Create Word document in Xamarin

22 Jul 202619 minutes to read

Syncfusion^® Essential^® DocIO is a Xamarin Word library used to create, read, and edit Word documents programmatically without Microsoft Word or interop dependencies. Using this library, you can create a Word document in Xamarin.

Prerequisites

• Visual Studio with the Mobile development with .NET (Xamarin) workload installed.
• For .NET 5+ targets, install the Syncfusion.Xamarin.DocIO NuGet package version that matches your target. The package is compatible with .NET Standard 2.0 and later.

Steps to create Word document programmatically

Step 1: Create a new Xamarin.Forms application project.

Step 2: Select a project template and the required platforms to deploy the application. This sample uses the .NET Standard code sharing strategy so portable assemblies are shared across platforms. For more information about code sharing, see Code sharing options.

NOTE

If .NET Standard is not available in the code sharing strategy, the Portable Class Library (PCL) can be selected.

Step 3: Install the Syncfusion.Xamarin.DocIO NuGet package as a reference to the .NET Standard project in your application from NuGet.org. Also install the same package in each platform-specific project (iOS, Android, and UWP).

NOTE

Starting with v16.2.0.x, if you reference Syncfusion^® assemblies from the trial setup or from the NuGet feed, you must add a reference to the Syncfusion.Licensing assembly and include a valid license key in your application.

Install the Syncfusion.Licensing NuGet package and register the license key during application startup.

Syncfusion.Licensing.SyncfusionLicenseProvider.RegisterLicense("YOUR_LICENSE_KEY");

For more information about generating and registering a license key, refer to the Syncfusion^® licensing documentation.

Step 4: Add a new Forms XAML page in the portable project. If no XAML page is defined in the App class, complete the following sub-steps. Otherwise, proceed to the next step.

• To add the new XAML page, right-click on the project, select Add > New Item, and add a Forms XAML Page from the list. Name it MainXamlPage.
• In the App class of the portable project (App.cs), replace the existing constructor of the App class with the code snippet given below, which invokes the MainXamlPage.

C#

public App()
{
    // The root page of your application
    MainPage = new MainXamlPage();
}

Step 5: In the MainXamlPage.xaml file, add a new button as shown in the following example.

C#

<ContentPage xmlns="http://xamarin.com/schemas/2014/forms"
        xmlns:x="http://schemas.microsoft.com/winfx/2009/xaml"
        x:Class="GettingStarted.MainXamlPage">

    <StackLayout VerticalOptions="Center">
        <Button Text="Generate Document" Clicked="OnButtonClicked" HorizontalOptions="Center"/>
    </StackLayout>
</ContentPage>

Step 6: Include the following namespace in the MainXamlPage.xaml.cs file.

C#

using Syncfusion.DocIO;
using Syncfusion.DocIO.DLS;
using System.Reflection;
using System.IO;

Step 7: Include the below code snippet in the click event of the button in MainXamlPage.xaml.cs, to create Word document and save it in a stream.

C#

void OnButtonClicked(object sender, EventArgs args)
{
    //"App" is the class of Portable project
    Assembly assembly = typeof(App).GetTypeInfo().Assembly;
    //Creating a new document
    WordDocument document = new WordDocument();
    //Adding a new section to the document
    WSection section = document.AddSection() as WSection;
    //Set Margin of the section
    section.PageSetup.Margins.All = 72;
    //Set page size of the section
    section.PageSetup.PageSize = new Syncfusion.Drawing.SizeF(612, 792);

    //Create Paragraph styles
    WParagraphStyle style = document.AddParagraphStyle("Normal") as WParagraphStyle;
    style.CharacterFormat.FontName = "Calibri";
    style.CharacterFormat.FontSize = 11f;
    style.ParagraphFormat.BeforeSpacing = 0;
    style.ParagraphFormat.AfterSpacing = 8;
    style.ParagraphFormat.LineSpacing = 13.8f;

    style = document.AddParagraphStyle("Heading 1") as WParagraphStyle;
    style.ApplyBaseStyle("Normal");
    style.CharacterFormat.FontName = "Calibri Light";
    style.CharacterFormat.FontSize = 16f;
    style.CharacterFormat.TextColor = Syncfusion.Drawing.Color.FromArgb(46, 116, 181);
    style.ParagraphFormat.BeforeSpacing = 12;
    style.ParagraphFormat.AfterSpacing = 0;
    style.ParagraphFormat.Keep = true;
    style.ParagraphFormat.KeepFollow = true;
    style.ParagraphFormat.OutlineLevel = OutlineLevel.Level1;

    IWParagraph paragraph = section.HeadersFooters.Header.AddParagraph();
    //Gets the image stream
    Stream imageStream1 = assembly.GetManifestResourceStream("GettingStarted.Templates.AdventureCycle.jpg");
    IWPicture picture = paragraph.AppendPicture(imageStream1);
    picture.TextWrappingStyle = TextWrappingStyle.InFrontOfText;
    picture.VerticalOrigin = VerticalOrigin.Margin;
    picture.VerticalPosition = -45;
    picture.HorizontalOrigin = HorizontalOrigin.Column;
    picture.HorizontalPosition = 263.5f;
    picture.WidthScale = 20;
    picture.HeightScale = 15;

    paragraph.ApplyStyle("Normal");
    paragraph.ParagraphFormat.HorizontalAlignment = HorizontalAlignment.Left;
    WTextRange textRange = paragraph.AppendText("Adventure Works Cycles") as WTextRange;
    textRange.CharacterFormat.FontSize = 12f;
    textRange.CharacterFormat.FontName = "Calibri";
    textRange.CharacterFormat.TextColor = Syncfusion.Drawing.Color.Red;

    //Appends paragraph
    paragraph = section.AddParagraph();
    paragraph.ApplyStyle("Heading 1");
    paragraph.ParagraphFormat.HorizontalAlignment = HorizontalAlignment.Center;
    textRange = paragraph.AppendText("Adventure Works Cycles") as WTextRange;
    textRange.CharacterFormat.FontSize = 18f;
    textRange.CharacterFormat.FontName = "Calibri";

    //Appends paragraph
    paragraph = section.AddParagraph();
    paragraph.ParagraphFormat.FirstLineIndent = 36;
    paragraph.BreakCharacterFormat.FontSize = 12f;
    textRange = paragraph.AppendText("Adventure Works Cycles, the fictitious company on which the AdventureWorks sample databases are based, is a large, multinational manufacturing company. The company manufactures and sells metal and composite bicycles to North American, European and Asian commercial markets. While its base operation is in Bothell, Washington with 290 employees, several regional sales teams are located throughout their market base.") as WTextRange;
    textRange.CharacterFormat.FontSize = 12f;

    //Appends paragraph
    paragraph = section.AddParagraph();
    paragraph.ParagraphFormat.FirstLineIndent = 36;
    paragraph.BreakCharacterFormat.FontSize = 12f;
    textRange = paragraph.AppendText("In 2000, AdventureWorks Cycles bought a small manufacturing plant, Importadores Neptuno, located in Mexico. Importadores Neptuno manufactures several critical subcomponents for the AdventureWorks Cycles product line. These subcomponents are shipped to the Bothell location for final product assembly. In 2001, Importadores Neptuno, became the sole manufacturer and distributor of the touring bicycle product group.") as WTextRange;
    textRange.CharacterFormat.FontSize = 12f;

    paragraph = section.AddParagraph();
    paragraph.ApplyStyle("Heading 1");
    paragraph.ParagraphFormat.HorizontalAlignment = HorizontalAlignment.Left;
    textRange = paragraph.AppendText("Product Overview") as WTextRange;
    textRange.CharacterFormat.FontSize = 16f;
    textRange.CharacterFormat.FontName = "Calibri";

    //Appends table
    IWTable table = section.AddTable();
    table.ResetCells(3, 2);
    table.TableFormat.Borders.BorderType = BorderStyle.None;
    table.TableFormat.IsAutoResized = true;
    //Appends paragraph
    paragraph = table[0, 0].AddParagraph();
    paragraph.ParagraphFormat.AfterSpacing = 0;
    paragraph.BreakCharacterFormat.FontSize = 12f;
    //Appends picture to the paragraph
    Stream imageStream2 = assembly.GetManifestResourceStream("GettingStarted.Templates.Mountain-200.jpg");
    picture = paragraph.AppendPicture(imageStream2);
    picture.TextWrappingStyle = TextWrappingStyle.TopAndBottom;
    picture.VerticalOrigin = VerticalOrigin.Paragraph;
    picture.VerticalPosition = 4.5f;
    picture.HorizontalOrigin = HorizontalOrigin.Column;
    picture.HorizontalPosition = -2.15f;
    picture.WidthScale = 79;
    picture.HeightScale = 79;

    //Appends paragraph
    paragraph = table[0, 1].AddParagraph();
    paragraph.ApplyStyle("Heading 1");
    paragraph.ParagraphFormat.AfterSpacing = 0;
    paragraph.ParagraphFormat.LineSpacing = 12f;
    paragraph.AppendText("Mountain-200");
    //Appends paragraph
    paragraph = table[0, 1].AddParagraph();
    paragraph.ParagraphFormat.AfterSpacing = 0;
    paragraph.ParagraphFormat.LineSpacing = 12f;
    paragraph.BreakCharacterFormat.FontSize = 12f;
    paragraph.BreakCharacterFormat.FontName = "Times New Roman";
    textRange = paragraph.AppendText("Product No: BK-M68B-38\r") as WTextRange;
    textRange.CharacterFormat.FontSize = 12f;
    textRange.CharacterFormat.FontName = "Times New Roman";
    textRange = paragraph.AppendText("Size: 38\r") as WTextRange;
    textRange.CharacterFormat.FontSize = 12f;
    textRange.CharacterFormat.FontName = "Times New Roman";
    textRange = paragraph.AppendText("Weight: 25\r") as WTextRange;
    textRange.CharacterFormat.FontSize = 12f;
    textRange.CharacterFormat.FontName = "Times New Roman";
    textRange = paragraph.AppendText("Price: $2,294.99\r") as WTextRange;
    textRange.CharacterFormat.FontSize = 12f;
    textRange.CharacterFormat.FontName = "Times New Roman";
    //Appends paragraph
    paragraph = table[0, 1].AddParagraph();
    paragraph.ParagraphFormat.AfterSpacing = 0;
    paragraph.ParagraphFormat.LineSpacing = 12f;
    paragraph.BreakCharacterFormat.FontSize = 12f;

    //Appends paragraph
    paragraph = table[1, 0].AddParagraph();
    paragraph.ApplyStyle("Heading 1");
    paragraph.ParagraphFormat.AfterSpacing = 0;
    paragraph.ParagraphFormat.LineSpacing = 12f;
    paragraph.AppendText("Mountain-300 ");
    //Appends paragraph
    paragraph = table[1, 0].AddParagraph();
    paragraph.ParagraphFormat.AfterSpacing = 0;
    paragraph.ParagraphFormat.LineSpacing = 12f;
    paragraph.BreakCharacterFormat.FontSize = 12f;
    paragraph.BreakCharacterFormat.FontName = "Times New Roman";
    textRange = paragraph.AppendText("Product No: BK-M47B-38\r") as WTextRange;
    textRange.CharacterFormat.FontSize = 12f;
    textRange.CharacterFormat.FontName = "Times New Roman";
    textRange = paragraph.AppendText("Size: 35\r") as WTextRange;
    textRange.CharacterFormat.FontSize = 12f;
    textRange.CharacterFormat.FontName = "Times New Roman";
    textRange = paragraph.AppendText("Weight: 22\r") as WTextRange;
    textRange.CharacterFormat.FontSize = 12f;
    textRange.CharacterFormat.FontName = "Times New Roman";
    textRange = paragraph.AppendText("Price: $1,079.99\r") as WTextRange;
    textRange.CharacterFormat.FontSize = 12f;
    textRange.CharacterFormat.FontName = "Times New Roman";
    //Appends paragraph
    paragraph = table[1, 0].AddParagraph();
    paragraph.ParagraphFormat.AfterSpacing = 0;
    paragraph.ParagraphFormat.LineSpacing = 12f;
    paragraph.BreakCharacterFormat.FontSize = 12f;

    //Appends paragraph
    paragraph = table[1, 1].AddParagraph();
    paragraph.ApplyStyle("Heading 1");
    paragraph.ParagraphFormat.LineSpacing = 12f;
    //Appends picture to the paragraph
    Stream imageStream3 = assembly.GetManifestResourceStream("GettingStarted.Templates.Mountain-300.jpg");
    picture = paragraph.AppendPicture(imageStream3);
    picture.TextWrappingStyle = TextWrappingStyle.TopAndBottom;
    picture.VerticalOrigin = VerticalOrigin.Paragraph;
    picture.VerticalPosition = 8.2f;
    picture.HorizontalOrigin = HorizontalOrigin.Column;
    picture.HorizontalPosition = -14.95f;
    picture.WidthScale = 75;
    picture.HeightScale = 75;

    //Appends paragraph
    paragraph = table[2, 0].AddParagraph();
    paragraph.ApplyStyle("Heading 1");
    paragraph.ParagraphFormat.LineSpacing = 12f;
    //Appends picture to the paragraph
    Stream imageStream4 = assembly.GetManifestResourceStream("GettingStarted.Templates.Road-550-W.jpg");
    picture = paragraph.AppendPicture(imageStream4);
    picture.TextWrappingStyle = TextWrappingStyle.TopAndBottom;
    picture.VerticalOrigin = VerticalOrigin.Paragraph;
    picture.VerticalPosition = 3.75f;
    picture.HorizontalOrigin = HorizontalOrigin.Column;
    picture.HorizontalPosition = -5f;
    picture.WidthScale = 92;
    picture.HeightScale = 92;

    //Appends paragraph
    paragraph = table[2, 1].AddParagraph();
    paragraph.ApplyStyle("Heading 1");
    paragraph.ParagraphFormat.AfterSpacing = 0;
    paragraph.ParagraphFormat.LineSpacing = 12f;
    paragraph.AppendText("Road-150 ");
    //Appends paragraph
    paragraph = table[2, 1].AddParagraph();
    paragraph.ParagraphFormat.AfterSpacing = 0;
    paragraph.ParagraphFormat.LineSpacing = 12f;
    paragraph.BreakCharacterFormat.FontSize = 12f;
    paragraph.BreakCharacterFormat.FontName = "Times New Roman";
    textRange = paragraph.AppendText("Product No: BK-R93R-44\r") as WTextRange;
    textRange.CharacterFormat.FontSize = 12f;
    textRange.CharacterFormat.FontName = "Times New Roman";
    textRange = paragraph.AppendText("Size: 44\r") as WTextRange;
    textRange.CharacterFormat.FontSize = 12f;
    textRange.CharacterFormat.FontName = "Times New Roman";
    textRange = paragraph.AppendText("Weight: 14\r") as WTextRange;
    textRange.CharacterFormat.FontSize = 12f;
    textRange.CharacterFormat.FontName = "Times New Roman";
    textRange = paragraph.AppendText("Price: $3,578.27\r") as WTextRange;
    textRange.CharacterFormat.FontSize = 12f;
    textRange.CharacterFormat.FontName = "Times New Roman";
    //Appends paragraph
    section.AddParagraph();

    //Saves the Word document to MemoryStream
    MemoryStream stream = new MemoryStream();
    document.Save(stream, FormatType.Docx);
    //Save the stream as a file in the device and invoke it for viewing
    Xamarin.Forms.DependencyService.Get<ISave>().SaveAndView("Sample.docx", "application/msword", stream);          
}

Helper files for Xamarin

Download the helper files from this link and add them into the mentioned project. These helper files allow you to save the stream as a physical file and open the file for viewing.

Project	File Name	Summary
Portable project	ISave.cs	Represent the base interface for save operation
iOS Project	SaveIOS.cs	Save implementation for iOS device
	PreviewControllerDS.cs	Helper class for viewing the Word document in iOS device
Android project	SaveAndroid.cs	Save implementation for Android device
WinPhone project	SaveWinPhone.cs	Save implementation for Windows Phone device
UWP project	SaveWindows.cs	Save implementation for UWP device.
Windows (8.1) project	SaveWindows81.cs	Save implementation for WinRT device.

Compile and execute the application. Now this application creates a Word document.

You can download a complete working sample from GitHub.

NOTE

The code sample references image files (AdventureCycle.jpg, Mountain-200.jpg, Mountain-300.jpg, Road-550-W.jpg). Download these assets from the GitHub sample folder and add them to a Templates folder in the portable project with their Build Action set to Embedded Resource.

By executing the program, you will get the Word document as follows.