OOconvert

Convert Libreoffice documents into any format supported (PDF, DOCX, XLSX, ODT, HTML etc ...)

This module was based on the conversion code that is part of the excellent Carbone.io templating system.
Completely rewritten in Typescript, ooconvert controls a configurable pool of python worker processes that interface with a local installation of libreoffice.

Prerequisites

• Libre Office
  For the conversion process the library requires an installation of Libre Office (tested with v6.3.2).
  Free installation is available at their website www.libreoffice.org

• python
  IMPORTANT! Detects and uses the python installation embedded in Libre Office. May work with external python but not tried yet

• NodeJS

• Tested on Linux and Windows

Installation

npm install ooconvert --save

Example Usage

The format used in the examples below is writer_pdf_Export which converts the document into a pdf.

The library supports all the filters of libre office. For a (probably out of date) listing please see the page here

Typescript

Note: You may need to install the typings for nodejs using npm i @types/node --save-dev

import { promises as fs_promises } from "fs";
import { OOConvert } from "ooconvert";

console.log(`Converting file...`);
 
const conv2 = new OOConvert({ factories: 1 });

conv2.convertFile("test.odt", 'writer_pdf_Export', '')
.then((buffer) => fs_promises.writeFile('test.pdf', buffer))
.then(() => console.log(`Done`))
.catch((err) => console.error(err))
.then(() => conv2.exit());

Javascript

var fs = require("fs");
var OOConvert = require("ooconvert").OOConvert;

console.log(`Converting file...`);

var conv2 = new OOConvert({ factories: 1 });

conv2.convertFile("test.odt", 'writer_pdf_Export', '')
.then((buffer) => new Promise((resolve, reject) => fs.writeFile("test.pdf", buffer, (err) => {
  if (err) reject(err);
  resolve();
})))
.then(() => console.log("Done"))
.catch((err) => console.error(err))
.then(() => conv2.exit())

API Reference

convertFile(inputFile, outputType, formatOptions, outputFilepath)

• inputFile <string>: path to the file you wish to convert
• outputType <string>: name of the Libre Office filter to use for conversion
• formatOptions <string>: optional parameter for additional options specific to the chosen filter
• outputFilepath <string>: optional parameter path to specify the full path to the destination to save the result. Defaults to temp random name in the user's temp directory

Running the tests

The library uses mocha and chai for unit testing. To run the tests is as simple as running
npm test

The library can output debug console messages thanks to the debug library. To use simply set the DEBUG environment variable:

On Windows

  set DEBUG=ooconv

On Linux

  export DEBUG=ooconv

Contributing

Please read CONTRIBUTING.md for details and the process for submitting pull requests.

Versioning

SemVer is used for versioning. For the versions available, see the tags on this repository.

Contributors

• John Asplin - Author - asplinsol