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Bug: DOCX exports are non-editable in Word for iPad #94
Description
Bug: DOCX exports are non-editable in Microsoft Word for iPad due to missing settings.xml
Summary
DOCX files generated by Obsidian Document Exporter open successfully in Microsoft Word for iPad but cannot be edited.
The document renders correctly, but Word disables its editing controls.
I isolated the problem to the absence of word/settings.xml and its required OOXML relationship/content-type registration.
Adding only these elements to an otherwise unchanged Document Exporter DOCX makes the document editable in Word for iPad.
Environment
- Obsidian with Document Exporter plugin
- Export format: Microsoft Word (
.docx) - Microsoft Word for iPad
- Active Microsoft 365 subscription
Symptoms
A DOCX exported by Document Exporter:
- opens and renders normally in Word for iPad
- displays text, formatting, and embedded images correctly
- shows no corruption or protection warning
- has its editing controls disabled
- cannot be edited
Documents created directly in Word on the same iPad are editable normally.
The behaviour is the same whether the exported DOCX is opened from iCloud Files or uploaded to OneDrive and opened directly from within Word.
Cause isolated by A/B test
I tested the original non-editable Document Exporter DOCX without changing its document content, styles, formatting, or embedded image.
Test A — original export
The Document Exporter package did not contain:
word/settings.xml
There was consequently no settings relationship in:
word/_rels/document.xml.rels
and no settings registration in:
[Content_Types].xml
Result in Word for iPad:
Document renders but is not editable.
Test B — settings added
I modified the same DOCX by adding only:
word/settings.xml- the settings relationship in
word/_rels/document.xml.rels - the settings content-type registration in
[Content_Types].xml
No document content or formatting was changed.
Result in Word for iPad:
The document became editable.
Required relationship
word/_rels/document.xml.rels needs a relationship to the settings part, for example:
<Relationship
Id="rIdSettings"
Type="http://schemas.openxmlformats.org/officeDocument/2006/relationships/settings"
Target="settings.xml"/>
The actual relationship ID can of course be assigned as appropriate by the exporter.
Required content type
[Content_Types].xml needs to register the settings part:
<Override
PartName="/word/settings.xml"
ContentType="application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.settings+xml"/>
settings.xml
The test file used a valid Word settings part containing the standard Word compatibility setting, including:
<w:compat>
<w:compatSetting
w:name="compatibilityMode"
w:uri="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/word"
w:val="15"/>
</w:compat>
Expected behaviour
DOCX files exported by Document Exporter should open as editable documents in Microsoft Word for iPad.
Actual behaviour
Without word/settings.xml and its associated relationship/content-type registration, Word for iPad opens the exported document in a non-editable state.
Adding those components makes the same document editable.
Suggested fix
When generating DOCX files:
- Generate a valid
word/settings.xml. - Add the settings relationship to
word/_rels/document.xml.rels. - Register
/word/settings.xmlin[Content_Types].xml.
This was sufficient in my controlled test to change the same Document Exporter DOCX from non-editable to editable in Microsoft Word for iPad.
Activity
rogerdigital commentedon Sep 27, 2026
@codemaestro The DOCX compatibility fix from PR #95 is merged into
mainbut has not been released yet. Could you check this candidate in the native Word for iPad app?Download the validation DOCX
This sample was generated by the updated DOCX renderer at
d18ece3. It contains text and an embedded PNG. I checked the ZIP integrity and XML, includingword/settings.xml, its relationship, and its content-type entry. Its SHA-256 is5ae4025de23b6024798298f5710ba803cf92e6153af966f5a5711bbf81ad7b0c.Please try to edit the sentence, save the document, close it, and reopen it. If possible, repeat this once from iCloud Files and once from OneDrive, as in your original report. Please let us know whether editing and saving work for each path, and include the iPadOS and Word versions. If either path fails, a screenshot of the disabled controls or any message would help.
I do not have an iPad, so native Word for iPad validation remains pending until we have your result. Thank you.
codemaestro commentedon Sep 29, 2026
@rogerdigital Thanks, Roger, for allowing me to test this. I have confirmed the file can be opened, edited, saved, reopened, and still editable on both iOS and OneDrive versions.
I tested using both Word for iPad and Word for iPhone.
However, I did not see the embedded PNG file.
Word for iPad 2.114.26092517
iPadOS 26.6.2
codemaestro commentedon Sep 29, 2026
rogerdigital commentedon Sep 30, 2026
@codemaestro Thank you for confirming that the first candidate could be edited, saved, and reopened in Word for iPad and iPhone.
I found an error in that first test sample: its PNG was 1 × 1 pixel and had an invalid image checksum. It was not a valid image-rendering test. Sorry for the bad sample. Please use only this corrected file for the remaining check:
Download the corrected DOCX (
word-for-ipad-image-candidate-v2.docx, SHA-25688f4a103b9428a24960b8a263c23168930f2047e8f93883c5051a3360ca88347). This sample was generated by the DOCX renderer merged in PR #95; it is not a released plugin version. I retrieved the published file from GitHub and verified its ZIP/XML structure, settings relationship, and valid 640 × 240 red PNG. LibreOffice displays the text and red image.Could you test the corrected file in the native Word for iPad app using two separate, initially unedited copies?
Please report the result for each path separately, including any warning or disabled editing controls. Your iPadOS and Word versions from the earlier reply are enough unless they changed. If you meant to attach screenshots in your next comment, GitHub did not include any attachment links in that comment; please upload them through the GitHub web page if still relevant.
codemaestro commentedon Sep 30, 2026
Hi @rogerdigital
iCloud Drive in Files
OneDrive version
Special note:
Performed the same steps from iCloud Files and OneDrive on iPhone 14 Pro. Word could open the files and enable editing. However, only OneDrive showed the onscreen keyboard. Word for iPhone introduced a bug after the weekend where opening files from iCloud Files into Word does not show the onscreen keyboard even when editing is enabled.
rogerdigital commentedon Sep 30, 2026
The fix is now available in Document Exporter 1.0.2.
Thank you for verifying the corrected DOCX candidate in Word for iPad through both iCloud Files and OneDrive, including the embedded image, editing, saving, and reopening. The published plugin includes the same DOCX compatibility fix, and the release assets have been checked.
Please update the plugin and export your notes again; existing DOCX files are not changed by the update. Closing this issue as completed. If a newly exported document still has the original problem, please let us know here so it can be reopened.
codemaestro commentedon Oct 1, 2026
Hi @rogerdigital! I tested the updated plugin and confirmed the exported DOCX files are editable on Word for iPad. It would be great if Obsidian incorporated your work into the core plugins. Thanks for the quick fix!