Create Word Document using PHP in Linux [closed]

Question

Whats the available solutions for PHP to create word document in linux environment?

Answer 1

The Apache project has a library called POI which can be used to generate MS Office files. It is a Java library but the advantage is that it can run on Linux with no trouble. This library has its limitations but it may do the job for you, and it's probably simpler to use than trying to run Word.

Another option would be OpenOffice but I can't exactly recommend it since I've never used it.

Answer 2

There are 2 options to create quality word documents. Use COM to communicate with word (this requires a windows php server at least). Use openoffice and it's API to create and save documents in word format.

Answer 3

OpenTBS can create DOCX dynamic documents in PHP using the technique of templates.

No temporary files needed, no command lines, all in PHP.

It can add or delete pictures. The created document can be produced as a HTML download, a file saved on the server, or as binary contents in PHP.

It can also merge OpenDocument files (ODT, ODS, ODF, ...)

http://www.tinybutstrong.com/opentbs.php

Answer 4

Following on Ivan Krechetov's answer, here is a function that does mail merge (actually just simple text replace) for docx and odt, without the need for an extra library.

function mailMerge($templateFile, $newFile, $row)
{
  if (!copy($templateFile, $newFile))  // make a duplicate so we dont overwrite the template
    return false; // could not duplicate template
  $zip = new ZipArchive();
  if ($zip->open($newFile, ZIPARCHIVE::CHECKCONS) !== TRUE)
    return false; // probably not a docx file
  $file = substr($templateFile, -4) == '.odt' ? 'content.xml' : 'word/document.xml';
  $data = $zip->getFromName($file);
  foreach ($row as $key => $value)
    $data = str_replace($key, $value, $data);
  $zip->deleteName($file);
  $zip->addFromString($file, $data);
  $zip->close();
  return true;
}

This will replace [Person Name] with Mina and [Person Last Name] with Mooo:

$replacements = array('[Person Name]' => 'Mina', '[Person Last Name]' => 'Mooo');
$newFile = tempnam_sfx(sys_get_temp_dir(), '.dat');
$templateName = 'personinfo.docx';
if (mailMerge($templateName, $newFile, $replacements))
{
  header('Content-type: application/msword');
  header('Content-Disposition: attachment; filename=' . $templateName);
  header('Accept-Ranges: bytes');
  header('Content-Length: '. filesize($file));
  readfile($newFile);
  unlink($newFile);
}

Beware that this function can corrupt the document if the string to replace is too general. Try to use verbose replacement strings like [Person Name].