How to read and write docx files in Qt

Dante Pham

Ok so thanks to @VRonin , I found this https://youtu.be/qOfiiYP2JTI?t=2m11s , in which is pretty much what I'm looking for ! The only problem is I don't know C# . Is there any way we can do that in Qt in C++ ??

mrjj

@Dante-Pham
Well if you know c++ then C# is pretty easy.
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/yyaad03b(v=vs.90).aspx

I think you can do it almost same way with Visual Studio and c++ but of course the syntax will be
different.

Dante Pham

@mrjj Ok I got 5 more days to finish this ... And I have never used visual studio.

mrjj

@Dante-Pham
oh. that might be a bit tight then.
Im not sure what he use in the video . maybe this ?
http://www.aspose.com/api/net/words/aspose.words/documentbuilder

VRonin

@Dante-Pham said in How to read and write docx files in Qt:

Is there any way we can do that in Qt in C++ ??

As mentioned above you'll need to use a dialec of C++ called C++/CLI.
You can download visual studio from https://www.visualstudio.com/vs/community/ you can find a crash course in the dialect here: https://www.codeproject.com/articles/19354/quick-c-cli-learn-c-cli-in-less-than-minutes
Given the name googling it is a nightmare you are better off just googling stuff in C# and either translate it (it's not that hard) or if you go on msdn the examples are often available in C#, VB.Net and more importantly C++/CLI (see for example https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/system.net.mail.smtpclient(v=vs.110).aspx?cs-save-lang=1&cs-lang=cpp)

@Dante-Pham said in How to read and write docx files in Qt:

DocX only has a .DLL file and a documentation

That's all you need, you use #using <DocX.dll> to include it in the source file (that needs to be compiled with the /clr option )

Here you can find a small example of a qmake project using this paradigm

Devopia53

@Dante-Pham

Why not use QAxObject for MS ActiveX?
This is the solution you want to use like this:

QString     outFile("C:/test.docx");
QString     inFile1("C:/test1.docx");
QString     inFile2("C:/test2.docx");
QAxObject   axObject("Word.Application");
QAxObject   *documents = axObject.querySubObject("Documents");
QAxObject   *document = documents->querySubObject("Open(const QString&, bool)", inFile1, true);
QAxObject   *selection = axObject.querySubObject("Selection");

selection->dynamicCall("EndKey(QVariant&)", 6); // WdUnits::wdStory=6
selection->dynamicCall("InsertBreak(QVariant&)", 7); // WdBreakType::wdPageBreak=7
selection->dynamicCall("InsertFile(QString&)", inFile2);

document->dynamicCall("SaveAs(const QString&)", outFile);
document->dynamicCall("Close()");
axObject.dynamicCall("Quit()");

You need a validation check for all pointers!

VRonin

@Devopia53 said in How to read and write docx files in Qt:

Why not use QAxObject for MS ActiveX

The main point is that to use activeX you need MS Word installed, if you use an independent library you do not

mrjj

Hi
In posters use case, there will always be word as the users
will create the input in that application.
However, @VRonin explanation on how to mix .NET with Qt in Visual studio does
sound awfully easy and would most likely be the most straightforward as DocX seems
very high level.
Time is short however and he never used VS before so might be slightly uphill to get going. :)

Dante Pham

Just to be clear, MS Word will always be installed along with this app ( if it's not already installed )
Currently I'm using QAxObject, however, I can't find the functions that i need (most importantly copying, pasting and adding customizable-style-strings) anywhere. Having this will probably solve the whole problem.
Using Visual Studio to me is very overwhelming. I lost quite a few times using it. I'm familiar with Dev C++ and CodeBlock and they are quite simple.

Dante Pham

@Devopia53 I'm not sure what youre trying to implement there. I tested it out and the three files didnt change at all. If you know how to copy, paste from one docx to another, add strings using QAxWidget, that would be awesome

Devopia53

@Dante-Pham

The example I provided is simply merging Document1(inFile1) and Document2(inFile2) to create Document3(outFile).

For more information, check out Microsoft's site.

Dante Pham

One last thing
Let's say i have to create a .docx file that has 50 questions and it should look like this:
Header
Questions 1: { insert docx to this area }
Questions 2: { insert docx to this area }
...
Questions 50: { insert docx to this area }
Footer
I implemented this code:

    QAxObject   axObject("Word.Application");
    QAxObject   *documents = axObject.querySubObject("Documents");
    QAxObject   *document = documents->querySubObject("Open(const QString&, bool)", Header, true); 
    QAxObject   *selection = axObject.querySubObject("Selection");
    selection->dynamicCall("EndKey(QVarient&)", 6); // WdStoryType::wdStory=6
for(int i=1; i<=50; i++)
{
    selection->dynamicCall("InsertFile(QString&)", Questioner); // A .docx file that i created. It's written "Question:" inside of it.
    selection->dynamicCall("InsertFile(QString&)", Question[i]); // Array of .docx files that i created. Works fine.
}
    selection->dynamicCall("InsertFile(QString&)", Footer); 
    document->dynamicCall("SaveAs(const QString&)", Name);
    document->dynamicCall("Close()");
    axObject.dynamicCall("Quit()");

And it came out like this
Header
Questions:
{ insert docx to this area }
Questions:
{ insert docx to this area }
...
Questions:
{ insert docx to this area }
Footer
.
Is there a way to just insert "Question" + " " char(i+48) + ": ": to the start of every questions that i make ? Additionally, as you can see my output, after every "Question:" it just goes down one line ( i do understand that it's because i insert the file, but i dont know how to fix it ) and i dont want that.

Andy314

Hello @Dante-Pham,
I have no Qt-Code for Word, in the moment - this was for an other projekt in CPP-Builder for what I had a WrapperClass, but for Access and Excel I made my own tools.

Obj ist the "Excel.Application" QAxObject*
void setVisible(bool on=true)
{
Obj->setProperty("Visible", on);
}
I think for the Wordapp it is the same.
You can generate html-Documentation for a QAxObject
QString s = Obj->generateDocumentation();
Here you get a least the function and property names, and an idea what the do. How the really work is detective searching work in the internet. The most matches you get if you look for VBA-Code (Visual-Basic for Application).

Asperamanca

For anyone revisiting this topic, I believe I have found a good alternative approach:
https://forum.qt.io/topic/85893/generating-docx-communicating-with-word-add-in/10

Awais Hafeez

@Dante-Pham,

I would like to inform you that with 'Aspose.Words for C++' API, you can easily join, merge or append multiple Word files (DOCX, DOC, RTF, ODT etc) into one (see Joining and Appending Documents). I am copying here a simplified code snippet so that you can have a quick look:

// load source & destination files
System::SharedPtr dstDoc = System::MakeObject(dir + u"destination.docx");
System::SharedPtr srcDoc = System::MakeObject(dir + u"source.docx");
    
// set the appended file to start on a new page. (optional)
srcDoc->get_FirstSection()->get_PageSetup()->set_SectionStart(Aspose::Words::SectionStart::NewPage);
// append the source file using the original styles found in the source file.
dstDoc->AppendDocument(srcDoc, Aspose::Words::ImportFormatMode::KeepSourceFormatting);
// save result
dstDoc->Save(dir + u"output.docx);

So, 'Aspose.Words for C++' API makes this process very simple as well as configurable, providing the means to control how the files are joined. Moreover, 'Aspose.Words for C++' does not depend on or utilize Microsoft Word; so, it is not required to install MS Office. You can even integrate this native C++ API within your Qt application.