Template-Based Document Generation

Generate a Word document from your existing template and the information you supply. Keep the structure your team has already agreed on, use the right content in the right places, and see what still needs attention before the document is shared.

This skill is for recurring documents such as proposals, statements of work, customer letters, and project reports. It works from a copy of a .docx template, preserving the original and retaining untouched logos, styles, headers, footers, and other document elements.

What you can generate

Use the same template for different customers, projects, or reporting periods. Depending on the template and supplied data, the skill can:

• Replace placeholders and fill supported Word content controls.
• Format dates, amounts, counts, and yes/no values consistently.
• Repeat a table row for each item in a list, such as services or deliverables, showing a grouping column such as Phase only on the first row of each group.
• Remove drafting guidance and optional sections when they do not apply.
• Add paragraphs at a defined location for longer answers or summaries.
• Update fields in the document body, headers, footers, and footnotes.

The result is an editable Word document, accompanied by a summary of changes and any items that need review.

Before you start

Provide the Word template, the data to include, and any rules for this document. For example, identify an optional section that should be removed, the date format to use, or the wording to insert when a value is unavailable.

Structured data works best: named fields for customer details, a list of line items, and clear values for dates and amounts. The template must be an actual .docx file; a screenshot or a text description of its layout is not enough.

Example requests

Create a customer proposal

Use Template-Based Document Generation to create a proposal from the attached Word template and customer data. Add one table row per service, use the supplied prices, and remove the optional support section if support is not included. Return the completed Word document and flag anything still missing.

Prepare a project report

Generate this month’s project report using the attached template and the status data below. Use the supplied milestones and dates, summarize the progress notes in the executive summary, and list any information that needs confirmation.

Generate a letter with incomplete information

Create a customer letter using this template and the supplied details. Use “To be confirmed” for a missing contact name, but stop if the customer name or reference number is missing. Keep the existing letterhead and footer.

How it works

The agent first inspects the template to identify fields, tables, instructions, and content that cannot safely be changed. It then maps the supplied information to those locations and previews the planned edits before generating the document.

The scripts check the result against both the original template and the plan. Changes outside the plan fail verification. If a later attempt fails, the last successfully verified document is retained.

Missing information is handled explicitly. A required value stops generation; an agreed placeholder or empty field is recorded for review. Values the agent derives from your input, such as a summary or a combined name, are also flagged. Facts that are not supported by the input should never be invented.

Understanding the result

These checks verify the edits, not the document’s appearance in Word. Open the finished file to review page breaks, table widths, and text overflow before distributing it. The change report includes document text and supplied values, so handle it with the same care as the document itself.

Supported environment and limits

The skill targets Copilot Studio and requires a runtime that can execute Python 3.10 or later and read and write local files. Its scripts use only the Python standard library and do not make network requests.

It generates documents from existing Word templates. Creating a layout from scratch, exporting to PDF, processing spreadsheets, and extracting data from source documents require other tools.

Signed or macro-enabled templates are refused. Date pickers, drop-down lists, data-bound controls, text inside tracked changes, and Word field results cannot be filled by this skill; unsupported fields are reported for review.

For maintainers

From the extracted skill directory, run the following checks with a short, writable temporary path in place of <workdir>:

python scripts/run_job.py doctor --workdir <workdir>
python scripts/build_fixtures.py --check
python scripts/run_job.py selftest --workdir <workdir>

On Windows doctor fails when the work directory is too deep for a job to be written, and says how much room is left; move it rather than retrying.

The bundled tests use synthetic documents to check filling, formatting, document preservation, unsafe deletions, and failure handling. They also run the example plan in references/examples/, so the example cannot drift from the scripts. The fixtures contain no customer data.

See SKILL.md for the agent workflow, the contract for the plan and data formats, and verification guidance for checks and report details.