Seamless Document Conversion: Word to TXT and Back

Efficiently handling document formats is crucial in many Java applications, from data processing to content management. The ability to convert Word to TXT and convert TXT to Word offers immense flexibility. This tutorial will guide you through leveraging the powerful Spire.Doc for Java library to perform these essential conversions with ease and precision.

Introduction to Spire.Doc for Java and Installation

Spire.Doc for Java is a robust and comprehensive API designed for processing Word documents in Java applications. It enables developers to create, read, write, convert, and print Word documents without needing Microsoft Word installed on the server. Its extensive feature set makes it an excellent choice for complex document manipulation tasks, including the focus of this article: seamless format conversions.

To integrate Spire.Doc for Java into your project, you'll need to add its dependency. Below are instructions for Maven and Gradle.

Maven Dependency:

For Maven users, add the following dependency to your pom.xml file:

<repositories>
    <repository>
        <id>com.e-iceblue</id>
        <name>e-iceblue</name>
        <url>https://repo.e-iceblue.com/nexus/content/groups/public/</url>
    </repository>
</repositories>
<dependencies>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>e-iceblue</groupId>
        <artifactId>spire.doc</artifactId>
        <version>13.9.19</version>
    </dependency>
</dependencies>

After adding the dependency, ensure you refresh your project to download the necessary libraries. No further complex setup is required; you can start coding right away.

Converting Word Documents to TXT Files

Converting a Word document to a plain text file is often necessary for data extraction, indexing, or when only the raw textual content is needed, stripping away all formatting. Spire.Doc for Java makes this Word-to-txt conversion straightforward.

Here's a complete Java example demonstrating how to load a Word document (e.g., .docx or .doc) and save its content as a .txt file:

import com.spire.doc.Document;
import com.spire.doc.FileFormat;

public class ConvertWordtoText {

    public static void main(String[] args) {

        // Create a Doc object
        Document doc = new Document();

        // Load a Word document
        doc.loadFromFile("C:\\Users\\Administrator\\Desktop\\Input.doc");

        // Save the document to Word
        doc.saveToFile("ToText.txt", FileFormat.Txt);

        // Dispose resources
        doc.dispose();
    }
}

Important Considerations:

• File Formats: Spire.Doc supports both .doc and .docx as input Word formats.
• Encoding: When saving as TXT, the library typically handles standard encodings. If you have specific encoding requirements (e.g., UTF-8 with BOM), you might need to explore additional SaveOptions if available for FileFormat.Txt. However, for basic text extraction, the default behavior is usually sufficient.
• Loss of Formatting: Remember that converting to TXT inherently discards all formatting, images, tables, and other non-textual elements present in the original Word document. Only the raw text content is preserved.

Converting TXT Files to Word Documents using Spire.Doc for Java

The reverse operation, to convert TXT to Word, is equally simple and useful when you need to add formatting, images, or more complex structures to plain text data. Spire.Doc for Java allows you to load plain text and save it as a fully editable Word document.

Here's a Java code example to demonstrate how to load a plain TXT file and save it as a new .docx Word document:

import com.spire.doc.Document;
import com.spire.doc.FileFormat;

public class ConvertTextToWord {

    public static void main(String[] args) {

        // Create a Text object
        Document txt = new Document();

        // Load a Word document
        txt.loadFromFile("C:\\Users\\Administrator\\Desktop\\Input.txt");

        // Save the document to Word
        txt.saveToFile("ToWord.docx", FileFormat.Docx);

        // Dispose resources
        doc.dispose();
    }
}

Formatting TXT Content in Word:

When converting TXT to Word, Spire.Doc treats the plain text as content for a new document. By default, it will apply a basic paragraph style. To add more sophisticated formatting, you can programmatically manipulate the Document object after loading the text but before saving:

• Adding Paragraphs: The loadFromFile() method for TXT will typically create one or more paragraphs based on line breaks. You can access and modify these paragraphs.

• Basic Styling: After loading, you can iterate through the paragraphs or sections of the document to apply styles (font, size, color, alignment) using ParagraphFormat and CharacterFormat properties. For example:
  

// ... after document.loadFromFile(inputFilePath);
for (Section section : document.getSections()) {
    for (Paragraph paragraph : section.getParagraphs()) {
        paragraph.getFormat().setHorizontalAlignment(HorizontalAlignment.Left);
        paragraph.getCharacterFormat().setFontName("Arial");
        paragraph.getCharacterFormat().setFontSize(12);
    }
}
// ... then document.saveToFile(outputFilePath, FileFormat.Docx);

This allows you to transform simple text into a well-structured and formatted Word document.

Conclusion

This tutorial has demonstrated the simplicity and power of Spire.Doc for Java in performing essential document conversions. Whether you need to extract plain text from complex Word documents or elevate simple text files into formatted Word documents, Spire.Doc provides a robust and easy-to-use solution. By following the steps outlined, you can efficiently convert Word to TXT and convert TXT to Word within your Java applications. We encourage you to implement these code examples and explore further features of the library to unlock its full potential in your projects.