WordLib imports MS Word and Open Office documents right into your LiveCode fields. This is all done natively without relying on any other software, API, or interface to do the job. Nor is it based on someone else’s code. Not even Microsoft’s. That’s actually a big deal; as a pure LiveCode script solution, independent and original, built from the ground up, WordLib can target MS Word and LiveCode like nobody else. You don’t even need a word processor or DLL installed to use it; that’s the whole point. You just need LiveCode, WordLib, a document, and a field. Any platform. One line of code. You’re done.
WordLib 2.2 is packed with new goodies: it provides tab align to the extent that it is supported in LiveCode (and a little further), a fix for a less-common type of line break that will help anyone who uses Apple Dictate, more accurate import of text fonts and styles, better import of images and other content in third-party docx files written by other word processors and document creators, a fix for duplicated content in text boxes, updates to the demo stack and test documents, and outstanding MS Word document support for LiveCode 6.7 to 9.x and beyond!
Over the years the sheer power of the LiveCode field control (along with its apparent simplicity – a great combination) has been often under appreciated. We can’t have that, now can we? With WordLib, it’s so easy to show off what the LC field can do (as well as what MS Word can do) and benefit from those capabilities. The WordLib addon library has always been at the forefront of utilitizing the latest and most advanced LiveCode field features, while pushing the boundaries and helping to point the way forward. For example, WordLib was able to display embedded tables within fields back in the days before the field control itself provided an official means to do so. Cool, huh?
Still leading the way today in the modern LC 9+ era, WordLib 2.2 fully delivers LiveCode’s official column-style tab align and pushes a little further as always, also including a partial initial implementation of WP-style (word processing) tab align to the extent that is currently practical in LiveCode 9. To keep things moving forward in future, a new feature request has been submitted for LC field WP-style tab align, and is linked in the WordLib-Features-Test-2018 test document.
WordLib already achieved flawless Unicode imports long ago, tested with every popular language of the world for LiveCode 4.x, even beating MS Word itself in some cases on rendering international text such as Thai. It’s a record very few can hope to match. So there is nothing remotely new about full Unicode text support in this library; we’ve been there for ages. However, today “under the hood, you can feel good” that WordLib also utilizes the very latest methods that LiveCode offers for decoding text. Built specifically for the newest generation of LiveCode, it’s not just up-to-date but ahead of the curve as usual. As LC 9 and 10 evolve and improve, WordLib will allow you to take advantage of the best they have to offer.
WordLib 2.2 also beats MS Word’s latest version (2016) at its own game in a few instances, including clipart animations and long lines of text. BTW, it’s true that the primary emphasis and the most features are for Microsoft Word documents (and I could tell you some interesting stories and a few inside jokes about the MS format) but did you know that the “Word” in “WordLib” doesn’t stand for MS Word? Nope, it stands for “word processing” document. Besides the massive support for Microsoft’s docx format, and good support for the legacy doc format, WordLib also handles Open Office documents. In fact, the WordLib User Guide has always been delivered in Open Office format, because (A) it’s a free app which anyone can install, and yet (B) no one needs to install anything, because you already have the handiest document viewer! Again, I must emphasize: WordLib does all the work by itself, you don’t need a word processor to view the documents. Really. There’s no wizard behind that curtain other than the WordLib guy himself.
And viewing documents, for help or otherwise, brings us to the launchpad for your WordLib experience. When you download this extension, your starting point should be the Try WordLib stack. It demos the code features, features the demo code, provides help, links to resources, slices, dices, and otherwise provides everything you need to get started. Just open the Try WordLib stack in LiveCode (any version from 6.7 to 9 and up) and you can either click the big “Import Document” button or just drag a file in to open any document you wish; use your own, or choose from the many samples included with the download to test languages and formatting.
When it comes to help, click the big “View Help” button and choose between the handy Quick Reference document or the easy Quick Start Video on YouTube for a rundown on syntax and getting up and running with the library and your registration. Beyond that, there’s the uber-friendly User Guide and an extensive (fairly extreme) feature test document that also serves as a development testbed and roadmap. To round out the download, there’s a PDF version of the Quick Reference, a ReadMe text file, the Terms of Use and so on. Finally, don’t forget that besides opening files, WordLib also makes it easy to bundle elaborate content with or within your apps. Try WordLib demonstrates that too; the Welcome text is an imported document.
A WordLib release often involves thousands of tests with hundreds of document files. Besides the obvious features, and some fairly obscure document features, it also maintains compatibility with certain aspects of previous releases, and of course I keep an eye on performance too. Since installed fonts on systems may vary (like hats of old, the trends come and go) the library will check fonts and substitute a default when one is missing; very effective as long as a font contains the glyphs in question. Wherever you take your software, you’ll find that you can tap into the unmatched power and unrivaled quality of WordLib to provide outstanding document and text experiences.
Ready for some action? Go to the Extensions store and start using WordLib 2.2 in your LiveCode projects today. Current license holders, be sure to take advantage of the upgrade discount for this version (you’ll see it if you log in to your LiveCode account, on the Third Party tab). There are some amazing people in the LiveCode community without whom WordLib would never have come this far. Thanks as always, and keep making awesome LiveCode projects!
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