README

officeParser

A Node.js library to parse text out of any office file.

Supported File Types

Update

2021/11/21 - Added promise way to existing callback functions
2020/06/01 - Added error handling and console.log enable/disable methods. Default is set at enabled. Everything backward compatible.
2019/06/17 - Added method to change location for decompressing office files in places with restricted write access.
2019/04/30 - Removed case sensitive file extension bug. File names with capital lettered extensions now supported.
2019/04/23 - Added support for open office files *.odt, *.odp, *.ods through parseOffice function. Created a new method parseOpenOffice for those who prefer targetted functions.
2019/04/23 - Added feature to delete the generated dist folder after function callback
2019/04/22 - Added parseOffice method to avoid confusion between type of file and their extension
2019/04/22 - Added file extension validations. Removed errors for excel files with no drawing elements.
2019/04/19 - Support added for *.xlsx files.
2019/04/18 - Support added for *.pptx files.

Install via npm

npm i officeparser

Usage

const officeParser = require('officeparser');

// callback
officeParser.parseOffice("/path/to/officeFile", function(data, err){
    // "data" string in the callback here is the text parsed from the office file passed in the first argument above
    if (err) return console.log(err);
    console.log(data)
})

// promise
officeParser.parseOfficeAsync("/path/to/officeFile");
// "data" string in the promise here is the text parsed from the office file passed in the argument above
.then((data) => {
    console.log(data)
})
.catch(err) => {
    console.log(err)
}

// async/await
try {
    // "data" string returned from promise here is the text parsed from the office file passed in the argument
    const data = await officeParser.parseOfficeAsync("/path/to/officeFile");
    console.log(data);
} catch (err) {
    // resolve error
    console.log(err);
}

Please take note: I have breached convention in placing err as second argument in my callback but please understand that I had to do it to not break other people's existing modules.

Optionally change decompression location for office Files at personalised locations for environments with restricted write access

const officeParser = require('officeparser');

// Default decompress location for office Files is "officeDist" in the directory where Node is started. 
// Put this file before parseOffice method to take effect.
officeParser.setDecompressionLocation("/tmp");  // New decompression location would be "/tmp/officeDist"

// P.S.: Setting location on a Windows environment with '\' hierarchy requires to be entered twice '\\'
officeParser.setDecompressionLocation("C:\\tmp");  // New decompression location would be "C:\tmp\officeDist"


officeParser.parseOffice("/path/to/officeFile", function(data, err){
    // "data" string in the callback here is the text parsed from the office file passed in the first argument above
    if (err) return console.log(err);
    console.log(data)
})

Optionally add false as 3rd variable to parseOffice to not delete the generated officeDist folder

// callback
officeParser.parseOffice("/path/to/officeFile", function(data, err){
    if (err) return console.log(err);
    console.log(data)
}, false)

// promise
officeParser.parseOfficeAsync("/path/to/officeFile", false);
.then((data) => {
    console.log(data)
})
.catch(err) => {
    console.log(err)
}

// async/await
try {
    const data = await officeParser.parseOfficeAsync("/path/to/officeFile", false);
    console.log(data);
} catch (err) {
    // resolve error
    console.log(err);
}

Example

const officeParser = require('officeparser');

// callback
officeParser.parseOffice("C:\\files\\myText.docx", function(data, err){
    if (err) return console.log(err);
    var newText = data + "look, I can parse a word file"
    callSomeOtherFunction(newText);
})


// promise
officeParser.parseOfficeAsync("/Users/harsh/Desktop/files/mySlides.pptx");
.then((data) => {
    var newText = data + "look, I can parse a powerpoint file"
    callSomeOtherFunction(newText);
})
.catch(err) => {
    console.log(err)
}

// Using relative path for file is also fine
officeParser.parseOffice("files/myWorkSheet.ods", function(data, err){
    if (err) return console.log(err);
    var newText = data + "look, I can parse an excel file"
    callSomeOtherFunction(newText);
})

// async/await
try {
    const data = await officeParser.parseOfficeAsync("/Users/harsh/Desktop/files/mySlides.pptx");
    let newText = data + "look, I can parse a powerpoint file";
    await callSomeOtherFunction(newText);
} catch (err) {
    // resolve error
    console.log(err);
}

Old but functional way of extracting text from word, powerpoint and excel files

These were the initial methods of parsing text till parseOffice method came into existence. These still exist and form the skeleton to this module as parseOffice redirects the below functions anyway. These functions will forever remain available to guarantee long-term usage of this module. I will ensure backward-compatibility with all previous versions.