How to Create a Microsoft Word Document in ColdFusion

Introduction

In web development, generating documents dynamically, such as Microsoft Word files, can be highly valuable for businesses and users. ColdFusion, a powerful and flexible web development platform, allows developers to easily create Word documents using its built-in cfcontent tag. This tutorial demonstrates a practical example of how to output database query results into a Microsoft Word document using ColdFusion, showcasing how user-friendly the process can be.

In this tutorial, we will cover two ColdFusion scripts: one for creating a hyperlink that triggers the Word document generation and another that processes the data from a database query and outputs it as a Word document. The focus will be on using the cfcontent tag to define the MIME type for Word files and how to structure and output the desired content.

Overview of `cfcontentMSWord.cfm`

The first part of the tutorial involves setting up a simple HTML page to serve as the user interface. The HTML file, named cfcontentMSWord.cfm, serves as a gateway for the user to click a link, which will trigger the generation of a Word document containing author data.

This file begins with a standard HTML structure, and within the <body> section, there is a heading styled with CSS to provide a visually appealing look. The key element here is the hyperlink that points to another ColdFusion file (cfcontentMSWord1.cfm). When clicked, this link executes a process that generates a Microsoft Word file containing a list of authors retrieved from a database.

Understanding the Query and Word Output in `cfcontentMSWord1.cfm`

The second file, cfcontentMSWord1.cfm, performs the core functionality of this tutorial. It begins by running a query that retrieves the first and last names of authors from a database named cfbookclub. This is achieved using ColdFusion's cfquery tag, which interacts with the database and stores the result in a query variable called authors.

Once the query is executed, the magic happens with the cfcontent tag. This tag is crucial for telling the browser how to handle the output. By setting the type attribute of the cfcontent tag to "application/msword", ColdFusion instructs the browser to treat the output as a Microsoft Word document. The reset="yes" attribute ensures that no extraneous HTML or headers are included in the output.

After setting the MIME type, the ColdFusion script outputs the data. A simple title, "Authors Name," is written at the top of the document, followed by a separator line. Then, the cfoutput tag is used to loop through the authors query results and display each author's last name followed by their first name. This will be formatted as plain text, but the result will be a .doc file that opens in Microsoft Word.

Generating the Word Document

Once the user clicks the link on the cfcontentMSWord.cfm page, the ColdFusion server processes the request and runs the query to fetch author names from the database. ColdFusion then dynamically generates a Word document using the cfcontent tag, sending the file to the user’s browser with the correct MIME type. This allows the user to download or open the Word document directly in Microsoft Word, where they can view the list of authors in a simple text format.

Conclusion

This tutorial demonstrates how easily you can generate Microsoft Word documents using ColdFusion’s cfcontent tag. By setting the MIME type and outputting dynamic content from a database query, ColdFusion automates document creation in a highly efficient manner. Whether you need to generate reports, lists, or any other text-based content, this approach allows for seamless integration into web applications.

By mastering this technique, ColdFusion developers can provide users with on-demand document generation, improving the overall user experience while maintaining flexibility and control over the content format.

cfcontentMSWord.cfm


<!DOCTYPE html>

<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" />
    <title>cfcontent application/msword - how to create Microsoft Word document  in coldfusion</title>
</head>

<body>
<h2 style="color:DarkSeaGreen; font-style:italic">cfcontent tag example: how to create Microsoft Word document</h2>
<hr width="625" align="left" color="DarkSeaGreen" />
<br />

<a href="cfcontentMSWord1.cfm">Click Here To Get Authors List In A MSWord File</a>

</body>
</html>

cfcontentMSWord1.cfm


<cfquery name="authors" datasource="cfbookclub">
 select FirstName, LastName from authors
</cfquery>

<cfcontent type="application/msword" reset="yes">
Authors Name
=============
<cfoutput query="authors">
 #LastName# #FirstName#
</cfoutput>