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Microsoft Word is a very popular word processor. It is a popular format for making and exchanging documents. Therefore, a feature of a lot of apps is to create Word documents from other kinds of documents. Creating Word documents is easy in Node.js apps with third-party libraries. We can make an app from it easily ourselves.
In this article, we will make an app that lets users enter their document in a rich text editor and generate a Word document from it. We will use Express for back end and React for front end.
Back End
We will start with the back end. To start, we will create a project folder with the backend folder inside. Then in the backend folder run npx express-generator to create the Express app. Then run npm i to install the packages Next we install our own packages. We need Babel for run the app with the latest version of JavaScript, CORS for cross domain requests with front end, HTML-DOCX-JS for converting HTML strings to Word documents, Multer for file upload, Sequelize for ORM, and SQLite3 for our database.
We install all of these by running npm i @babel/cli @babel/core @babel/node @babel/preset-env cors html-docx-js sequelize sqlite3 multer .
After that we change the scripts section of package.json to have:
"start": "nodemon --exec npm run babel-node -- ./bin/www",
"babel-node": "babel-node"
so that we run our app with Babel instead of the regular Node runtime.
Then create a .babelrc file in the backend folder and add:
{
"presets": [
"@babel/preset-env"
]
}
to specify that we run our app with the latest version of JavaScript.
Next we add our database code. Run npx sequelize-cli init in the backend folder to create the Sequelize code.
We should have a config.js in the project now. In there, add:
{
"development": {
"dialect": "sqlite",
"storage": "development.db"
},
"test": {
"dialect": "sqlite",
"storage": "test.db"
},
"production": {
"dialect": "sqlite",
"storage": "production.db"
}
}
to specify that we SQLite for our database.
Next create our model and migration by running:
npx sequelize-cli model:create --name Document --attributes name:string,document:text,documentPath:string
to create a Document model and Documents table.
We then run:
npx sequelize-cli db:migrate
to create the database.
Next we create our routes. Create a document.js file in the routes folder and add:
var express = require("express");
const models = require("../models");
var multer = require("multer");
const fs = require("fs");
var router = express.Router();
const htmlDocx = require("html-docx-js");
const storage = multer.diskStorage({
destination: (req, file, cb) => {
cb(null, "./files");
},
filename: (req, file, cb) => {
cb(null, `${file.fieldname}_${+new Date()}.jpg`);
}
});
const upload = multer({
storage
});
router.get("/", async (req, res, next) => {
const documents = await models.Document.findAll();
res.json(documents);
});
router.post("/", async (req, res, next) => {
const document = await models.Document.create(req.body);
res.json(document);
});
router.put("/:id", async (req, res, next) => {
const id = req.params.id;
const { name, document } = req.body;
const doc = await models.Document.update(
{ name, document },
{ where: { id } }
);
res.json(doc);
});
router.delete("/:id", async (req, res, next) => {
const id = req.params.id;
await models.Document.destroy({ where: { id } });
res.json({});
});
router.get("/generate/:id", async (req, res, next) => {
const id = req.params.id;
const documents = await models.Document.findAll({ where: { id } });
const document = documents[0];
const converted = htmlDocx.asBlob(document.document);
const fileName = `${+new Date()}.docx`;
const documentPath = `${__dirname}/../files/${fileName}`;
await new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
fs.writeFile(documentPath, converted, err => {
if (err) {
reject(err);
return;
}
resolve();
});
});
const doc = await models.Document.update(
{ documentPath: fileName },
{ where: { id } }
);
res.json(doc);
});
router.post("/uploadImage", upload.single("upload"), async (req, res, next) => {
res.json({
uploaded: true,
url: `${process.env.BASE_URL}/${req.file.filename}`
});
});
module.exports = router;
We do the standard CRUD operations to the Documents table in the first 4 routes. We have GET for getting all the Documents , POST for create a Document from post parameters, PUT for updating Document by ID, DELETE for deleting a Document by looking it up by ID. We have the HTML in the document field for generating the Word document later.
The generate route is for generating the Word document. We get the ID from the URL and then use the HTML-DOCX-JS package to generate a Word document. We generate the Word document by converting the HTML document to a file stream object with the HTML-DOCX-JS package and then writing the stream to a file and saving the path to the file in the Document entry in with the ID in the URL parameter.
We also have a uploadImage route to let user upload images with CKEditor with the CKFinder plugin. The plugin expects uploaded and url in the response so we return those.
Then we need to add a files folder in the backend folder.
Next in app.js , we replace the existing code with:
require("dotenv").config();
var createError = require("http-errors");
var express = require("express");
var path = require("path");
var cookieParser = require("cookie-parser");
var logger = require("morgan");
var cors = require("cors");
var indexRouter = require("./routes/index");
var documentRouter = require("./routes/document");
var app = express();
// view engine setup
app.set("views", path.join(__dirname, "views"));
app.set("view engine", "jade");
app.use(logger("dev"));
app.use(express.json());
app.use(express.urlencoded({ extended: false }));
app.use(cookieParser());
app.use(express.static(path.join(__dirname, "public")));
app.use(express.static(path.join(__dirname, "files")));
app.use(cors());
app.use("/", indexRouter);
app.use("/document", documentRouter);
// catch 404 and forward to error handler
app.use(function(req, res, next) {
next(createError(404));
});
// error handler
app.use(function(err, req, res, next) {
// set locals, only providing error in development
res.locals.message = err.message;
res.locals.error = req.app.get("env") === "development" ? err : {};
// render the error page
res.status(err.status || 500);
res.render("error");
});
module.exports = app;
We expose the file folder with:
app.use(express.static(path.join(__dirname, "files")));
and expose the document route with:
var documentRouter = require("./routes/document");
app.use("/document", documentRouter);
Front End
Now the back end is done, we can move onto the front end. Create the React app by running Create React App. We run npx create-react-app frontend in the root folder of the project.
We then install our packages. We will use CKEditor for our rich text editor, Axios for making HTTP requests, Bootstrap for styling, MobX for simple state management, React Router for routing URLs to components, and Formik and Yup for form value handling and form validation respectively.
Install all the packages by running npm i @ckeditor/ckeditor5-build-classic @ckeditor/ckeditor5-react axios bootstrap formik mobx mobx-react react-bootstrap react-router-dom yup .
With the packages installed, we can get started. In App.js , we replace the existing code with:
import React from "react";
import HomePage from "./HomePage";
import { Router, Route } from "react-router-dom";
import { createBrowserHistory as createHistory } from "history";
import TopBar from "./TopBar";
import { DocumentStore } from "./store";
import "./App.css";
const history = createHistory();
const documentStore = new DocumentStore();
function App() {
return (
<div className="App">
<Router history={history}>
<TopBar />
<Route
path="/"
exact
component={props => (
<HomePage {...props} documentStore={documentStore} />
)}
/>
</Router>
</div>
);
}
export default App;
to add our top bar and route to the home page.
In App.css , we replace the existing code with:
.page {
padding: 20px;
}
.content-invalid-feedback {
width: 100%;
margin-top: 0.25rem;
font-size: 80%;
color: #dc3545;
}
nav.navbar {
background-color: green !important;
}
to add some padding to our page and style the validation message for the Rich text editor, and change the color of the navbar.
Next we create the form for adding and editing documents. Create a DocumentForm.js in the src file and add:
import React from "react";
import * as yup from "yup";
import Form from "react-bootstrap/Form";
import Col from "react-bootstrap/Col";
import Button from "react-bootstrap/Button";
import { observer } from "mobx-react";
import { Formik, Field } from "formik";
import { addDocument, editDocument, getDocuments, APIURL } from "./request";
import CKEditor from "@ckeditor/ckeditor5-react";
import ClassicEditor from "@ckeditor/ckeditor5-build-classic";
const schema = yup.object({
name: yup.string().required("Name is required")
});
function DocumentForm({ documentStore, edit, onSave, doc }) {
const [content, setContent] = React.useState("");
const [dirty, setDirty] = React.useState(false);
const handleSubmit = async evt => {
const isValid = await schema.validate(evt);
if (!isValid || !content) {
return;
}
const data = { ...evt, document: content };
if (!edit) {
await addDocument(data);
} else {
await editDocument(data);
}
getAllDocuments();
};
const getAllDocuments = async () => {
const response = await getDocuments();
documentStore.setDocuments(response.data);
onSave();
};
return (
<>
<Formik
validationSchema={schema}
onSubmit={handleSubmit}
initialValues={edit ? doc : {}}
>
{({
handleSubmit,
handleChange,
handleBlur,
values,
touched,
isInvalid,
errors
}) => (
<Form noValidate onSubmit={handleSubmit}>
<Form.Row>
<Form.Group as={Col} md="12" controlId="name">
<Form.Label>Name</Form.Label>
<Form.Control
type="text"
name="name"
placeholder="Name"
value={values.name || ""}
onChange={handleChange}
isInvalid={touched.name && errors.name}
/>
<Form.Control.Feedback type="invalid">
{errors.name}
</Form.Control.Feedback>
</Form.Group>
</Form.Row>
<Form.Row>
<Form.Group as={Col} md="12" controlId="content">
<Form.Label>Content</Form.Label>
<CKEditor
editor={ClassicEditor}
data={content || ""}
onInit={editor => {
if (edit) {
setContent(doc.document);
}
}}
onChange={(event, editor) => {
const data = editor.getData();
setContent(data);
setDirty(true);
}}
config={{
ckfinder: {
uploadUrl:
`${APIURL}/document/uploadImage`
}
}}
/>
<div className="content-invalid-feedback">
{dirty && !content ? "Content is required" : null}
</div>
</Form.Group>
</Form.Row>
<Button type="submit" style={{ marginRight: 10 }}>
Save
</Button>
<Button type="button">Cancel</Button>
</Form>
)}
</Formik>
</>
);
}
export default observer(DocumentForm);
We wrap our React Bootstrap Form inside the Formik component to get the form handling function from Formik which we use directly in the React Bootstrap form fields. We cannot do the same with CKEditor, so we write our own form handlers for the rich text editor. We set the data prop in the CKEditor to set the value of the input of the rich text editor. The onInit function is used with users try to edit an existing document since we have to set the data prop with the editor initializes by running setContent(doc.document); . The onChange prop is the handler function for setting content whenever it is updated so the data prop will have the latest value, which we will submit when the user clicks Save.
We use the CKFinder plugin to upload images. To make it work, we set the image upload URL to the URL of the upload route in our back end.
The form validation schema is provided by the Yup schema object which we create at the top of the code. We check if the name field is filled in.
The handleSubmit function is for handling submitting the data to back end. We check both the content and the evt object to check both fields since we cannot incorporate the Formik form handlers directly into the CKEditor component.
If everything is valid, then we add a new document or update it depending on on whether the edit prop is true or not.
Then when saving is successful, we call getAllDocuments to populate the latest documents into our MobX store by running documentStore.setDocuments(response.data); .
Next we make our home page by creating HomePage.js in the src folder and add:
import React, { useState, useEffect } from "react";
import { withRouter } from "react-router-dom";
import DocumentForm from "./DocumentForm";
import Modal from "react-bootstrap/Modal";
import ButtonToolbar from "react-bootstrap/ButtonToolbar";
import Button from "react-bootstrap/Button";
import Table from "react-bootstrap/Table";
import { observer } from "mobx-react";
import { getDocuments, deleteDocument, generateDocument, APIURL } from "./request";
function HomePage({ documentStore, history }) {
const [openAddModal, setOpenAddModal] = useState(false);
const [openEditModal, setOpenEditModal] = useState(false);
const [initialized, setInitialized] = useState(false);
const [doc, setDoc] = useState([]);
const openAddTemplateModal = () => {
setOpenAddModal(true);
};
const closeAddModal = () => {
setOpenAddModal(false);
setOpenEditModal(false);
};
const cancelAddModal = () => {
setOpenAddModal(false);
};
const cancelEditModal = () => {
setOpenEditModal(false);
};
const getAllDocuments = async () => {
const response = await getDocuments();
documentStore.setDocuments(response.data);
setInitialized(true);
};
const editDocument = d => {
setDoc(d);
setOpenEditModal(true);
};
const onSave = () => {
cancelAddModal();
cancelEditModal();
};
const deleteSingleDocument = async id => {
await deleteDocument(id);
getAllDocuments();
};
const generateSingleDocument = async id => {
await generateDocument(id);
alert("Document Generated");
getAllDocuments();
};
useEffect(() => {
if (!initialized) {
getAllDocuments();
}
});
return (
<div className="page">
<h1 className="text-center">Documents</h1>
<ButtonToolbar onClick={openAddTemplateModal}>
<Button variant="primary">Add Document</Button>
</ButtonToolbar>
<Modal show={openAddModal} onHide={closeAddModal}>
<Modal.Header closeButton>
<Modal.Title>Add Document</Modal.Title>
</Modal.Header>
<Modal.Body>
<DocumentForm
onSave={onSave.bind(this)}
cancelModal={cancelAddModal.bind(this)}
documentStore={documentStore}
/>
</Modal.Body>
</Modal>
<Modal show={openEditModal} onHide={cancelEditModal}>
<Modal.Header closeButton>
<Modal.Title>Edit Document</Modal.Title>
</Modal.Header>
<Modal.Body>
<DocumentForm
edit={true}
doc={doc}
onSave={onSave.bind(this)}
cancelModal={cancelEditModal.bind(this)}
documentStore={documentStore}
/>
</Modal.Body>
</Modal>
<br />
<Table striped bordered hover>
<thead>
<tr>
<th>Name</th>
<th>Document</th>
<th>Generate Document</th>
<th>Edit</th>
<th>Delete</th>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody>
{documentStore.documents.map(d => {
return (
<tr key={d.id}>
<td>{d.name}</td>
<td>
<a href={`${APIURL}/${d.documentPath}`} target="_blank">
Open
</a>
</td>
<td>
<Button
variant="outline-primary"
onClick={generateSingleDocument.bind(this, d.id)}
>
Generate Document
</Button>
</td>
<td>
<Button
variant="outline-primary"
onClick={editDocument.bind(this, d)}
>
Edit
</Button>
</td>
<td>
<Button
variant="outline-primary"
onClick={deleteSingleDocument.bind(this, d.id)}
>
Delete
</Button>
</td>
</tr>
);
})}
</tbody>
</Table>
</div>
);
}
export default withRouter(observer(HomePage));
We have a React Bootstrap table for listing the documents with buttons to edit, delete documents and generate Word document. Also, there is a Open link for opening the Word document in each row. We have a create button on top of the table.
When the page loads, we call getAllDocuments and populate them in the MobX store. We open and close the add and edit modals with the openAddTemplateModal, closeAddModal, cancelAddModal, cancelEditModal functions.
Next create request.js in the src folder and add:
export const APIURL = "http://localhost:3000";
const axios = require("axios");
export const getDocuments = () => axios.get(`${APIURL}/document`);
export const addDocument = data => axios.post(`${APIURL}/document`, data);
export const editDocument = data => axios.put(`${APIURL}/document/${data.id}`, data);
export const deleteDocument = id => axios.delete(`${APIURL}/document/${id}`);
export const generateDocument = id => axios.get(`${APIURL}/document/generate/${id}`);
to add the functions to make requests to our routes in the back end.
Then we create our MobX store. Create store.js in the src folder and put:
import { observable, action, decorate } from "mobx";
class DocumentStore {
documents = [];
setDocuments(documents) {
this.documents = documents;
}
}
DocumentStore = decorate(DocumentStore, {
documents: observable,
setDocuments: action
});
export { DocumentStore };
We have the function setDocuments to put the photo data in the store, which we used in HomePage and DocumentForm and we instantiated it before exporting so that we only have to do it in one place.
This block:
DocumentStore = decorate(DocumentStore, {
documents: observable,
setDocuments: action
});
designates the documents array in DocumentStore as the entity that can be watched by components for changes. The setDocuments function is designated as the function that can be used to set the documents array in the store.
Next we create the top bar by creating a TopBar.js file in the src folder and add:
import React from "react";
import Navbar from "react-bootstrap/Navbar";
import Nav from "react-bootstrap/Nav";
import { withRouter } from "react-router-dom";
function TopBar({ location }) {
return (
<Navbar bg="primary" expand="lg" variant="dark">
<Navbar.Brand href="#home">Word App</Navbar.Brand>
<Navbar.Toggle aria-controls="basic-navbar-nav" />
<Navbar.Collapse id="basic-navbar-nav">
<Nav className="mr-auto">
<Nav.Link href="/" active={location.pathname == "/"}>
Home
</Nav.Link>
</Nav>
</Navbar.Collapse>
</Navbar>
);
}
export default withRouter(TopBar);
This contains the React Bootstrap Navbar to show a top bar with a link to the home page and the name of the app. We only display it with the token present in local storage. We check the pathname to highlight the right links by setting the active prop.
Next in index.html , we replace the existing code with:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8" />
<link rel="shortcut icon" href="%PUBLIC_URL%/favicon.ico" />
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" />
<meta name="theme-color" content="#000000" />
<meta
name="description"
content="Web site created using create-react-app"
/>
<link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="logo192.png" />
<!--
manifest.json provides metadata used when your web app is installed on a
user's mobile device or desktop. See https://developers.google.com/web/fundamentals/web-app-manifest/
-->
<link rel="manifest" href="%PUBLIC_URL%/manifest.json" />
<!--
Notice the use of %PUBLIC_URL% in the tags above.
It will be replaced with the URL of the `public` folder during the build.
Only files inside the `public` folder can be referenced from the HTML.
Unlike "/favicon.ico" or "favicon.ico", "%PUBLIC_URL%/favicon.ico" will
work correctly both with client-side routing and a non-root public URL.
Learn how to configure a non-root public URL by running `npm run build`.
-->
<title>Word App</title>
<link
rel="stylesheet"
href="https://stackpath.bootstrapcdn.com/bootstrap/4.3.1/css/bootstrap.min.css"
integrity="sha384-ggOyR0iXCbMQv3Xipma34MD+dH/1fQ784/j6cY/iJTQUOhcWr7x9JvoRxT2MZw1T"
crossorigin="anonymous"
/>
</head>
<body>
<noscript>You need to enable JavaScript to run this app.</noscript>
<div id="root"></div>
<!--
This HTML file is a template.
If you open it directly in the browser, you will see an empty page.
You can add webfonts, meta tags, or analytics to this file.
The build step will place the bundled scripts into the <body> tag.
To begin the development, run `npm start` or `yarn start`.
To create a production bundle, use `npm run build` or `yarn build`.
-->
</body>
</html>
to add the Bootstrap CSS and change the title.
After writing all that code, we can run our app. Before running anything, install nodemon by running npm i -g nodemon so that we don’t have to restart back end ourselves when files change.
Then run back end by running npm start in the backend folder and npm start in the frontend folder, then choose ‘yes’ if you’re asked to run it from a different port.
