Finding Text in Word Documents
This topic extends the previous queries to do something useful: find all occurrences of a string in the document.
Example
This example processes a WordprocessingML document, to find all the occurences of a specific piece of text in the document. To do this, we use a query that finds the string "Hello". This example builds on the previous examples in this tutorial. The new query is called out in comments in the code below.
For instructions for creating the source document for this example, see Creating the Source Office Open XML Document.
This example uses classes found in the WindowsBase assembly. It uses types in the System.IO.Packaging namespace.
public static class LocalExtensions
{
public static string StringConcatenate(this IEnumerable<string> source)
{
StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
foreach (string s in source)
sb.Append(s);
return sb.ToString();
}
public static string StringConcatenate<T>(this IEnumerable<T> source,
Func<T, string> func)
{
StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
foreach (T item in source)
sb.Append(func(item));
return sb.ToString();
}
public static string StringConcatenate(this IEnumerable<string> source, string separator)
{
StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
foreach (string s in source)
sb.Append(s).Append(separator);
return sb.ToString();
}
public static string StringConcatenate<T>(this IEnumerable<T> source,
Func<T, string> func, string separator)
{
StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
foreach (T item in source)
sb.Append(func(item)).Append(separator);
return sb.ToString();
}
}
class Program
{
public static string ParagraphText(XElement e)
{
XNamespace w = e.Name.Namespace;
return e
.Elements(w + "r")
.Elements(w + "t")
.StringConcatenate(element => (string)element);
}
static void Main(string[] args)
{
const string fileName = "SampleDoc.docx";
const string documentRelationshipType =
"https://schemas.openxmlformats.org/officeDocument/2006/relationships/officeDocument";
const string stylesRelationshipType =
"https://schemas.openxmlformats.org/officeDocument/2006/relationships/styles";
const string wordmlNamespace =
"https://schemas.openxmlformats.org/wordprocessingml/2006/main";
XNamespace w = wordmlNamespace;
XDocument xDoc = null;
XDocument styleDoc = null;
using (Package wdPackage = Package.Open(fileName, FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read))
{
PackageRelationship docPackageRelationship =
wdPackage.GetRelationshipsByType(documentRelationshipType).FirstOrDefault();
if (docPackageRelationship != null)
{
Uri documentUri = PackUriHelper.ResolvePartUri(new Uri("/", UriKind.Relative),
docPackageRelationship.TargetUri);
PackagePart documentPart = wdPackage.GetPart(documentUri);
// Load the document XML in the part into an XDocument instance.
xDoc = XDocument.Load(XmlReader.Create(documentPart.GetStream()));
// Find the styles part. There will only be one.
PackageRelationship styleRelation =
documentPart.GetRelationshipsByType(stylesRelationshipType).FirstOrDefault();
if (styleRelation != null)
{
Uri styleUri =
PackUriHelper.ResolvePartUri(documentUri, styleRelation.TargetUri);
PackagePart stylePart = wdPackage.GetPart(styleUri);
// Load the style XML in the part into an XDocument instance.
styleDoc = XDocument.Load(XmlReader.Create(stylePart.GetStream()));
}
}
}
string defaultStyle =
(string)(
from style in styleDoc.Root.Elements(w + "style")
where (string)style.Attribute(w + "type") == "paragraph" &&
(string)style.Attribute(w + "default") == "1"
select style
).First().Attribute(w + "styleId");
// Find all paragraphs in the document.
var paragraphs =
from para in xDoc
.Root
.Element(w + "body")
.Descendants(w + "p")
let styleNode = para
.Elements(w + "pPr")
.Elements(w + "pStyle")
.FirstOrDefault()
select new
{
ParagraphNode = para,
StyleName = styleNode != null ?
(string)styleNode.Attribute(w + "val") :
defaultStyle
};
// Retrieve the text of each paragraph.
var paraWithText =
from para in paragraphs
select new
{
ParagraphNode = para.ParagraphNode,
StyleName = para.StyleName,
Text = ParagraphText(para.ParagraphNode)
};
// Following is the new query that retrieves all paragraphs
// that have specific text in them.
var helloParagraphs =
from para in paraWithText
where para.Text.Contains("Hello")
select new
{
ParagraphNode = para.ParagraphNode,
StyleName = para.StyleName,
Text = para.Text
};
foreach (var p in helloParagraphs)
Console.WriteLine("StyleName:{0} >{1}<", p.StyleName, p.Text);
}
}
Imports <xmlns:w="https://schemas.openxmlformats.org/wordprocessingml/2006/main">
Module Module1
<System.Runtime.CompilerServices.Extension()> _
Public Function StringConcatenate(ByVal source As IEnumerable(Of String)) As String
Dim sb As StringBuilder = New StringBuilder()
For Each s As String In source
sb.Append(s)
Next
Return sb.ToString()
End Function
<System.Runtime.CompilerServices.Extension()> _
Public Function StringConcatenate(Of T)(ByVal source As IEnumerable(Of T), _
ByVal func As Func(Of T, String)) As String
Dim sb As StringBuilder = New StringBuilder()
For Each item As T In source
sb.Append(func(item))
Next
Return sb.ToString()
End Function
<System.Runtime.CompilerServices.Extension()> _
Public Function StringConcatenate(Of T)(ByVal source As IEnumerable(Of T), _
ByVal separator As String) As String
Dim sb As StringBuilder = New StringBuilder()
For Each s As T In source
sb.Append(s).Append(separator)
Next
Return sb.ToString()
End Function
<System.Runtime.CompilerServices.Extension()> _
Public Function StringConcatenate(Of T)(ByVal source As IEnumerable(Of T), _
ByVal func As Func(Of T, String), ByVal separator As String) As String
Dim sb As StringBuilder = New StringBuilder()
For Each item As T In source
sb.Append(func(item)).Append(separator)
Next
Return sb.ToString()
End Function
Public Function ParagraphText(ByVal e As XElement) As String
Dim w As XNamespace = e.Name.Namespace
Return (e.<w:r>.<w:t>).StringConcatenate(Function(element) CStr(element))
End Function
' Following function is required because VB does not support short circuit evaluation
Private Function GetStyleOfParagraph(ByVal styleNode As XElement, ByVal defaultStyle As String) As String
If (styleNode Is Nothing) Then
Return defaultStyle
Else
Return styleNode.@w:val
End If
End Function
Sub Main()
Dim fileName = "SampleDoc.docx"
Dim documentRelationshipType = "https://schemas.openxmlformats.org/officeDocument/2006/relationships/officeDocument"
Dim stylesRelationshipType = "https://schemas.openxmlformats.org/officeDocument/2006/relationships/styles"
Dim wordmlNamespace = "https://schemas.openxmlformats.org/wordprocessingml/2006/main"
Dim xDoc As XDocument = Nothing
Dim styleDoc As XDocument = Nothing
Using wdPackage As Package = Package.Open(fileName, FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read)
Dim docPackageRelationship As PackageRelationship = wdPackage.GetRelationshipsByType(documentRelationshipType).FirstOrDefault()
If (docPackageRelationship IsNot Nothing) Then
Dim documentUri As Uri = PackUriHelper.ResolvePartUri(New Uri("/", UriKind.Relative), docPackageRelationship.TargetUri)
Dim documentPart As PackagePart = wdPackage.GetPart(documentUri)
' Load the document XML in the part into an XDocument instance.
xDoc = XDocument.Load(XmlReader.Create(documentPart.GetStream()))
' Find the styles part. There will only be one.
Dim styleRelation As PackageRelationship = documentPart.GetRelationshipsByType(stylesRelationshipType).FirstOrDefault()
If (styleRelation IsNot Nothing) Then
Dim styleUri As Uri = PackUriHelper.ResolvePartUri(documentUri, styleRelation.TargetUri)
Dim stylePart As PackagePart = wdPackage.GetPart(styleUri)
' Load the style XML in the part into an XDocument instance.
styleDoc = XDocument.Load(XmlReader.Create(stylePart.GetStream()))
End If
End If
End Using
Dim defaultStyle As String = _
( _
From style In styleDoc.Root.<w:style> _
Where style.@w:type = "paragraph" And _
style.@w:default = "1" _
Select style _
).First().@w:styleId
' Find all paragraphs in the document.
Dim paragraphs = _
From para In xDoc.Root.<w:body>...<w:p> _
Let styleNode As XElement = para.<w:pPr>.<w:pStyle>.FirstOrDefault _
Select New With { _
.ParagraphNode = para, _
.StyleName = GetStyleOfParagraph(styleNode, defaultStyle) _
}
' Retrieve the text of each paragraph.
Dim paraWithText = _
From para In paragraphs _
Select New With { _
.ParagraphNode = para.ParagraphNode, _
.StyleName = para.StyleName, _
.Text = ParagraphText(para.ParagraphNode) _
}
' Following is the new query that retrieves all paragraphs
' that have specific text in them.
Dim helloParagraphs = _
From para In paraWithText _
Where para.Text.Contains("Hello") _
Select New With _
{ _
.ParagraphNode = para.ParagraphNode, _
.StyleName = para.StyleName, _
.Text = para.Text _
}
For Each p In helloParagraphs
Console.WriteLine("StyleName:{0} >{1}<", p.StyleName, p.Text)
Next
End Sub
End Module
This example produces the following output:
StyleName:Code > Console.WriteLine("Hello World");<
StyleName:Code >Hello World<
You can, of course, modify the search so that it searches for lines with a specific style. The following query finds all blank lines that have the Code style:
public static class LocalExtensions
{
public static string StringConcatenate(this IEnumerable<string> source)
{
StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
foreach (string s in source)
sb.Append(s);
return sb.ToString();
}
public static string StringConcatenate<T>(this IEnumerable<T> source,
Func<T, string> func)
{
StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
foreach (T item in source)
sb.Append(func(item));
return sb.ToString();
}
public static string StringConcatenate(this IEnumerable<string> source, string separator)
{
StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
foreach (string s in source)
sb.Append(s).Append(separator);
return sb.ToString();
}
public static string StringConcatenate<T>(this IEnumerable<T> source,
Func<T, string> func, string separator)
{
StringBuilder sb = new StringBuilder();
foreach (T item in source)
sb.Append(func(item)).Append(separator);
return sb.ToString();
}
}
class Program
{
public static string ParagraphText(XElement e)
{
XNamespace w = e.Name.Namespace;
return e
.Elements(w + "r")
.Elements(w + "t")
.StringConcatenate(element => (string)element);
}
static void Main(string[] args)
{
const string fileName = "SampleDoc.docx";
const string documentRelationshipType = "https://schemas.openxmlformats.org/officeDocument/2006/relationships/officeDocument";
const string stylesRelationshipType = "https://schemas.openxmlformats.org/officeDocument/2006/relationships/styles";
const string wordmlNamespace = "https://schemas.openxmlformats.org/wordprocessingml/2006/main";
XNamespace w = wordmlNamespace;
XDocument xDoc = null;
XDocument styleDoc = null;
using (Package wdPackage = Package.Open(fileName, FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read))
{
PackageRelationship docPackageRelationship = wdPackage.GetRelationshipsByType(documentRelationshipType).FirstOrDefault();
if (docPackageRelationship != null)
{
Uri documentUri = PackUriHelper.ResolvePartUri(new Uri("/", UriKind.Relative), docPackageRelationship.TargetUri);
PackagePart documentPart = wdPackage.GetPart(documentUri);
// Load the document XML in the part into an XDocument instance.
xDoc = XDocument.Load(XmlReader.Create(documentPart.GetStream()));
// Find the styles part. There will only be one.
PackageRelationship styleRelation = documentPart.GetRelationshipsByType(stylesRelationshipType).FirstOrDefault();
if (styleRelation != null)
{
Uri styleUri = PackUriHelper.ResolvePartUri(documentUri, styleRelation.TargetUri);
PackagePart stylePart = wdPackage.GetPart(styleUri);
// Load the style XML in the part into an XDocument instance.
styleDoc = XDocument.Load(XmlReader.Create(stylePart.GetStream()));
}
}
}
string defaultStyle =
(string)(
from style in styleDoc.Root.Elements(w + "style")
where (string)style.Attribute(w + "type") == "paragraph" &&
(string)style.Attribute(w + "default") == "1"
select style
).First().Attribute(w + "styleId");
// Find all paragraphs in the document.
var paragraphs =
from para in xDoc
.Root
.Element(w + "body")
.Descendants(w + "p")
let styleNode = para
.Elements(w + "pPr")
.Elements(w + "pStyle")
.FirstOrDefault()
select new
{
ParagraphNode = para,
StyleName = styleNode != null ?
(string)styleNode.Attribute(w + "val") :
defaultStyle
};
// Retrieve the text of each paragraph.
var paraWithText =
from para in paragraphs
select new
{
ParagraphNode = para.ParagraphNode,
StyleName = para.StyleName,
Text = ParagraphText(para.ParagraphNode)
};
// Retrieve all paragraphs that have no text and are styled Code.
var blankCodeParagraphs =
from para in paraWithText
where para.Text == "" && para.StyleName == "Code"
select new
{
ParagraphNode = para.ParagraphNode,
StyleName = para.StyleName,
Text = para.Text
};
foreach (var p in blankCodeParagraphs)
Console.WriteLine("StyleName:{0} >{1}<", p.StyleName, p.Text);
}
}
Imports System.IO.Packaging
Imports <xmlns:w="https://schemas.openxmlformats.org/wordprocessingml/2006/main">
Module Module1
<System.Runtime.CompilerServices.Extension()> _
Public Function StringConcatenate(ByVal source As IEnumerable(Of String)) As String
Dim sb As StringBuilder = New StringBuilder()
For Each s As String In source
sb.Append(s)
Next
Return sb.ToString()
End Function
<System.Runtime.CompilerServices.Extension()> _
Public Function StringConcatenate(Of T)(ByVal source As IEnumerable(Of T), _
ByVal func As Func(Of T, String)) As String
Dim sb As StringBuilder = New StringBuilder()
For Each item As T In source
sb.Append(func(item))
Next
Return sb.ToString()
End Function
<System.Runtime.CompilerServices.Extension()> _
Public Function StringConcatenate(Of T)(ByVal source As IEnumerable(Of T), _
ByVal separator As String) As String
Dim sb As StringBuilder = New StringBuilder()
For Each s As T In source
sb.Append(s).Append(separator)
Next
Return sb.ToString()
End Function
<System.Runtime.CompilerServices.Extension()> _
Public Function StringConcatenate(Of T)(ByVal source As IEnumerable(Of T), _
ByVal func As Func(Of T, String), ByVal separator As String) As String
Dim sb As StringBuilder = New StringBuilder()
For Each item As T In source
sb.Append(func(item)).Append(separator)
Next
Return sb.ToString()
End Function
Public Function ParagraphText(ByVal e As XElement) As String
Dim w As XNamespace = e.Name.Namespace
Return (e.<w:r>.<w:t>).StringConcatenate(Function(element) CStr(element))
End Function
' Following function is required because VB does not support short circuit evaluation
Private Function GetStyleOfParagraph(ByVal styleNode As XElement, ByVal defaultStyle As String) As String
If (styleNode Is Nothing) Then
Return defaultStyle
Else
Return styleNode.@w:val
End If
End Function
Sub Main()
Dim fileName = "SampleDoc.docx"
Dim documentRelationshipType = "https://schemas.openxmlformats.org/officeDocument/2006/relationships/officeDocument"
Dim stylesRelationshipType = "https://schemas.openxmlformats.org/officeDocument/2006/relationships/styles"
Dim wordmlNamespace = "https://schemas.openxmlformats.org/wordprocessingml/2006/main"
Dim xDoc As XDocument = Nothing
Dim styleDoc As XDocument = Nothing
Using wdPackage As Package = Package.Open(fileName, FileMode.Open, FileAccess.Read)
Dim docPackageRelationship As PackageRelationship = wdPackage.GetRelationshipsByType(documentRelationshipType).FirstOrDefault()
If (docPackageRelationship IsNot Nothing) Then
Dim documentUri As Uri = PackUriHelper.ResolvePartUri(New Uri("/", UriKind.Relative), docPackageRelationship.TargetUri)
Dim documentPart As PackagePart = wdPackage.GetPart(documentUri)
' Load the document XML in the part into an XDocument instance.
xDoc = XDocument.Load(XmlReader.Create(documentPart.GetStream()))
' Find the styles part. There will only be one.
Dim styleRelation As PackageRelationship = documentPart.GetRelationshipsByType(stylesRelationshipType).FirstOrDefault()
If (styleRelation IsNot Nothing) Then
Dim styleUri As Uri = PackUriHelper.ResolvePartUri(documentUri, styleRelation.TargetUri)
Dim stylePart As PackagePart = wdPackage.GetPart(styleUri)
' Load the style XML in the part into an XDocument instance.
styleDoc = XDocument.Load(XmlReader.Create(stylePart.GetStream()))
End If
End If
End Using
Dim defaultStyle As String = _
( _
From style In styleDoc.Root.<w:style> _
Where style.@w:type = "paragraph" And _
style.@w:default = "1" _
Select style _
).First().@w:styleId
' Find all paragraphs in the document.
Dim paragraphs = _
From para In xDoc.Root.<w:body>...<w:p> _
Let styleNode As XElement = para.<w:pPr>.<w:pStyle>.FirstOrDefault _
Select New With { _
.ParagraphNode = para, _
.StyleName = GetStyleOfParagraph(styleNode, defaultStyle) _
}
' Retrieve the text of each paragraph.
Dim paraWithText = _
From para In paragraphs _
Select New With { _
.ParagraphNode = para.ParagraphNode, _
.StyleName = para.StyleName, _
.Text = ParagraphText(para.ParagraphNode) _
}
' Retrieve all paragraphs that have no text and are styled Code.
Dim blankCodeParagraphs = _
From para In paraWithText _
Where String.IsNullOrEmpty(para.Text) And para.StyleName.Equals("Code") _
Select New With _
{ _
.ParagraphNode = para.ParagraphNode, _
.StyleName = para.StyleName, _
.Text = para.Text _
}
For Each p In blankCodeParagraphs
Console.WriteLine("StyleName:{0} >{1}<", p.StyleName, p.Text)
Next
End Sub
End Module
This example produces the following output:
StyleName:Code ><
Of course, this example could be enhanced in a number of ways. For example, we could use regular expressions to search for text, we could iterate through all the Word files in a particular directory, and so on.
Note that this example performs approximately as well as if it were written as a single query. Because each query is implemented in a lazy, deferred fashion, each query does not yield its results until the query is iterated. For more information about execution and lazy evaluation, see Deferred Execution and Lazy Evaluation in LINQ to XML.
Next Steps
The next section provides more information about WordprocessingML documents:
See Also
Tasks
Refactoring Using a Pure Function
Concepts
Tutorial: Manipulating Content in a WordprocessingML Document