Captions play a significant role in Word documents by serving as markers, explanations, navigation aids, and accessibility features. They are crucial elements for creating professional, accurate, and user-friendly documents. Captions help improve the readability, usability, and accessibility of the document and are essential for understanding and effectively processing the document's content. This article will explain how to use Spire.Doc for Python to add or remove captions in Word documents using Python programs.

• Add Image Captions to a Word document in Python
• Add Table Captions to a Word document in Python
• Remove Captions from a Word document in Python

Install Spire.Doc for Python

This scenario requires Spire.Doc for Python and plum-dispatch v1.7.4. They can be easily installed in your Windows through the following pip command.

pip install Spire.Doc

If you are unsure how to install, please refer to this tutorial: How to Install Spire.Doc for Python on Windows

Add Image Captions to a Word document in Python

Spire.Doc for Python provides a convenient method to add captions to images. Simply call the DocPicture.AddCaption(self, name: str, numberingFormat: 'CaptionNumberingFormat', captionPosition: 'CaptionPosition') method to add a caption for the image. The detailed steps are as follows:

• Create an object of the Document class.
• Use the Document.AddSection() method to add a section.
• Add a paragraph using Section.AddParagraph() method.
• Use the Paragraph.AppendPicture(self ,imgFile:str) method to add a DocPicture image object to the paragraph.
• Use the DocPicture.AddCaption(self ,name:str,numberingFormat:'CaptionNumberingFormat',captionPosition:'CaptionPosition') method to add a caption with numbering format as CaptionNumberingFormat.Number.
• Set the Document.IsUpdateFields property to true to update all fields.
• Use the Document.SaveToFile() method to save the resulting document.

from spire.doc import *
from spire.doc.common import *

# Create a Word document object
document = Document()

# Add a section
section = document.AddSection()

# Add a new paragraph and add an image to it
pictureParagraphCaption = section.AddParagraph()
pictureParagraphCaption.Format.AfterSpacing = 10
pic1 = pictureParagraphCaption.AppendPicture("Data\\1.png")
pic1.Height = 100
pic1.Width = 100

# Add a caption to the image
format = CaptionNumberingFormat.Number
pic1.AddCaption("Image", format, CaptionPosition.BelowItem)

# Add another new paragraph and add an image to it
pictureParagraphCaption = section.AddParagraph()
pic2 = pictureParagraphCaption.AppendPicture("Data\\2.png")
pic2.Height = 100
pic2.Width = 100

# Add a caption to the image
pic2.AddCaption("Image", format, CaptionPosition.BelowItem)

# Update all fields in the document
document.IsUpdateFields = True

# Save the document as a docx file
result = "AddImageCaption.docx"
document.SaveToFile(result, FileFormat.Docx2016)

# Close the document object and release resources
document.Close()
document.Dispose()

Add Table Captions to a Word document in Python

To facilitate the addition of captions to tables, Spire.Doc for Python also provides a convenient method similar to adding captions to images. You can use the Table.AddCaption(self, name:str, format:'CaptionNumberingFormat', captionPosition:'CaptionPosition') method to create a caption for the table. The following are the detailed steps:

• Create an object of the Document class.
• Use the Document.AddSection() method to add a section.
• Create a Table object and add it to the specified section in the document.
• Use the Table.ResetCells(self ,rowsNum:int,columnsNum:int) method to set the number of rows and columns in the table.
• Add a caption to the table using the Table.AddCaption(self ,name:str,format:'CaptionNumberingFormat',captionPosition:'CaptionPosition') method, specifying the caption numbering format as CaptionNumberingFormat.Number.
• Set the Document.IsUpdateFields property to true to update all fields.
• Use the Document.SaveToFile() method to save the resulting document.

from spire.doc import *
from spire.doc.common import *

# Create a Word document object
document = Document()

# Add a section
section = document.AddSection()

# Add a table
tableCaption = section.AddTable(True)
tableCaption.ResetCells(3, 2)

# Add a caption to the table
tableCaption.AddCaption("Table", CaptionNumberingFormat.Number, CaptionPosition.BelowItem)

# Add another table and caption to it
tableCaption = section.AddTable(True)
tableCaption.ResetCells(2, 3)
tableCaption.AddCaption("Table", CaptionNumberingFormat.Number, CaptionPosition.BelowItem)

# Update all fields in the document
document.IsUpdateFields = True

# Save the document as a docx file
result = "AddTableCaption.docx"
document.SaveToFile(result, FileFormat.Docx2016)

# Close the document object and release resources
document.Close()
document.Dispose()

Remove Captions from a Word document in Python

Spire.Doc for Python also supports removing captions from Word documents. Here are the detailed steps:

• Create an object of the Document class.
• Use the Document.LoadFromFile() method to load a Word document.
• Create a custom method, named detect_caption_paragraph(paragraph), to determine if a paragraph contains a caption.
• Iterate through all the Paragraph objects in the document using a loop and utilize the custom method, detect_caption_paragraph(paragraph), to identify and delete paragraphs that contain captions.
• Use the Document.SaveToFile() method to save the resulting document.

from spire.doc import *
from spire.doc.common import *

# Method to detect if a paragraph is a caption paragraph
def detect_caption_paragraph(paragraph):
    tag = False
    field = None
    
# Iterate through the child objects in the paragraph
    for i in range(len(paragraph.ChildObjects)):
        if paragraph.ChildObjects[i].DocumentObjectType == DocumentObjectType.Field:
            # Check if the child object is of Field type
            field = paragraph.ChildObjects[i]
            if field.Type == FieldType.FieldSequence:
                # Check if the Field type is FieldSequence, indicating a caption field type
                return True

    return tag

# Create a Word document object
document = Document()
# Load the sample.docx file
document.LoadFromFile("Data/sample.docx")

# Iterate through all sections
for i in range(len(document.Sections)):
    section = document.Sections.get_Item(i)
    
    # Iterate through paragraphs in reverse order within the section
    for j in range(len(section.Body.Paragraphs) - 1, -1, -1):
        # Check if the paragraph is a caption paragraph
        if detect_caption_paragraph(section.Body.Paragraphs[j]):
            # If it's a caption paragraph, remove it
            section.Body.Paragraphs.RemoveAt(j)
            
# Save the document after removing captions           
result = "DeleteCaptions.docx"
document.SaveToFile(result, FileFormat.Docx2016)

# Close the document object and release resources
document.Close()
document.Dispose()

Apply for a Temporary License

If you'd like to remove the evaluation message from the generated documents, or to get rid of the function limitations, please request a 30-day trial license for yourself.

Converting HTML to PDF in Python is a common need when you want to generate printable reports, preserve web content, or create offline documentation with consistent formatting. In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to convert HTML to PDF in Python— whether you're working with a local HTML file or a HTML string. If you're looking for a simple and reliable way to generate PDF files from HTML in Python, this guide is for you.

• Convert HTML Files to PDF
• Convert HTML String to PDF
• Customize the Conversion from HTML to PDF
  • Set a Password
  • Embed Fonts
• FAQs

Install Spire.Doc to Convert HTML to PDF Easily

To convert HTML to PDF in Python, you’ll need a reliable library that supports HTML parsing and PDF rendering. Spire.Doc for Python is a powerful and easy-to-use HTML to PDF converter library that lets you generate PDF documents from HTML content — without relying on a browser, headless engine, or third-party tools.

Install via pip

You can install the library quickly with pip:

pip install spire.doc

Alternative: Manual Installation

You can also download the Spire.Doc package and perform a custom installation if you need more control over the environment.

Tip: Spire.Doc offers a free version suitable for small projects or evaluation purposes.

Once installed, you're ready to convert HTML to PDF in Python in just a few lines of code.

Convert HTML Files to PDF in Python

Spire.Doc for Python makes it easy to convert HTML files to PDF. The Document.LoadFromFile() method supports loading various file formats, including .html, .doc, and .docx. After loading an HTML file, you can convert it to PDF by calling Document.SaveToFile() method. Follow the steps below to convert an HTML file to PDF in Python using Spire.Doc.

Steps to convert an HTML file to PDF in Python:

• Create a Document object.
• Load an HTML file using Document.LoadFromFile() method.
• Convert it to PDF using Document.SaveToFile() method.

The following code shows how to convert an HTML file directly to PDF in Python:

from spire.doc import *
from spire.doc.common import *

# Create a Document object
document = Document()

# Load an HTML file 
document.LoadFromFile("Sample.html", FileFormat.Html, XHTMLValidationType.none)

# Save the HTML file to a pdf file
document.SaveToFile("output/ToPdf.pdf", FileFormat.PDF)
document.Close()

Convert an HTML String to PDF in Python

If you want to convert an HTML string to PDF in Python, Spire.Doc for Python provides a straightforward solution. For simple HTML content like paragraphs, text styles, and basic formatting, you can use the Paragraph.AppendHTML() method to insert the HTML into a Word document. Once added, you can save the document as a PDF using the Document.SaveToFile() method.

Here are the steps to convert an HTML string to a PDF file in Python.

• Create a Document object.
• Add a section using Document.AddSection() method and insert a paragraph using Section.AddParagraph() method.
• Specify the HTML string and add it to the paragraph using Paragraph.AppendHTML() method.
• Save the document as a PDF file using Document.SaveToFile() method.

Here's the complete Python code that shows how to convert an HTML string to a PDF:

from spire.doc import *
from spire.doc.common import *

# Create a Document object
document = Document()

# Add a section to the document
sec = document.AddSection()

# Add a paragraph to the section
paragraph = sec.AddParagraph()

# Specify the HTML string
htmlString = """
<html>
<head>
    <title>HTML to Word Example</title>
    <style>
        body {
            font-family: Arial, sans-serif;
        }
        h1 {
            color: #FF5733;
            font-size: 24px;
            margin-bottom: 20px;
        }
        p {
            color: #333333;
            font-size: 16px;
            margin-bottom: 10px;
        }
        ul {
            list-style-type: disc;
            margin-left: 20px;
            margin-bottom: 15px;
        }
        li {
            font-size: 14px;
            margin-bottom: 5px;
        }
        table {
            border-collapse: collapse;
            width: 100%;
            margin-bottom: 20px;
        }
        th, td {
            border: 1px solid #CCCCCC;
            padding: 8px;
            text-align: left;
        }
        th {
            background-color: #F2F2F2;
            font-weight: bold;
        }
        td {
            color: #0000FF;
        }
    </style>
</head>
<body>
    <h1>This is a Heading</h1>
    <p>This is a paragraph.</p>
    <p>Here's an unordered list:</p>
    <ul>
        <li>Item 1</li>
        <li>Item 2</li>
        <li>Item 3</li>
    </ul>
    <p>And here's a table:</p>
    <table>
        <tr>
            <th>Name</th>
            <th>Age</th>
            <th>Gender</th>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <td>John Smith</td>
            <td>35</td>
            <td>Male</td>
        </tr>
        <tr>
            <td>Jenny Garcia</td>
            <td>27</td>
            <td>Female</td>
        </tr>
    </table>
</body>
</html>
"""

# Append the HTML string to the paragraph
paragraph.AppendHTML(htmlString)

# Save the document as a pdf file
document.SaveToFile("output/HtmlStringToPdf.pdf", FileFormat.PDF)
document.Close()

Customize the Conversion from HTML to PDF in Python

While converting HTML to PDF in Python is often straightforward, there are times when you need more control over the output. For example, you may want to set a password to protect the PDF document, or embed fonts to ensure consistent formatting across different devices. In this section, you’ll learn how to customize the HTML to PDF conversion using Spire.Doc for Python.

1. Set a Password to Protect the PDF

To prevent unauthorized viewing or editing, you can encrypt the PDF by specifying a user password and an owner password.

# Create a ToPdfParameterList object
toPdf = ToPdfParameterList()

# Set PDF encryption passwords
userPassword = "viewer"
ownerPassword = "E-iceblue"
toPdf.PdfSecurity.Encrypt(userPassword, ownerPassword, PdfPermissionsFlags.Default, PdfEncryptionKeySize.Key128Bit)

# Save as PDF with password protection
document.SaveToFile("/HtmlToPdfWithPassword.pdf", toPdf)

2. Embed Fonts to Preserve Formatting

To ensure the PDF displays correctly across all devices, you can embed all fonts used in the document.

# Create a ToPdfParameterList object
ppl = ToPdfParameterList()
ppl.IsEmbeddedAllFonts = True 

# Save as PDF with embedded fonts
document.SaveToFile("/HtmlToPdfWithEmbeddedFonts.pdf", ppl)

These options give you finer control when you convert HTML to PDF in Python, especially for professional document sharing or long-term storage scenarios.

The Conclusion

Converting HTML to PDF in Python becomes simple and flexible with Spire.Doc for Python. Whether you're handling static HTML files or dynamic HTML strings, or need to secure and customize your PDFs, this library provides everything you need — all in just a few lines of code. Get a free 30-day license and start converting HTML to high-quality PDF documents in Python today!

FAQs

Q1: Can I convert an HTML file to PDF in Python? Yes. Using Spire.Doc for Python, you can convert a local HTML file to PDF with just a few lines of code.

Q2: How do I convert HTML to PDF in Chrome? While Chrome allows manual "Save as PDF", it’s not suitable for batch or automated workflows. If you're working in Python, Spire.Doc provides a better solution for programmatically converting HTML to PDF.

Q3: How do I convert HTML to PDF without losing formatting? To preserve formatting:

• Use embedded or inline CSS (not external files).
• Use absolute URLs for images and resources.
• Embed fonts using Spire.Doc options like IsEmbeddedAllFonts(True).