Automatically Granting Access to folders and docx files to Microsoft Word

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Level 1

4 points

Automatically Granting Access to folders and docx files to Microsoft Word

I am working on a React/Django project which uses user input to populate a template Word document. I have no granting access issues when creating the new docx file with the rendered data using the "docxtpl" module; however, when I use the convert method from the"docx2pdf" module to convert the newly created docx file to a PDF, I have to grant Microsoft Word access to the file manually.

This is a problem because anytime a user completes the frontend form, I would have to give Word access to the file to complete the conversion to send the PDF back to the frontend. I have given Word, Python IDLE, VSCode, and even pip3 full disk access in my system preferences. I have also attempted to save the document directly to my desktop and then move it to the proper folder after converting it, to no avail. I have also tried to change the sharing and permissions of the folder containing the needed folders/files to read and write for all available options, but the settings revert after some time back to read-only.

This problem only appears for new files, but if I convert the file to a PDF and then grant access, delete the files and re-run the program with the same file name, I do not have to grant access to that file, and everything works properly. I am running Microsoft Word Version 16.68 and am on macOS Ventura 13.1. Ideally, I would like the folder containing all the needed folders/files inside my Django application, but I'm unsure how to bypass or automatically grant access to the forced grant access prompt.

MacBook Air 13″, macOS 13.1

Posted on Dec 23, 2022 10:26 AM

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Answer 1

etresoft

Level 9

56,326 points

Dec 23, 2022 5:21 PM in response to BBrighi

I'm not too sure what you are trying here.

Modern Mac apps aren't well suited to these kinds of articulated workflows. You can do the whole thing in command-line tools, you can try to get AppleScript to work, you can try the more modern Shortcuts, or you can try to do it all inside a single app. But trying to jump from the command line directly into an app, or vice versa, is really tricky.

I think you are correct about the sandbox being your blocker. There might be a quick fix. Try removing the quarantine bits from the files that Word produces. Use this command:

xattr -r -d com.apple.quarantine /path/to/my/file

Then, you will be able to treat the file as any other.

But still, you've got a fragile thing there. I recommend removing Word from the flow. There should be any number of command-line-friendly tools or Python modules that will do what you want.

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Answer 2

BBrighi Author

Level 1

4 points

Dec 23, 2022 4:08 PM in response to BBrighi

From what I can tell, this may not be possible due to the current sandbox rules, which, I believe, requires me to grant Microsoft access to the file/folder at least once. I've tried close to every solution I could find from similar forms, resulting in the same Grant Access prompt. I think my only solution is to rethink my approach to my application, but I am still open to any suggestions. Thanks.

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Automatically Granting Access to folders and docx files to Microsoft Word

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