LibreOffice Writer

Overview

Use the writer modules to create and edit Writer documents with UNO-backed operations. Prefer the high-level functions in these modules instead of raw UNO calls or a CLI.

Quick Reference

• core.create_document(path)
• core.read_document_text(path)
• text.insert_text(path, text, position=None)
• text.replace_text(path, old, new)
• formatting.apply_formatting(path, formatting, selection="all")
• tables.add_table(path, rows, cols, data=None, position=None)
• images.insert_image(path, image_path, width=None, height=None, position=None)
• metadata.set_metadata(path, metadata)
• metadata.get_metadata(path)
• snapshot.snapshot_page(doc_path, output_path, page=1, dpi=150)
• colors.resolve_color(color)

Usage Notes

• Use absolute file paths for documents and images.
• Ensure the bundled modules are on PYTHONPATH. The modules are bundled under scripts/ in this skill directory. Set: PYTHONPATH=<skill_base_dir>/scripts where <skill_base_dir> is the base directory reported when this skill was loaded (e.g. the path shown as "Base directory" in the skill output).
• Import modules directly from writer; do not search for a separate CLI or external skill registry.
• position is a character index; 0 inserts at the start, None at the end.
• For title/body styling, insert text, then call apply_formatting(..., selection="last_paragraph").
• Color fields accept either a 0xRRGGBB integer or a CSS color name string.

Example: Create a Simple Report

from pathlib import Path

from writer.core import create_document
from writer.formatting import apply_formatting
from writer.metadata import set_metadata
from writer.images import insert_image
from writer.tables import add_table
from writer.text import insert_text

output = Path("test-output/report.odt").resolve()
create_document(str(output))

set_metadata(
    str(output),
    {"title": "Quarterly Report", "author": "Ops"},
)

insert_text(str(output), "Quarterly Report", position=None)
apply_formatting(
    str(output),
    {"bold": True, "font_size": 18, "align": "center"},
    selection="last_paragraph",
)
insert_text(str(output), "\n\nSummary", position=None)
insert_text(str(output), "[Draft] ", position=0)
apply_formatting(
    str(output),
    {"bold": True, "font_size": 12, "align": "left"},
    selection="last_paragraph",
)

add_table(
    str(output),
    2,
    2,
    [["Metric", "Value"], ["Revenue", "$1M"]],
    position=5,
)

insert_image(
    str(output),
    "/abs/path/to/logo.png",
    width=5000,
    height=5000,
    position=12,
)

Common Mistakes

• Forgetting to create the document before inserting content.
• Passing a relative path (UNO loads absolute URLs).
• Looking for a CLI instead of using the Python modules.
• Using position without accounting for existing text length.

Visual Snapshots

Use snapshot.snapshot_page() to capture a page as PNG for layout verification.

from writer.snapshot import snapshot_page

result = snapshot_page(str(doc_path), "/tmp/page1.png", page=1, dpi=150)
# result.file_path, result.width, result.height, result.dpi

Parameters:

• doc_path: Absolute path to the Writer document.
• output_path: File path for the PNG output.
• page: 1-indexed page number (default: 1).
• dpi: Export resolution (default: 150).

When to snapshot:

• After inserting images to confirm alignment.
• After applying formatting to verify layout.
• Before finalizing a document for delivery.

Cleanup: Remove snapshot PNGs after verification. Do not let temporary images accumulate.

Path(result.file_path).unlink(missing_ok=True)

Visual Red Flags:

• Overlapping elements (text over images, tables over images).
• Cut-off text or tables at page boundaries.
• Misaligned objects (images not centered, tables not aligned).
• Inconsistent spacing between paragraphs.
• Low contrast or unreadable text.