoth = require("mammoth/mammoth.browser");

```



If no module system is found,

`mammoth` is set as a window global.



The file can be generated using `make setup` during development.



#### Basic conversion



To convert an existing .docx file to HTML, use `mammoth.convertToHtml`:



```javascript

var mammoth = require("mammoth");



mammoth.convertToHtml({path: "path/to/document.docx"})

    .then(function(result){

        var html = result.value; // The generated HTML

        var messages = result.messages; // Any messages, such as warnings during conversion

    })

    .catch(function(error) {

        console.error(error);

    });

```



Note that `mammoth.convertToHtml` returns a [promise](http://promises-aplus.github.io/promises-spec/).



You can also extract the raw text of the document by using `mammoth.extractRawText`.

This will ignore all formatting in the document.

Each paragraph is followed by two newlines.



```javascript

mammoth.extractRawText({path: "path/to/document.docx"})

    .then(function(result){

        var text = result.value; // The raw text

        var messages = result.messages;

    })

    .catch(function(error) {

        console.error(error);

    });

```



#### Custom style map



By default,

Mammoth maps some common .docx styles to HTML elements.

For instance,

a paragraph with the style name `Heading 1` is converted to a `h1` element.

You can pass in a custom map for styles by passing an options object with a `styleMap` property as a second argument to `convertToHtml`.

A description of the syntax for style maps can be found in the section ["Writing style maps"](#writing-style-maps).

For instance, if paragraphs with the style name `Section Title` should be converted to `h1` elements,

and paragraphs with the style name `Subsection Title` should be converted to `h2` elements:



```javascript

var mammoth = require("mammoth");



var options = {

    styleMap: [

        "p[style-name='Section Title'] => h1:fresh",

        "p[style-name='Subsection Title'] => h2:fresh"

    ]

};

mammoth.convertToHtml({path: "path/to/document.docx"}, options);

```



To more easily support style maps stored in text files,

`styleMap` can also be a string.

Each line is treated as a separate style mapping,

ignoring blank lines and lines starting with `#`:



```javascript

var options = {

    styleMap: "p[style-name='Section Title'] => h1:fresh\n" +

        "p[style-name='Subsection Title'] => h2:fresh"

};

```



User-defined style mappings are used in preference to the default style mappings.

To stop using the default style mappings altogether,

set `options.includeDefaultStyleMap` to `false`:



```javascript

var options = {

    styleMap: [

        "p[style-name='Section Title'] => h1:fresh",

        "p[style-name='Subsection Title'] => h2:fresh"

    ],

    includeDefaultStyleMap: false

};

```



#### Custom image handlers



By default, images are converted to `` elements with the source included inline in the `src` attribute.

This behaviour can be changed by setting the `convertImage` option to an [image converter](#image-converters) .



For instance, the following would replicate the default behaviour:



```javascript

var options = {

    convertImage: mammoth.images.imgElement(function(image) {

        return image.read("base64").then(function(imageBuffer) {

            return {

                src: "data:" + image.contentType + ";base64," + imageBuffer

            };

        });

    })

};

```



#### Bold



By default, bold text is wrapped in `` tags.

This behaviour can be changed by adding a style mapping for `b`.

For instance, to wrap bold text in `` tags:



```javascript

var mammoth = require("mammoth");



var options = {

    styleMap: [

        "b => em"

    ]

};

mammoth.convertToHtml({path: "path/to/document.docx"}, options);

```



#### Italic



By default, italic text is wrapped in `` tags.

This behaviour can be changed by adding a style mapping for `i`.

For instance, to wrap italic text in `` tags:



```javascript

var mammoth = require("mammoth");



var options = {

    styleMap: [

        "i => strong"

    ]

};

mammoth.convertToHtml({path: "path/to/document.docx"}, options);

```



#### Underline



By default, the underlining of any text is ignored since underlining can be confused with links in HTML documents.

This behaviour can be changed by adding a style mapping for `u`.

For instance, suppose that a source document uses underlining for emphasis.

The following will wrap any explicitly underlined source text in `` tags:



```javascript

var mammoth = require("mammoth");



var options = {

    styleMap: [

        "u => em"

    ]

};

mammoth.convertToHtml({path: "path/to/document.docx"}, options);

```



#### Strikethrough



By default, strikethrough text is wrapped in `` tags.

This behaviour can be changed by adding a style mapping for `strike`.

For instance, to wrap strikethrough text in `` tags:



```javascript

var mammoth = require("mammoth");



var options = {

    styleMap: [

        "strike => del"

    ]

};

mammoth.convertToHtml({path: "path/to/document.docx"}, options);

```



#### Comments



By default, comments are ignored.

To include comments in the generated HTML,

add a style mapping for `comment-reference`.

For instance:



```javascript

var mammoth = require("mammoth");



var options = {

    styleMap: [

        "comment-reference => sup"

    ]

};

mammoth.convertToHtml({path: "path/to/document.docx"}, options);

```



Comments will be appended to the end of the document,

with links to the comments wrapped using the specified style mapping.



### API



#### `mammoth.convertToHtml(input, options)`



Converts the source document to HTML.



* `input`: an object describing the source document.

  On node.js, the following inputs are supported:



    * `{path: path}`, where `path` is the path to the .docx file.

    * `{buffer: buffer}`, where `buffer` is a node.js Buffer containing a .docx file.



  In the browser, the following inputs are supported:



    * `{arrayBuffer: arrayBuffer}`, where `arrayBuffer` is an array buffer containing a .docx file.



* `options` (optional): options for the conversion.

  May have the following properties:



  * `styleMap`: controls the mapping of Word styles to HTML.

     If `options.styleMap` is a string,

     each line is treated as a separate style mapping,

     ignoring blank lines and lines starting with `#`:

     If `options.styleMap` is an array,

     each element is expected to be a string representing a single style mapping.

     See ["Writing style maps"](#writing-style-maps) for a reference to the syntax for style maps.



  * `includeEmbeddedStyleMap`: by default,

     if the document contains an embedded style map, then it is combined with the default style map.

     To ignore any embedded style maps,

     set `options.includeEmbeddedStyleMap` to `false`.



  * `includeDefaultStyleMap`: by default,

     the style map passed in `styleMap` is combined with the default style map.

     To stop using the default style map altogether,

     set `options.includeDefaultStyleMap` to `false`.



  * `convertImage`: by default, images are converted to `` elements with the source included inline in the `src` attribute.

    Set this option to an [image converter](#image-converters) to override the default behaviour.



  * `ignoreEmptyParagraphs`: by default, empty paragraphs are ignored.

    Set this option to `false` to preserve empty paragraphs in the output.



  * `idPrefix`:

    a string to prepend to any generated IDs,

    such as those used by bookmarks, footnotes and endnotes.

    Defaults to an empty string.



  * `transformDocument`: if set,

    this function is applied to the document read from the docx file before the conversion to HTML.

    The API for document transforms should be considered unstable.

    See [document transforms](#document-transforms).



* Returns a promise containing a result.

  This result has the following properties:



  * `value`: the generated HTML



  * `messages`: any messages, such as errors and warnings, generated during the conversion



#### `mammoth.convertToMarkdown(input, options)`



Markdown support is deprecated.

Generating HTML and using a separate library to convert the HTML to Markdown is recommended,

and is likely to produce better results.



Converts the source document to Markdown.

This behaves the same as `convertToHtml`,

except that the `value` property of the result contains Markdown rather than HTML.



#### `mammoth.extractRawText(input)`



Extract the raw text of the document.

This will ignore all formatting in the document.

Each paragraph is followed by two newlines.



* `input`: an object describing the source document.

  On node.js, the following inputs are supported:



    * `{path: path}`, where `path` is the path to the .docx file.

    * `{buffer: buffer}`, where `buffer` is a node.js Buffer containing a .docx file.



  In the browser, the following inputs are supported:



    * `{arrayBuffer: arrayBuffer}`, where `arrayBuffer` is an array buffer containing a .docx file.



* Returns a promise containing a result.

  This result has the following properties:



  * `value`: the raw text



  * `messages`: any messages, such as errors and warnings



#### `mammoth.embedStyleMap(input, styleMap)`



Given an existing docx file,

`embedStyleMap` will generate a new docx file with the passed style map embedded.

When the new docx file is read by Mammoth,

it will use the embedded style map.



* `input`: an object describing the source document.

  On node.js, the following inputs are supported:



    * `{path: path}`, where `path` is the path to the .docx file.

    * `{buffer: buffer}`, where `buffer` is a node.js Buffer containing a .docx file.



  In the browser, the following inputs are supported:



    * `{arrayBuffer: arrayBuffer}`, where `arrayBuffer` is an array buffer containing a .docx file.



* `styleMap`: the style map to embed.



* Returns a promise.

  Call `toArrayBuffer()` on the value inside the promise to get an `ArrayBuffer` representing the new document.

  Call `toBuffer()` on the value inside the promise to get a `Buffer` representing the new document.



For instance:



```javascript

mammoth.embedStyleMap({path: sourcePath}, "p[style-name='Section Title'] => h1:fresh")

    .then(function(docx) {

        fs.writeFile(destinationPath, docx.toBuffer(), callback);

    });

```



#### Messages



Each message has the following properties:



* `type`: a string representing the type of the message, such as `"warning"` or

  `"error"`



* `message`: a string containing the actual message



* `error` (optional): the thrown exception that caused this message, if any



#### Image converters



An image converter can be created by calling `mammoth.images.imgElement(func)`.

This creates an `` element for each image in the original docx.

`func` should be a function that has one argument `image`.

This argument is the image element being converted,

and has the following properties:



* `contentType`: the content type of the image, such as `image/png`.



* `readAsArrayBuffer()`: read the image file as an `ArrayBuffer`.

  Returns a promise of an `ArrayBuffer`.



* `readAsBuffer()`: read the image file as a `Buffer`.

  Returns a promise of a `Buffer`.

  This is not supported in browsers unless a `Buffer` polyfill has been used.



* `readAsBase64String()`: read the image file as a base64-encoded string.

  Returns a promise of a `string`.



* `read([encoding])` (deprecated): read the image file with the specified encoding.

  If an encoding is specified, a promise of a `string` is returned.

  If no encoding is specified, a promise of a `Buffer` is returned.



`func` should return an object (or a promise of an object) of attributes for the `` element.

At a minimum, this should include the `src` attribute.

If any alt text is found for the image,

this will be automatically added to the element's attributes.



For instance, the following replicates the default image conversion:



```javascript

mammoth.images.imgElement(function(image) {

    return image.readAsBase64String().then(function(imageBuffer) {

        return {

            src: "data:" + image.contentType + ";base64," + imageBuffer

        };

    });

})

```



`mammoth.images.dataUri` is the default image converter.



### Document transforms



**The API for document transforms should be considered unstable,

and may change between any versions.

If you rely on this behaviour,

you should pin to a specific version of mammoth.js,

and test carefully before updating.**



Mammoth allows a document to be transformed before it is converted.

For instance,

suppose that document has not been semantically marked up,

but you know that any centre-aligned paragraph should be a heading.

You can use the `transformDocument` argument to modify the document appropriately:



```javascript

function transformElement(element) {

    if (element.children) {

        var children = _.map(element.children, transformElement);

        element = {...element, children: children};

    }



    if (element.type === "paragraph") {

        element = transformParagraph(element);

    }



    return element;

}



function transformParagraph(element) {

    if (element.alignment === "center" && !element.styleId) {

        return {...element, styleId: "Heading2"};

    } else {

        return element;

    }

}



var options = {

    transformDocument: transformElement

};

```



The return value of `transformDocument` is used during HTML generation.



The above can be written more succinctly using the helper `mammoth.transforms.paragraph`:



```javascript

function transformParagraph(element) {

    if (element.alignment === "center" && !element.styleId) {

        return {...element, styleId: "Heading2"};

    } else {

        return element;

    }

}



var options = {

    transformDocument: mammoth.transforms.paragraph(transformParagraph)

};

```



Or if you want paragraphs that have been explicitly set to use monospace fonts to represent code:



```javascript

const monospaceFonts = ["consolas", "courier", "courier new"];



function transformParagraph(paragraph) {

    var runs = mammoth.transforms.getDescendantsOfType(paragraph, "run");

    var isMatch = runs.length > 0 && runs.every(function(run) {

        return run.font && monospaceFonts.indexOf(run.font.toLowerCase()) !== -1;

    });

    if (isMatch) {

        return {

            ...paragraph,

            styleId: "code",

            styleName: "Code"

        };

    } else {

        return paragraph;

    }

}



var options = {

    transformDocument: mammoth.transforms.paragraph(transformParagraph),

    styleMap: [

        "p[style-name='Code'] => pre:separator('\n')"

    ]

};

```



#### `mammoth.transforms.paragraph(transformParagraph)`



Returns a function that can be used as the `transformDocument` option.

This will apply the function `transformParagraph` to each paragraph element.

`transformParagraph` should return the new paragraph.



#### `mammoth.transforms.run(transformRun)`



Returns a function that can be used as the `transformDocument` option.

This will apply the function `transformRun` to each run element.

`transformRun` should return the new run.



#### `mammoth.transforms.getDescendants(element)`



Gets all descendants of an element.



#### `mammoth.transforms.getDescendantsOfType(element, type)`



Gets all descendants of a particular type of an element.

For instance, to get all runs within an element `paragraph`:



```javascript

var runs = mammoth.transforms.getDescendantsOfType(paragraph, "run");

```



## Writing style maps



A style map is made up of a number of style mappings separated by new lines.

Blank lines and lines starting with `#` are ignored.



A style mapping has two parts:



* On the left, before the arrow, is the document element matcher.

* On the right, after the arrow, is the HTML path.



When converting each paragraph,

Mammoth finds the first style mapping where the document element matcher matches the current paragraph.

Mammoth then ensures the HTML path is satisfied.



### Freshness



When writing style mappings, it's helpful to understand Mammoth's notion of freshness.

When generating, Mammoth will only close an HTML element when necessary.

Otherwise, elements are reused.



For instance, suppose one of the specified style mappings is `p[style-name='Heading 1'] => h1`.

If Mammoth encounters a .docx paragraph with the style name `Heading 1`,

the .docx paragraph is converted to a `h1` element with the same text.

If the next .docx paragraph also has the style name `Heading 1`,

then the text of that paragraph will be appended to the *existing* `h1` element,

rather than creating a new `h1` element.



In most cases, you'll probably want to generate a new `h1` element instead.

You can specify this by using the `:fresh` modifier:



`p[style-name='Heading 1'] => h1:fresh`



The two consecutive `Heading 1` .docx paragraphs will then be converted to two separate `h1` elements.



Reusing elements is useful in generating more complicated HTML structures.

For instance, suppose your .docx contains asides.

Each aside might have a heading and some body text,

which should be contained within a single `div.aside` element.

In this case, style mappings similar to `p[style-name='Aside Heading'] => div.aside > h2:fresh` and

`p[style-name='Aside Text'] => div.aside > p:fresh` might be helpful.



### Document element matchers



#### Paragraphs, runs and tables



Match any paragraph:



```

p

```



Match any run:



```

r

```



Match any table:



```

table

```



To match a paragraph, run or table with a specific style,

you can reference the style by name.

This is the style name that is displayed in Microsoft Word or LibreOffice.

For instance, to match a paragraph with the style name `Heading 1`:



```

p[style-name='Heading 1']

```



You can also match a style name by prefix.

For instance, to match a paragraph where the style name starts with `Heading`:



```

p[style-name^='Heading']

```



Styles can also be referenced by style ID.

This is the ID used internally in the .docx file.

To match a paragraph or run with a specific style ID,

append a dot followed by the style ID.

For instance, to match a paragraph with the style ID `Heading1`:



```

p.Heading1

```



#### Bold



Match explicitly bold text:



```

b

```



Note that this matches text that has had bold explicitly applied to it.

It will not match any text that is bold because of its paragraph or run style.



#### Italic



Match explicitly italic text:



```

i

```



Note that this matches text that has had italic explicitly applied to it.

It will not match any text that is italic because of its paragraph or run style.



#### Underline



Match explicitly underlined text:



```

u

```



Note that this matches text that has had underline explicitly applied to it.

It will not match any text that is underlined because of its paragraph or run style.



#### Strikethough



Match explicitly struckthrough text:



```

strike

```



Note that this matches text that has had strikethrough explicitly applied to it.

It will not match any text that is struckthrough because of its paragraph or run style.



#### All caps



Match explicitly all caps text:



```

all-caps

```



Note that this matches text that has had all caps explicitly applied to it.

It will not match any text that is all caps because of its paragraph or run style.



#### Small caps



Match explicitly small caps text:



```

small-caps

```



Note that this matches text that has had small caps explicitly applied to it.

It will not match any text that is small caps because of its paragraph or run style.



#### Ignoring document elements



Use `!` to ignore a document element.

For instance, to ignore any paragraph with the style `Comment`:



```

p[style-name='Comment'] => !

```



### HTML paths



#### Single elements



The simplest HTML path is to specify a single element.

For instance, to specify an `h1` element:



```

h1

```



To give an element a CSS class,

append a dot followed by the name of the class:



```

h1.section-title

```



To add an attribute, use square brackets similarly to a CSS attribute selector:



```

p[lang='fr']

```



To require that an element is fresh, use `:fresh`:



```

h1:fresh

```



Modifiers must be used in the correct order:



```

h1.section-title:fresh

```



#### Separators



To specify a separator to place between the contents of paragraphs that are collapsed together,

use `:separator('SEPARATOR STRING')`.



For instance, suppose a document contains a block of code where each line of code is a paragraph with the style `Code Block`.

We can write a style mapping to map such paragraphs to `
` elements:



```

p[style-name='Code Block'] => pre

```



Since `pre` isn't marked as `:fresh`,

consecutive `pre` elements will be collapsed together.

However, this results in the code all being on one line.

We can use `:separator` to insert a newline between each line of code:



```

p[style-name='Code Block'] => pre:separator('\n')

```



#### Nested elements



Use `>` to specify nested elements.

For instance, to specify `h2` within `div.aside`:



```

div.aside > h2

```



You can nest elements to any depth.



## Upgrading to later versions



### 1.0.0



The `convertUnderline` option is no longer supported.

Use style mappings to control how underlines are handled.



### 0.3.0



If you've defined custom style maps or used a document transform,

you will likely need to change your usage slightly.

Otherwise, you should be able to continue using Mammoth as before.



#### Custom style maps



Prior to 0.3.0, Mammoth matched docx paragraphs using style IDs e.g. `p.Heading1`.

These IDs are used internally in the docx format,

and are distinct from the style name

i.e. the name shown by Microsoft Word or LibreOffice.

Although Mammoth still supports matching styles by ID,

matching styles by name is preferred.

For instance, instead of:



```p.AsideHeading => h1```



prefer:



```p[style-name='Aside Heading'] => h1```



#### Document transforms



Prior to 0.3.0,

Mammoth (misleadingly) assigned the style ID to a property called `styleName`.

The style ID is now assigned to a more appropriate property, `styleId`.

The `styleName` property is now set to the name of the style.

To preserve existing behaviour,

any existing document transforms should be rewritten in one of two ways:



* Set the `styleId` property instead of the `styleName` property



* Set the `styleName` property to the name of the style, rather than the ID



### 0.2.0



The function `mammoth.style()` was renamed to `mammoth.styleMapping()`.



## Acknowledgements



Thanks to the following people for their contributions to Mammoth:



* [Craig Leinoff](https://github.com/Offlein):



  * Document transforms



* [John McLear](https://github.com/JohnMcLear):



  * Underline support



* [Chris Price](https://github.com/studiochris):



  * node.js `Buffer` support

  * UTF8 BOM handling



* [Stoo Goff](https://github.com/stoogoff)



  * Markdown support



* [Andreas Lubbe](https://github.com/alubbe)



  * Internal hyperlink support



* [Jacob Wang](https://github.com/jaceyshome)



  * Supporting styles defined without names



## Donations



If you'd like to say thanks, feel free to [make a donation through Ko-fi](https://ko-fi.com/S6S01MG20).



If you use Mammoth as part of your business,

please consider supporting the ongoing maintenance of Mammoth by [making a weekly donation through Liberapay](https://liberapay.com/mwilliamson/donate).