---
title: The Backstory
description: How Milton Waddams became the patron saint of legacy document processing.
---

import { Aside } from '@astrojs/starlight/components';

# The Backstory

> *"I was told I could listen to the radio at a reasonable volume from nine to eleven..."*

## The Relocation

Milton Waddams was relocated to the basement. They took his stapler. But down there, surrounded by boxes of `.doc` files from 1997 and `.xls` spreadsheets that predate Unicode, he became something else entirely.

He became a **document processing expert**.

<Aside type="tip" title="Fun Fact">
After the movie *Office Space* came out, Swingline didn't actually make a red stapler. Demand was so high they started manufacturing them. The movie created the product.
</Aside>

## The Problem

Every enterprise has them:

- **The Archive Folder** — 50,000 Word documents from before the cloud existed
- **The Legacy Database Export** — Excel files with formulas referencing cells that no longer exist
- **The Board Presentations** — PowerPoint decks with embedded charts from 2003
- **The Contract Repository** — `.doc` files that crash modern Word

AI agents can read PDFs. They can parse JSON. But Office documents? The binary formats, the OLE containers, the OOXML with custom schemas?

*Nobody wants to deal with that.*

## The Solution

**mcwaddams** handles the documents nobody else wants to touch.

```python
# Extract text from a 1997 .doc file
result = await extract_text("contract_final_FINAL_v2.doc")

# It just works
print(result["text"])
```

### What We Handle

| Format | Era | Status |
|--------|-----|--------|
| `.docx` | 2007+ | ✅ Full support |
| `.doc` | 1997-2007 | ✅ Works fine |
| `.xlsx` | 2007+ | ✅ Full support |
| `.xls` | 1997-2007 | ✅ Works fine |
| `.pptx` | 2007+ | ✅ Full support |
| `.ppt` | 1997-2007 | ✅ Works fine |

<Aside type="caution" title="Did You Get the Memo?">
If a document is password-protected or encrypted, we'll detect it and tell you. We can't extract content from encrypted files, but we won't silently fail either.
</Aside>

## The Philosophy

### 1. No Silent Failures

When python-docx can't handle a file, mammoth tries. When openpyxl fails, pandas steps in. You'll always get either content or a clear error message explaining why.

### 2. Legacy is Not Abandoned

Those `.doc` files from 2003? They're still business-critical for someone. We don't treat legacy formats as second-class citizens.

### 3. Context-Aware Extraction

Large documents get paginated automatically. The MCP resource system lets you fetch chapters on-demand. Your context window stays manageable.

### 4. Testing Painful Stuff

We threw 301 random Office documents at mcwaddams. **299 succeeded.** The 2 failures were empty/corrupt files.

See the [TPS Reports](/tps/dashboard/) for proof.

---

## The Name

Milton Waddams. The guy with the stapler. Relegated to the basement with the old filing cabinets and the roaches.

That's where the legacy documents live too.

*"I could set the building on fire..."*

---

<div style="text-align: center; margin-top: 2rem;">

**Ready to start?** → [Installation](/installation/)

</div>
