Find and Highlight Text in Word with JavaScript in React

When reviewing a long document, the find and highlight feature allows users to quickly locate specific information. For example, if there are multiple people working on a research paper, the find and highlight feature can be used to flag important points or areas that need attention, making it easier for others to focus on those specific parts. This article will demonstrate how to find and highlight text in a Word document in React using Spire.Doc for JavaScript.

Install the JavaScript Library

To get started with inserting images in Word in a React application, you can either download Spire.Doc for JavaScript from our website or install it via npm with the following command:

npm i spire.doc

After that, copy the "Spire.Doc.Base.js" and "Spire.Doc.Base.wasm" files into the public folder of your project.

For more details, refer to the documentation: How to Integrate Spire.Doc for JavaScript in a React Project

Find and Highlight the First Instance of Specified Text in Word in JavaScript

The Document.FindString() method allows to find the first instance of a specified text and then you can set a highlight color for it through the TextRange.CharacterFormat.HighlightColor property. The following are the main steps:

  • Create a new document using the wasmModule.Document.Create() method.
  • Load a Word document using the Document.LoadFromFile() method.
  • Find the first instance of a specific text using the Document.FindString() method.
  • Get the instance as a single text range using the TextSelection.GetAsOneRange() method, and then highlight the text range with a background color using the TextRange.CharacterFormat.HighlightColor property.
  • Save the result document using Document.SaveToFile() method.
  • JavaScript
import React, { useState, useEffect } from 'react';

function App() {

  // State to hold the loaded WASM module
  const [wasmModule, setWasmModule] = useState(null);

  // useEffect hook to load the WASM module when the component mounts
  useEffect(() => {
    const loadWasm = async () => {
      try {

        // Access the Module and spiredoc from the global window object
        const { Module, spiredoc } = window;

        // Set the wasmModule state when the runtime is initialized
        Module.onRuntimeInitialized = () => {
          setWasmModule(spiredoc);
        };
      } catch (err) {

        // Log any errors that occur during loading
        console.error('Failed to load WASM module:', err);
      }
    };

    // Create a script element to load the WASM JavaScript file
    const script = document.createElement('script');
    script.src = `${process.env.PUBLIC_URL}/Spire.Doc.Base.js`;
    script.onload = loadWasm;

    // Append the script to the document body
    document.body.appendChild(script);

    // Cleanup function to remove the script when the component unmounts
    return () => {
      document.body.removeChild(script);
    };
  }, []);

  // Function to find and higlight a specified text in Word
  const FindHighlightFirst = async () => {
    if (wasmModule) {

      // Load the sample file into the virtual file system (VFS)
      let inputFileName = 'Spire.docx';
      await wasmModule.FetchFileToVFS(inputFileName, '', `${process.env.PUBLIC_URL}/`);

      // Create a new document
      const doc = wasmModule.Document.Create();

      // Load the Word document
      doc.LoadFromFile(inputFileName);

      // Find the first instance of a specific text
      let textSelection = doc.FindString('Spire.Doc for JavaScript', false, true);

      // Get the instance as a single text range
      let textRange = textSelection.GetAsOneRange();

      // Set highlight color
      textRange.CharacterFormat.HighlightColor = wasmModule.Color.get_Yellow();

      // Save the result document
      const outputFileName = 'FindHighlightFirst.docx';
      doc.SaveToFile({ fileName: outputFileName, fileFormat: wasmModule.FileFormat.Docx2013 });

      // Release resources
      doc.Dispose();

      // Read the generated Word file from VFS
      const modifiedFileArray = wasmModule.FS.readFile(outputFileName);

      // Create a Blob object from the Word file
      const modifiedFile = new Blob([modifiedFileArray], { type: "application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document" });
      
      // Create a URL for the Blob
      const url = URL.createObjectURL(modifiedFile);

      // Create an anchor element to trigger the download
      const a = document.createElement("a");
      a.href = url;
      a.download = outputFileName;
      document.body.appendChild(a);
      a.click();
      document.body.removeChild(a);
      URL.revokeObjectURL(url);
    }
  };
     
  return (
    <div style={{ textAlign: 'center', height: '300px' }}>
      <h1>Find and Highlight Specified Text in Word Using JavaScript in React</h1>
      <button onClick={FindHighlightFirst} disabled={!wasmModule}>
      Execute
      </button>
    </div>
 );
}
     
export default App;

Run the code to launch the React app at localhost:3000. Once it's running, click on the "Execute" button to download the result file:

Run the code to launch the React app

The result file:

Find the first occurrence of a specified text and highlight it

Find and Highlight All Instances of Specified Text in Word in JavaScript

Spire.Doc for JavaScript also provides the Document.FindAllString() method to find all instances of a specified text in a Word document. Then you can iterate through these instances and highlight each one with a background color. The following are the main steps:

  • Create a new document using the wasmModule.Document.Create() method.
  • Load a Word document using the Document.LoadFromFile() method.
  • Find all instances of a specific text in the document using the Document.FindAllString() method.
  • Iterate through each found instance and get it as a single text range using the TextSelection.GetAsOneRange() method, then highlight each text range with a bright color using the TextRange.CharacterFormat.HighlightColor property.
  • Save the result document using Document.SaveToFile() method.
  • JavaScript
import React, { useState, useEffect } from 'react';

function App() {

  // State to hold the loaded WASM module
  const [wasmModule, setWasmModule] = useState(null);

  // useEffect hook to load the WASM module when the component mounts
  useEffect(() => {
    const loadWasm = async () => {
      try {

        // Access the Module and spiredoc from the global window object
        const { Module, spiredoc } = window;

        // Set the wasmModule state when the runtime is initialized
        Module.onRuntimeInitialized = () => {
          setWasmModule(spiredoc);
        };
      } catch (err) {

        // Log any errors that occur during loading
        console.error('Failed to load WASM module:', err);
      }
    };

    // Create a script element to load the WASM JavaScript file
    const script = document.createElement('script');
    script.src = `${process.env.PUBLIC_URL}/Spire.Doc.Base.js`;
    script.onload = loadWasm;

    // Append the script to the document body
    document.body.appendChild(script);

    // Cleanup function to remove the script when the component unmounts
    return () => {
      document.body.removeChild(script);
    };
  }, []);

  // Function to find and higlight a specified text in Word
  const FindAndHighlightAll = async () => {
    if (wasmModule) {

      // Load the sample file into the virtual file system (VFS)
      let inputFileName = 'Spire.docx';
      await wasmModule.FetchFileToVFS(inputFileName, '', `${process.env.PUBLIC_URL}/`);

      // Create a new document
      const doc = wasmModule.Document.Create();

      // Load the Word document
      doc.LoadFromFile(inputFileName);

      // Find all occurrences of the specified text in the document
      let textSelections = doc.FindAllString('Spire.Doc for JavaScript', false, true);

      // Iterate through all found text selections
      for (let i = 0; i < textSelections.length; i++) {
        let selection = textSelections[i];

        // Set highlight color 
        selection.GetAsOneRange().CharacterFormat.HighlightColor = wasmModule.Color.get_Yellow();
      }

      // Save the result document
      const outputFileName = 'FindAndHighlight.docx';
      doc.SaveToFile({ fileName: outputFileName, fileFormat: wasmModule.FileFormat.Docx2013 });

      // Release resources
      doc.Dispose();

      // Read the generated Word file from VFS
      const modifiedFileArray = wasmModule.FS.readFile(outputFileName);

      // Create a Blob object from the Word file
      const modifiedFile = new Blob([modifiedFileArray], { type: "application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document" });
      
      // Create a URL for the Blob
      const url = URL.createObjectURL(modifiedFile);

      // Create an anchor element to trigger the download
      const a = document.createElement("a");
      a.href = url;
      a.download = outputFileName;
      document.body.appendChild(a);
      a.click();
      document.body.removeChild(a);
      URL.revokeObjectURL(url);
    }
  };
     
  return (
    <div style={{ textAlign: 'center', height: '300px' }}>
      <h1>Find and Highlight Specified Text in Word Using JavaScript in React</h1>
      <button onClick={FindAndHighlightAll} disabled={!wasmModule}>
      Execute
      </button>
    </div>
 );
}
     
export default App;

Get a Free License

To fully experience the capabilities of Spire.Doc for JavaScript without any evaluation limitations, you can request a free 30-day trial license.