Export .ipynb file to .docx format in VS code

Question

I have written a Python notebook .ipynb in Visual Studio Code which includes code chunks and markdown chunks. I want to export this file into Microsoft Word .docx format. It is easy to export it as .pdf but how can I export it into .docx?

Any brief solution?

Answer 1

convert .ipynb to .md (markdown) and using pandoc your_input.md -o your_output.docx

Answer 2

A workaround would be to download the file as a pdf, then open the pdf with Word and 'Save As' docx.

Answer 3

The easiest way is probably to use Pandoc. Simply type following command to your Command Prompt:

pandoc super-secret-notebook.ipynb -s -o export.docx

---

As @I_K suggested, you can export it to a PDF file and then save it as a Word document. Since you have the tag python in your question, I assume that you are looking for a Python solution.

Here is an example Python script doing this (requires nbconvert, pywin32, Pandoc and Microsoft Word installed):

import os
from pathlib import Path

import subprocess
import win32com.client


PATH_TO_NBCONVERT_EXE = r"C:\apps\python-3.11.1\Scripts\jupyter-nbconvert.exe"

cwd = Path(__file__).parent.resolve()

SCRIPT_PATH = os.path.join(cwd, "super-secret-notebook.ipynb")
FILE_PATH = os.path.join(cwd, "export.docx")

def main():

    subprocess.run(
        ["jupyter-nbconvert", "--execute", "--to", "pdf", SCRIPT_PATH], 
        cwd=cwd, 
        shell=True
    )

    word = win32com.client.Dispatch("Word.Application")

    doc = word.Documents.Add(SCRIPT_PATH.replace(".ipynb", ".pdf"))
    doc.SaveAs(FILE_PATH, FileFormat=12)
    doc.Close()

    word.Quit()

if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

The output looks a bit different than simply using Pandoc:

Please note that the script above (and below) is executing nbconvert in the command prompt. You could also use the package nbconvert in Python itself.

---

Why do you want a Word document? PDF files are easier to distribute. Anyways, if you just need a PDF file, you can generate the file in your Command Prompt as well (without a script):

jupyter-nbconvert --execute --to pdf super-secret-notebook.ipynb

It still requires nbconvert and Pandoc installed.

---

You can also export to an HTML file and then save it as a Word document. (not requiring Pandoc)

Following Python script executes and exports a Notebook file to HTML and then saves it as a Word document. Formatting is not very useful though.

import os
from pathlib import Path

import subprocess
import win32com.client


PATH_TO_NBCONVERT_EXE = r"C:\apps\python-3.11.1\Scripts\jupyter-nbconvert.exe"

cwd = Path(__file__).parent.resolve()

SCRIPT_PATH = os.path.join(cwd, "super-secret-notebook.ipynb")
FILE_PATH = os.path.join(cwd, "export.docx")

def main():

    subprocess.run(
        ["jupyter-nbconvert", "--execute", "--to", "html", SCRIPT_PATH], 
        cwd=cwd, 
        shell=True
    )

    word = win32com.client.Dispatch("Word.Application")

    doc = word.Documents.Add(SCRIPT_PATH.replace(".ipynb", ".html"))
    doc.SaveAs(FILE_PATH, FileFormat=12)
    doc.Close()

    word.Quit()

if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

---

Off-topic: Just some note if anyone comes across this answer and is wondering where to find the constants for the FileFormat parameter:

• https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/office/vba/api/word.wdsaveformat