Generate Bullet Lists from Data Source Leave feedback
Bullet lists are a common way to display collections of items in documents. GroupDocs.Assembly for Python via .NET makes it easy to generate bulleted lists by iterating over data collections using foreach data bands within list structures.
The main classes involved are:
- DocumentAssembler - assembles documents
- DataSourceInfo - wraps data sources
Here are the steps to generate bullet lists:
- Create a bullet list in your template document
- Add a foreach data band within the list to iterate over your collection
- Reference collection item properties in list items
- Close the foreach data band
- Assemble the document with your collection data
NoteThe foreach data band automatically repeats list items for each element in the collection, creating a complete bulleted list with all data items.
Create a bullet list from a list of dicts:
from groupdocs.assembly import DataSourceInfo, DocumentAssembler
# Create sample data
products = [
{"Name": "Harbor Blend whole bean coffee", "Description": "Medium roast, roasted weekly"},
{"Name": "Aged harbour cheddar", "Description": "Matured for two years"},
{"Name": "Cold-pressed olive oil", "Description": "First cold pressing"},
]
# Assemble document
assembler = DocumentAssembler()
assembler.assemble_document("product-bullets.docx", "product-bullets-report.docx",
DataSourceInfo(products, "products"))
print("Bullet list generated successfully.")
The following sample file is used in this example: product-bullets.docx
Binary file (DOCX, 8 KB)
In your template document (product-bullets.docx), create a bullet list with this structure:
We provide the following products:
• <<foreach [in products]>><<[Name]>> - <<[Description]>>
<</foreach>>
The data band opens inside the bulleted paragraph and closes at the start of the next one, so the band holds the whole list paragraph and each product gets a bullet of its own. After assembly, you’ll get:
We provide the following products:
• Harbor Blend whole bean coffee - Medium roast, roasted weekly
• Aged harbour cheddar - Matured for two years
• Cold-pressed olive oil - First cold pressing
ADO.NET’s DataTable has no Python counterpart. Rows read from a database become a list of dicts, which the template reads the same way. This example reads the products from an SQLite table with Python’s sqlite3 module:
import sqlite3
from groupdocs.assembly import DataSourceInfo, DocumentAssembler
# Create a table
connection = sqlite3.connect(":memory:")
connection.row_factory = sqlite3.Row
connection.execute("CREATE TABLE Products (Name TEXT, Description TEXT)")
# Add rows
connection.executemany("INSERT INTO Products VALUES (?, ?)", [
("Harbor Blend whole bean coffee", "Medium roast, roasted weekly"),
("Aged harbour cheddar", "Matured for two years"),
("Cold-pressed olive oil", "First cold pressing"),
])
# Each row becomes a dict: its column names are the member names the template reads
products = [dict(row) for row in connection.execute("SELECT Name, Description FROM Products")]
connection.close()
assembler = DocumentAssembler()
assembler.assemble_document("product-bullets.docx", "product-bullets-from-database.docx",
DataSourceInfo(products, "products"))
print("Bullet list generated from database rows successfully.")
The following sample file is used in this example: product-bullets.docx
Binary file (DOCX, 8 KB)
For simple lists showing only names:
from groupdocs.assembly import DataSourceInfo, DocumentAssembler
items = [
"Next-day delivery",
"Cold-chain storage",
"Menu pairing advice",
]
assembler = DocumentAssembler()
assembler.assemble_document("simple-bullets.docx", "simple-bullets-report.docx",
DataSourceInfo(items, "items"))
print("Simple bullet list generated successfully.")
The following sample file is used in this example: simple-bullets.docx
Binary file (DOCX, 8 KB)
Template for simple list:
Items:
• <<foreach [item in items]>><<[item]>>
<</foreach>>
A string has no members to name, so the data band names its iteration variable (item) and outputs the item itself with <<[item]>>.
Bullet lists work in spreadsheet templates too:
from groupdocs.assembly import DataSourceInfo, DocumentAssembler
products = [
{"Name": "Harbor Blend whole bean coffee", "Description": "Medium roast, roasted weekly"},
{"Name": "Aged harbour cheddar", "Description": "Matured for two years"},
]
assembler = DocumentAssembler()
assembler.assemble_document("product-bullets.xlsx", "product-bullets-report.xlsx",
DataSourceInfo(products, "products"))
print("Bullet list generated in spreadsheet successfully.")
The following sample file is used in this example: product-bullets.xlsx
Binary file (XLSX, 7 KB)
In the spreadsheet, the data band is a row: its first cell opens the band and its last cell closes it, and the bullet character is part of the cell text:
| Product | Description |
|---|---|
<<foreach [in products]>>• <<[Name]>> | <<[Description]>><</foreach>> |
Generate bullet lists in email messages. This template is an EML file whose plain-text body holds the data band:
from groupdocs.assembly import DataSourceInfo, DocumentAssembler
products = [
{"Name": "Harbor Blend whole bean coffee", "Description": "Medium roast, roasted weekly"},
{"Name": "Aged harbour cheddar", "Description": "Matured for two years"},
]
assembler = DocumentAssembler()
assembler.assemble_document("product-bullets.eml", "product-bullets-report.eml",
DataSourceInfo(products, "products"))
print("Bullet list generated in email successfully.")
The following sample file is used in this example: product-bullets.eml
Binary file (EML, 877 bytes)
The message body:
We provide the following products:
<<foreach [in products]>>• <<[Name]>> - <<[Description]>>
<</foreach>>
Harbor Lane Provisions
WarningIn Word documents, ensure the bullet list formatting is applied in the template. The foreach data band will repeat the list item format for each collection element.
To learn more about nested bullet lists, conditional list items, and advanced list formatting, please refer to the advanced usage section.
You may easily run the code above and see the feature in action in our GitHub examples:
- GroupDocs.Assembly for .NET examples, plugins, and showcase
- GroupDocs.Assembly for Java examples, plugins, and showcase
- GroupDocs.Assembly for Python via .NET examples, plugins, and showcase
Along with the full-featured library, we provide simple but powerful free online apps.
To assemble documents from templates and data sources, you can use the online apps from the GroupDocs.Assembly App Product Family.
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