PHPOffice/PHPWord · error · PhpOffice\PhpWord\Exception\Exception

No PhpWord assigned.

Error message

No PhpWord assigned.

What it means

EPub3 Part\Content::write() serializes package metadata that requires the PhpWord document. If the phpWord property is still null at write time (part written standalone or writer constructed without a document), the part refuses to produce content and throws.

Solutions

1. Set the document on the part via setPhpWord($phpWord) before calling write().
2. Use the normal EPub3 writer flow (IOFactory::createWriter($phpWord, 'EPub3')) which assigns parts automatically.
3. Ensure the PhpWord instance passed is not null at call time.
4. In custom pipelines, assert the part is fully configured before writing.

Example fix

// before
$part = new \PhpOffice\PhpWord\Writer\EPub3\Part\Content();
$xml = $part->write(); // No PhpWord assigned
// after
$part = new \PhpOffice\PhpWord\Writer\EPub3\Part\Content();
$part->setPhpWord(new \PhpOffice\PhpWord\PhpWord());
$xml = $part->write();

function partIsWritable(\PhpOffice\PhpWord\Writer\EPub3\Part\Content $part): bool {
    $ref = new ReflectionProperty(get_class($part), 'phpWord');
    $ref->setAccessible(true);
    return $ref->getValue($part) !== null;
}

try {
    $xml = $part->write();
} catch (\PhpOffice\PhpWord\Exception\Exception $e) {
    if ($e->getMessage() === 'No PhpWord assigned.') {
        $part->setPhpWord($phpWord);
        $xml = $part->write();
    } else { throw $e; }
}

When it happens

Trigger: Instantiating the Content part directly and calling write() without setting phpWord; using the EPub3 writer without a document; custom pipelines that build parts manually and skip setPhpWord().

Common situations: Unit tests or custom writers instantiating Part\Content in isolation; forgetting setPhpWord() after manual construction; refactored code paths that bypass the standard writer flow.

Related errors

• No PhpWord assigned.
• Invalid part type
• No parent WriterInterface assigned.
• " " is not a valid writer.
• Directory does not exist: $directory

AI-assisted analysis of PHPOffice/PHPWord@aef95c0415 (2026-09-14). Data as JSON: /api/errors/78c64f0edfdb8480. Report an issue: GitHub.

Appendix: source

Thrown at src/PhpWord/Writer/EPub3/Part/Content.php:65

     *
     * @return XMLWriter
     */
    protected function getXmlWriter()
    {
        $xmlWriter = new XMLWriter();
        $xmlWriter->openMemory();
        $xmlWriter->startDocument('1.0', 'UTF-8');

        return $xmlWriter;
    }

    /**
     * Write part content.
     */
    public function write(): string
    {
        if ($this->phpWord === null) {
            throw new Exception('No PhpWord assigned.');
        }

        $xmlWriter = $this->getXmlWriter();
        $docInfo = $this->phpWord->getDocInfo();

        // Write package
        $xmlWriter->startElement('package');
        $xmlWriter->writeAttribute('xmlns', 'http://www.idpf.org/2007/opf');
        $xmlWriter->writeAttribute('version', '3.0');
        $xmlWriter->writeAttribute('unique-identifier', 'book-id');
        $xmlWriter->writeAttribute('xml:lang', 'en');

        // Write metadata
        $xmlWriter->startElement('metadata');
        $xmlWriter->writeAttribute('xmlns:dc', 'http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/');
        $xmlWriter->writeAttribute('xmlns:opf', 'http://www.idpf.org/2007/opf');

        // Required elements

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