Agent skill
office-remediation
Office document OOXML manipulation patterns for accessibility remediation. Covers python-docx, openpyxl, python-pptx API references, PowerShell COM automation snippets, and VBA macro templates for fixing accessibility issues in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files.
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npx add-skill https://github.com/Community-Access/accessibility-agents/tree/main/.github/skills/office-remediation
SKILL.md
Office Remediation Patterns Skill
API reference and code patterns for programmatically fixing accessibility issues in Microsoft Office documents.
python-docx Patterns (Word .docx)
Set Document Title
from docx import Document
doc = Document("input.docx")
doc.core_properties.title = "Descriptive Title"
doc.save("output.docx")
Set Document Language
from docx import Document
from docx.oxml.ns import qn
from lxml import etree
doc = Document("input.docx")
styles_element = doc.styles.element
rPrDefault = styles_element.find(qn("w:docDefaults/w:rPrDefault/w:rPr"))
if rPrDefault is not None:
lang = rPrDefault.find(qn("w:lang"))
if lang is None:
lang = etree.SubElement(rPrDefault, qn("w:lang"))
lang.set(qn("w:val"), "en-US")
doc.save("output.docx")
Set Table Header Row
from docx import Document
from docx.oxml.ns import qn
from lxml import etree
doc = Document("input.docx")
for table in doc.tables:
first_row = table.rows[0]._tr
trPr = first_row.get_or_add_trPr()
existing = trPr.find(qn("w:tblHeader"))
if existing is None:
header_elem = etree.SubElement(trPr, qn("w:tblHeader"))
header_elem.set(qn("w:val"), "true")
doc.save("output.docx")
Add Alt Text to Images
from docx import Document
from docx.oxml.ns import qn
doc = Document("input.docx")
for rel in doc.part.rels.values():
if "image" in rel.reltype:
# Images are referenced via <wp:docPr> in the document XML
# Alt text is the 'descr' attribute on the docPr element
pass
# Direct XML approach for inline images:
body = doc.element.body
for docPr in body.iter(qn("wp:docPr")):
if not docPr.get("descr"):
docPr.set("descr", "TODO: Add alt text")
doc.save("output.docx")
Fix Heading Levels
from docx import Document
HEADING_MAP = {
"Heading 3": "Heading 2", # Example: fix skipped level
}
doc = Document("input.docx")
for para in doc.paragraphs:
if para.style.name in HEADING_MAP:
para.style = doc.styles[HEADING_MAP[para.style.name]]
doc.save("output.docx")
openpyxl Patterns (Excel .xlsx)
Set Workbook Title and Author
from openpyxl import load_workbook
wb = load_workbook("input.xlsx")
wb.properties.title = "Descriptive Title"
wb.properties.creator = "Author Name"
wb.save("output.xlsx")
Set Print Title Rows (Header Repeat)
from openpyxl import load_workbook
wb = load_workbook("input.xlsx")
for ws in wb.worksheets:
if ws.max_row > 1:
ws.print_title_rows = "1:1" # Repeat row 1 on every printed page
wb.save("output.xlsx")
Detect Generic Sheet Names
GENERIC = {"Sheet", "Sheet1", "Sheet2", "Sheet3", "Tabelle1", "Feuil1"}
from openpyxl import load_workbook
wb = load_workbook("input.xlsx")
for ws in wb.worksheets:
if ws.title in GENERIC:
print(f"Generic sheet name: '{ws.title}' — rename to describe content")
Detect Merged Cells
from openpyxl import load_workbook
wb = load_workbook("input.xlsx")
for ws in wb.worksheets:
if ws.merged_cells.ranges:
for merged in ws.merged_cells.ranges:
print(f"Sheet '{ws.title}': merged range {merged}")
python-pptx Patterns (PowerPoint .pptx)
Set Presentation Title
from pptx import Presentation
prs = Presentation("input.pptx")
prs.core_properties.title = "Descriptive Title"
prs.save("output.pptx")
Check for Missing Slide Titles
from pptx import Presentation
prs = Presentation("input.pptx")
for i, slide in enumerate(prs.slides, 1):
title_shape = slide.shapes.title
if title_shape is None:
print(f"Slide {i}: No title placeholder")
elif not title_shape.text.strip():
print(f"Slide {i}: Empty title")
Set Alt Text on Images
from pptx import Presentation
from pptx.enum.shapes import MSO_SHAPE_TYPE
prs = Presentation("input.pptx")
for i, slide in enumerate(prs.slides, 1):
for shape in slide.shapes:
if shape.shape_type == MSO_SHAPE_TYPE.PICTURE:
if not getattr(shape, "_element").get("descr", ""):
# Access via XML for older python-pptx versions
shape._element.set("descr", "TODO: Add alt text")
prs.save("output.pptx")
Check Reading Order
from pptx import Presentation
from lxml import etree
prs = Presentation("input.pptx")
for i, slide in enumerate(prs.slides, 1):
shapes = [(s.left, s.top, s.name) for s in slide.shapes]
# Visual order (top-to-bottom, left-to-right) vs. XML order
visual = sorted(shapes, key=lambda s: (s[1], s[0]))
xml_order = [s.name for s in slide.shapes]
visual_order = [s[2] for s in visual]
if xml_order != visual_order:
print(f"Slide {i}: Reading order may differ from visual layout")
PowerShell COM Automation (Windows + Office)
Word — Set Title
$word = New-Object -ComObject Word.Application
$word.Visible = $false
$doc = $word.Documents.Open("C:\path\document.docx")
$doc.BuiltinDocumentProperties("Title").Value = "Accessible Title"
$doc.Save()
$doc.Close()
$word.Quit()
[System.Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal]::ReleaseComObject($word) | Out-Null
Excel — Set Title and Sheet Names
$excel = New-Object -ComObject Excel.Application
$excel.Visible = $false
$wb = $excel.Workbooks.Open("C:\path\spreadsheet.xlsx")
$wb.BuiltinDocumentProperties("Title").Value = "Accessible Title"
# Rename sheets (example)
# $wb.Sheets.Item(1).Name = "Revenue Data"
$wb.Save()
$wb.Close()
$excel.Quit()
[System.Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal]::ReleaseComObject($excel) | Out-Null
PowerPoint — Set Title
$ppt = New-Object -ComObject PowerPoint.Application
$prs = $ppt.Presentations.Open("C:\path\presentation.pptx")
$prs.BuiltinDocumentProperties("Title").Value = "Accessible Title"
$prs.Save()
$prs.Close()
$ppt.Quit()
[System.Runtime.InteropServices.Marshal]::ReleaseComObject($ppt) | Out-Null
OOXML Direct Manipulation (ZIP + XML)
For environments without Python or Office, documents can be manipulated directly as ZIP archives:
Extract and Edit core.xml (Title/Language)
# Extract
mkdir -p extracted
unzip -o document.docx -d extracted
# Edit title in docProps/core.xml
sed -i 's|<dc:title/>|<dc:title>Accessible Title</dc:title>|' extracted/docProps/core.xml
# Repackage
cd extracted && zip -r ../document-fixed.docx . && cd ..
Key OOXML Paths
| Property | File | XML Element |
|---|---|---|
| Title | docProps/core.xml |
<dc:title> |
| Author | docProps/core.xml |
<dc:creator> |
| Language | word/settings.xml |
<w:themeFontLang> |
| Heading styles | word/document.xml |
<w:pStyle w:val="Heading1"> |
| Alt text | word/document.xml |
<wp:docPr descr="..."> |
| Table headers | word/document.xml |
<w:tblHeader/> |
Safety Rules
- Always back up the original file before any modification
- Never overwrite — use
-fixedsuffix or separate output path - Validate after fix — recommend Microsoft Accessibility Checker or re-audit
- COM cleanup — always
ReleaseComObjectandQuit()after COM automation - Encoding — OOXML uses UTF-8; preserve BOM if present in core.xml
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