[1001] Change the background color of a specific cell in a table using the python-docx library

To change the background color of a specific cell in a table using the python-docx library, you need to manipulate the cell's XML directly. Unfortunately, python-docx does not provide a built-in method for setting the background color of table cells. However, you can achieve this by editing the cell's XML properties.

Here is an example of how you can do this:

from docx import Document
from docx.oxml import OxmlElement
from docx.oxml.ns import qn
 
def set_cell_background_color(cell, color):
    """
    Set background color for a cell.
    
    :param cell: The cell to format
    :param color: The color as a hex string, e.g. 'FFFF00' for yellow
    """
    # Get the cell properties element
    tcPr = cell._element.get_or_add_tcPr()
    
    # Create and set the shading element
    shd = OxmlElement('w:shd')
    shd.set(qn('w:fill'), color)
    tcPr.append(shd)
 
# Example usage
doc = Document()
 
# Add a table
table = doc.add_table(rows=2, cols=2)
 
# Add some text to the cells
table.cell(0, 0).text = "Cell 1"
table.cell(0, 1).text = "Cell 2"
table.cell(1, 0).text = "Cell 3"
table.cell(1, 1).text = "Cell 4"
 
# Change the background color of a specific cell (e.g., cell(0, 1))
set_cell_background_color(table.cell(0, 1), 'FFFF00')  # Yellow color
 
# Save the document
doc.save('table_with_colored_cell.docx')

Explanation:

1. Import Necessary Modules: Import the Document class from python-docx and XML manipulation utilities.
2. Define set_cell_background_color Function:
   • This function takes a cell and a color (in hex format) as arguments.
   • It accesses the cell's properties (tcPr).
   • It creates a new shading (shd) element and sets the fill attribute to the specified color.
   • Finally, it appends the shading element to the cell's properties.
3. Example Usage:
   • Create a new Word document.
   • Add a table with 2 rows and 2 columns.
   • Fill the table cells with some text.
   • Call the set_cell_background_color function to change the background color of the cell at position (0, 1) to yellow.
   • Save the document.

Notes:

• The color should be provided as a hex string without the hash symbol, e.g., 'FFFF00' for yellow.
• This method directly manipulates the underlying XML of the Word document, which is necessary since python-docx does not provide direct support for this feature.