get_document_outline

Extract the hierarchical structure of a Word document to analyze headings, sections, and content organization. Input a filename to retrieve the document outline in clear, structured format.

Instructions

Get the structure of a Word document.

Input Schema

TableJSON Schema

Name	Required	Description	Default
`filename`	Yes

Implementation Reference

word_document_server/tools/document_tools.py:81-92 (handler)

The primary handler function for the get_document_outline MCP tool. Ensures .docx extension for local files, calls get_document_structure utility, and returns the structure as JSON.

async def get_document_outline(filename: str) -> str:
    """Get the structure of a Word document from local path or URL.

    Args:
        filename: Path or URL to the Word document
    """
    # Only add .docx extension for local paths, not URLs
    if not is_url(filename):
        filename = ensure_docx_extension(filename)

    structure = get_document_structure(filename)
    return json.dumps(structure, indent=2)

word_document_server/main.py:542-545 (registration)
MCP tool registration in the main server file. Wraps the document_tools.get_document_outline function and registers it with FastMCP using the @mcp.tool() decorator.
```
@mcp.tool()
async def get_document_outline(filename: str):
    """Get the structure of a Word document."""
    return await document_tools.get_document_outline(filename)
```

word_document_server/utils/document_utils.py:107-158 (helper)

Core utility function that loads the document (handling local paths and URLs), parses paragraphs with index, preview text, and style, and tables with dimensions and preview data, returning a structured dictionary used by the tool handler.

def get_document_structure(doc_path: str) -> Dict[str, Any]:
    """Get the structure of a Word document from local path or URL."""
    doc, error, is_temp, temp_path = load_document_from_path_or_url(doc_path)

    if error:
        return {"error": error}

    try:
        structure = {
            "paragraphs": [],
            "tables": []
        }

        # Get paragraphs
        for i, para in enumerate(doc.paragraphs):
            structure["paragraphs"].append({
                "index": i,
                "text": para.text[:100] + ("..." if len(para.text) > 100 else ""),
                "style": para.style.name if para.style else "Normal"
            })

        # Get tables
        for i, table in enumerate(doc.tables):
            table_data = {
                "index": i,
                "rows": len(table.rows),
                "columns": len(table.columns),
                "preview": []
            }

            # Get sample of table data
            max_rows = min(3, len(table.rows))
            for row_idx in range(max_rows):
                row_data = []
                max_cols = min(3, len(table.columns))
                for col_idx in range(max_cols):
                    try:
                        cell_text = table.cell(row_idx, col_idx).text
                        row_data.append(cell_text[:20] + ("..." if len(cell_text) > 20 else ""))
                    except IndexError:
                        row_data.append("N/A")
                table_data["preview"].append(row_data)

            structure["tables"].append(table_data)

        return structure
    except Exception as e:
        return {"error": f"Failed to get document structure: {str(e)}"}
    finally:
        # Clean up temp file if needed
        if is_temp and temp_path:
            cleanup_temp_file(temp_path)

Office Word MCP Server