PHPOffice/PHPWord · error · Exception

" " is not a valid .

Error message

"{$name}" is not a valid {$type}.

What it means

IOFactory::createObject() maps "PhpOffice\PhpWord\{$type}\{$name}" to a class (used by createReader with type 'Reader'). If the class does not exist or is not a concrete instantiable class, a PhpWord Exception is thrown. Effectively a whitelist+autoloader check for reader names like 'Word2007'.

Solutions

1. Use an exact supported reader name: 'Word2007', 'ODText', 'RTF', 'HTML' (check src/PhpWord/Reader/ for available classes).
2. Ensure composer dump-autoload has run and the PhpWord package is installed correctly.
3. Verify the requested reader class exists and is concrete (createObject checks isConcreteClass).
4. Catch PhpWord Exception around createReader for dynamic format names.

Example fix

// before
$reader = IOFactory::createReader('docx');
// after
$reader = IOFactory::createReader('Word2007');

$readers = ['Word2007', 'ODText', 'RTF', 'HTML']; // classes present in src/PhpWord/Reader
if (!in_array($name, $readers, true)) { throw new DomainException('Unsupported reader'); }

function readerClassExists(string $name): bool { return class_exists('PhpOffice\\PhpWord\\Reader\\' . $name) && (new \ReflectionClass('PhpOffice\\PhpWord\\Reader\\' . $name))->isInstantiable(); }

try { $reader = IOFactory::createReader($name); } catch (\PhpOffice\PhpWord\Exception\Exception $e) { log('unsupported reader: ' . $e->getMessage()); }

When it happens

Trigger: IOFactory::createReader('docx') (lowercase → class PhpWord\Reader\docx missing), createReader('ODText') where the Reader\ODText class doesn't exist, or any name whose corresponding Reader class fails to autoload or is abstract/interface.

Common situations: Using format names/aliases that don't match a Reader class, typos, expecting readers for formats the library can't read (e.g. PDF), or composer autoloading not generating classmaps.

Related errors

• " " is not a valid writer.
• Cannot read .
• Cannot read .
• Invalid part type
• Invalid value, on of ' . implode(', ', $position) . '…

AI-assisted analysis of PHPOffice/PHPWord@aef95c0415 (2026-09-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/8cf2a4e8c0cd52cc. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src/PhpWord/IOFactory.php:76

    }

    /**
     * Create new object.
     *
     * @param string $type
     * @param string $name
     * @param PhpWord $phpWord
     *
     * @return ReaderInterface|WriterInterface
     */
    private static function createObject($type, $name, $phpWord = null)
    {
        $class = "PhpOffice\\PhpWord\\{$type}\\{$name}";
        if (class_exists($class) && self::isConcreteClass($class)) {
            return new $class($phpWord);
        }

        throw new Exception("\"{$name}\" is not a valid {$type}.");
    }

    /**
     * Loads PhpWord from file.
     *
     * @param string $filename The name of the file
     * @param string $readerName
     *
     * @return PhpWord $phpWord
     */
    public static function load($filename, $readerName = 'Word2007')
    {
        /** @var ReaderInterface $reader */
        $reader = self::createReader($readerName);

        return $reader->load($filename);
    }

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