Containers

Containers are objects where you can put elements (texts, lists, tables, etc). There are 3 main containers, i.e. sections, headers, and footers. There are 3 elements that can also act as containers, i.e. textruns, table cells, and footnotes.

Sections

Every visible element in word is placed inside of a section. To create a section, use the following code:

$section = $phpWord->addSection($sectionStyle);

The $sectionStyle is an optional associative array that sets the section. Example:

$sectionStyle = array(
    'orientation' => 'landscape',
    'marginTop' => 600,
    'colsNum' => 2,
);

Page number

You can change a section page number by using the pageNumberingStart style of the section.

// Method 1
$section = $phpWord->addSection(array('pageNumberingStart' => 1));

// Method 2
$section = $phpWord->addSection();
$section->getStyle()->setPageNumberingStart(1);

Multicolumn

You can change a section layout to multicolumn (like in a newspaper) by using the breakType and colsNum style of the section.

// Method 1
$section = $phpWord->addSection(array('breakType' => 'continuous', 'colsNum' => 2));

// Method 2
$section = $phpWord->addSection();
$section->getStyle()->setBreakType('continuous');
$section->getStyle()->setColsNum(2);

Line numbering

You can apply line numbering to a section by using the lineNumbering style of the section.

// Method 1
$section = $phpWord->addSection(array('lineNumbering' => array()));

// Method 2
$section = $phpWord->addSection();
$section->getStyle()->setLineNumbering(array());

Below are the properties of the line numbering style.

  • start Line numbering starting value
  • increment Line number increments
  • distance Distance between text and line numbering in twip
  • restart Line numbering restart setting continuous|newPage|newSection

Headers

Each section can have its own header reference. To create a header use the addHeader method:

$header = $section->addHeader();

Be sure to save the result in a local object. You can use all elements that are available for the footer. See “Footer” section for detail. Additionally, only inside of the header reference you can add watermarks or background pictures. See “Watermarks” section.

Footers

Each section can have its own footer reference. To create a footer, use the addFooter method:

$footer = $section->addFooter();

Be sure to save the result in a local object to add elements to a footer. You can add the following elements to footers:

  • Texts addText and createTextrun
  • Text breaks
  • Images
  • Tables
  • Preserve text

See the “Elements” section for the detail of each elements.

Other containers

Textruns, table cells, and footnotes are elements that can also act as containers. See the corresponding “Elements” section for the detail of each elements.