Class ContainerElement

ContainerElement

A generic element that may contain other elements. All elements that may contain child elements, such as Paragraph, inherit from ContainerElement.

Methods

MethodReturn typeBrief description
asBody()BodyReturns the current element as a Body.
asEquation()EquationReturns the current element as an Equation.
asFooterSection()FooterSectionReturns the current element as a FooterSection.
asFootnoteSection()FootnoteSectionReturns the current element as a FootnoteSection.
asHeaderSection()HeaderSectionReturns the current element as a HeaderSection.
asListItem()ListItemReturns the current element as a ListItem.
asParagraph()ParagraphReturns the current element as a Paragraph.
asTable()TableReturns the current element as a Table.
asTableCell()TableCellReturns the current element as a TableCell.
asTableOfContents()TableOfContentsReturns the current element as a TableOfContents.
asTableRow()TableRowReturns the current element as a TableRow.
clear()ContainerElementClears the contents of the element.
copy()ContainerElementReturns a detached, deep copy of the current element.
editAsText()TextObtains a Text version of the current element, for editing.
findElement(elementType)RangeElementSearches the contents of the element for a descendant of the specified type.
findElement(elementType, from)RangeElementSearches the contents of the element for a descendant of the specified type, starting from the specified RangeElement.
findText(searchPattern)RangeElementSearches the contents of the element for the specified text pattern using regular expressions.
findText(searchPattern, from)RangeElementSearches the contents of the element for the specified text pattern, starting from a given search result.
getAttributes()ObjectRetrieves the element's attributes.
getChild(childIndex)ElementRetrieves the child element at the specified child index.
getChildIndex(child)IntegerRetrieves the child index for the specified child element.
getLinkUrl()StringRetrieves the link url.
getNextSibling()ElementRetrieves the element's next sibling element.
getNumChildren()IntegerRetrieves the number of children.
getParent()ContainerElementRetrieves the element's parent element.
getPreviousSibling()ElementRetrieves the element's previous sibling element.
getText()StringRetrieves the contents of the element as a text string.
getTextAlignment()TextAlignmentGets the text alignment.
getType()ElementTypeRetrieves the element's ElementType.
isAtDocumentEnd()BooleanDetermines whether the element is at the end of the Document.
merge()ContainerElementMerges the element with the preceding sibling of the same type.
removeFromParent()ContainerElementRemoves the element from its parent.
replaceText(searchPattern, replacement)ElementReplaces all occurrences of a given text pattern with a given replacement string, using regular expressions.
setAttributes(attributes)ContainerElementSets the element's attributes.
setLinkUrl(url)ContainerElementSets the link url.
setTextAlignment(textAlignment)ContainerElementSets the text alignment.

Detailed documentation

asBody()

Returns the current element as a Body.

Use this method to aid auto-complete whenever a given element is known to be of a specific type.

Return

Body — The current element.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents

asEquation()

Returns the current element as an Equation.

Use this method to aid auto-complete whenever a given element is known to be of a specific type.

Return

Equation — The current element.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents

asFooterSection()

Returns the current element as a FooterSection.

Use this method to aid auto-complete whenever a given element is known to be of a specific type.

Return

FooterSection — The current element.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents

asFootnoteSection()

Returns the current element as a FootnoteSection.

Use this method to aid auto-complete whenever a given element is known to be of a specific type.

Return

FootnoteSection — The current element.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents

asHeaderSection()

Returns the current element as a HeaderSection.

Use this method to aid auto-complete whenever a given element is known to be of a specific type.

Return

HeaderSection — The current element.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents

asListItem()

Returns the current element as a ListItem.

Use this method to aid auto-complete whenever a given element is known to be of a specific type.

Return

ListItem — The current element.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents

asParagraph()

Returns the current element as a Paragraph.

Use this method to aid auto-complete whenever a given element is known to be of a specific type.

Return

Paragraph — The current element.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents

asTable()

Returns the current element as a Table.

Use this method to aid auto-complete whenever a given element is known to be of a specific type.

Return

Table — The current element.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents

asTableCell()

Returns the current element as a TableCell.

Use this method to aid auto-complete whenever a given element is known to be of a specific type.

Return

TableCell — The current element.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents

asTableOfContents()

Returns the current element as a TableOfContents.

Use this method to aid auto-complete whenever a given element is known to be of a specific type.

Return

TableOfContents — The current element.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents

asTableRow()

Returns the current element as a TableRow.

Use this method to aid auto-complete whenever a given element is known to be of a specific type.

Return

TableRow — The current element.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents

clear()

Clears the contents of the element.

Return

ContainerElement — The current element.


copy()

Returns a detached, deep copy of the current element.

Any child elements present in the element are also copied. The new element doesn't have a parent.

Return

ContainerElement — The new copy.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents

editAsText()

Obtains a Text version of the current element, for editing.

Use editAsText for manipulating the elements contents as rich text. The editAsText mode ignores non-text elements (such as InlineImage and HorizontalRule).

Child elements fully contained within a deleted text range are removed from the element.

var body = DocumentApp.getActiveDocument().getActiveTab().asDocumentTab().getBody();

// Insert two paragraphs separated by a paragraph containing an
// horizontal rule.
body.insertParagraph(0, "An editAsText sample.");
body.insertHorizontalRule(0);
body.insertParagraph(0, "An example.");

// Delete " sample.\n\n An" removing the horizontal rule in the process.
body.editAsText().deleteText(14, 25);

Return

Text — a text version of the current element


findElement(elementType)

Searches the contents of the element for a descendant of the specified type.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
elementTypeElementTypeThe type of element to search for.

Return

RangeElement — A search result indicating the position of the search element.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents

findElement(elementType, from)

Searches the contents of the element for a descendant of the specified type, starting from the specified RangeElement.

var body = DocumentApp.getActiveDocument().getActiveTab().asDocumentTab().getBody();

// Define the search parameters.
var searchType = DocumentApp.ElementType.PARAGRAPH;
var searchHeading = DocumentApp.ParagraphHeading.HEADING1;
var searchResult = null;

// Search until the paragraph is found.
while (searchResult = body.findElement(searchType, searchResult)) {
  var par = searchResult.getElement().asParagraph();
  if (par.getHeading() == searchHeading) {
    // Found one, update and stop.
    par.setText('This is the first header.');
    return;
  }
}

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
elementTypeElementTypeThe type of element to search for.
fromRangeElementThe search result to search from.

Return

RangeElement — A search result indicating the next position of the search element.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents

findText(searchPattern)

Searches the contents of the element for the specified text pattern using regular expressions.

A subset of the JavaScript regular expression features are not fully supported, such as capture groups and mode modifiers.

The provided regular expression pattern is independently matched against each text block contained in the current element.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
searchPatternStringthe pattern to search for

Return

RangeElement — a search result indicating the position of the search text, or null if there is no match

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents

findText(searchPattern, from)

Searches the contents of the element for the specified text pattern, starting from a given search result.

A subset of the JavaScript regular expression features are not fully supported, such as capture groups and mode modifiers.

The provided regular expression pattern is independently matched against each text block contained in the current element.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
searchPatternStringthe pattern to search for
fromRangeElementthe search result to search from

Return

RangeElement — a search result indicating the next position of the search text, or null if there is no match

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents

getAttributes()

Retrieves the element's attributes.

The result is an object containing a property for each valid element attribute where each property name corresponds to an item in the DocumentApp.Attribute enumeration.

var doc = DocumentApp.getActiveDocument();
var documentTab = doc.getActiveTab().asDocumentTab();
var body = documentTab.getBody();

// Append a styled paragraph.
var par = body.appendParagraph('A bold, italicized paragraph.');
par.setBold(true);
par.setItalic(true);

// Retrieve the paragraph's attributes.
var atts = par.getAttributes();

// Log the paragraph attributes.
for (var att in atts) {
  Logger.log(att + ":" + atts[att]);
}

Return

Object — The element's attributes.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents

getChild(childIndex)

Retrieves the child element at the specified child index.

var body = DocumentApp.getActiveDocument().getActiveTab().asDocumentTab().getBody();

// Obtain the first element in the tab.
var firstChild = body.getChild(0);

// If it's a paragraph, set its contents.
if (firstChild.getType() == DocumentApp.ElementType.PARAGRAPH) {
  firstChild.asParagraph().setText("This is the first paragraph.");
}

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
childIndexIntegerThe index of the child element to retrieve.

Return

Element — The child element at the specified index.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents

getChildIndex(child)

Retrieves the child index for the specified child element.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
childElementThe child element for which to retrieve the index.

Return

Integer — The child index.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents

getLinkUrl()

Retrieves the link url.

Return

String — the link url, or null if the element contains multiple values for this attribute

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents

getNextSibling()

Retrieves the element's next sibling element.

The next sibling has the same parent and follows the current element.

Return

Element — The next sibling element.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents

getNumChildren()

Retrieves the number of children.

var body = DocumentApp.getActiveDocument().getActiveTab().asDocumentTab().getBody();

// Log the number of elements in the tab.
Logger.log("There are " + body.getNumChildren() +
    " elements in the tab's body.");

Return

Integer — The number of children.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents

getParent()

Retrieves the element's parent element.

The parent element contains the current element.

Return

ContainerElement — The parent element.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents

getPreviousSibling()

Retrieves the element's previous sibling element.

The previous sibling has the same parent and precedes the current element.

Return

Element — The previous sibling element.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents

getText()

Retrieves the contents of the element as a text string.

Return

String — the contents of the element as text string

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents

getTextAlignment()

Gets the text alignment. The available types of alignment are DocumentApp.TextAlignment.NORMAL, DocumentApp.TextAlignment.SUBSCRIPT, and DocumentApp.TextAlignment.SUPERSCRIPT.

Return

TextAlignment — the type of text alignment, or null if the text contains multiple types of text alignments or if the text alignment has never been set

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents

getType()

Retrieves the element's ElementType.

Use getType() to determine the exact type of a given element.

var doc = DocumentApp.getActiveDocument();
var documentTab = doc.getActiveTab().asDocumentTab();
var body = documentTab.getBody();

// Obtain the first element in the active tab's body.

var firstChild = body.getChild(0);

// Use getType() to determine the element's type.
if (firstChild.getType() == DocumentApp.ElementType.PARAGRAPH) {
  Logger.log('The first element is a paragraph.');
} else {
  Logger.log('The first element is not a paragraph.');
}

Return

ElementType — The element type.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents

isAtDocumentEnd()

Determines whether the element is at the end of the Document.

Return

Boolean — Whether the element is at the end of the tab.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents

merge()

Merges the element with the preceding sibling of the same type.

Only elements of the same ElementType can be merged. Any child elements contained in the current element are moved to the preceding sibling element.

The current element is removed from the document.

var doc = DocumentApp.getActiveDocument();
var documentTab = doc.getActiveTab().asDocumentTab();
var body = documentTab.getBody();

// Example 1: Merge paragraphs
// Append two paragraphs to the document's active tab.
var par1 = body.appendParagraph('Paragraph 1.');
var par2 = body.appendParagraph('Paragraph 2.');
// Merge the newly added paragraphs into a single paragraph.
par2.merge();

// Example 2: Merge table cells
// Create a two-dimensional array containing the table's cell contents.
var cells = [
['Row 1, Cell 1', 'Row 1, Cell 2'],
['Row 2, Cell 1', 'Row 2, Cell 2']
];
// Build a table from the array.
var table = body.appendTable(cells);
// Get the first row in the table.
 var row = table.getRow(0);
// Get the two cells in this row.
var cell1 = row.getCell(0);
var cell2 = row.getCell(1);
// Merge the current cell into its preceding sibling element.
var merged = cell2.merge();

Return

ContainerElement — The merged element.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents

removeFromParent()

Removes the element from its parent.

var doc = DocumentApp.getActiveDocument();
var documentTab = doc.getActiveTab().asDocumentTab()
var body = documentTab.getBody();

// Remove all images in the active tab's body.
var imgs = body.getImages();
for (var i = 0; i < imgs.length; i++) {
  imgs[i].removeFromParent();
}

Return

ContainerElement — The removed element.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents

replaceText(searchPattern, replacement)

Replaces all occurrences of a given text pattern with a given replacement string, using regular expressions.

The search pattern is passed as a string, not a JavaScript regular expression object. Because of this you'll need to escape any backslashes in the pattern.

This methods uses Google's RE2 regular expression library, which limits the supported syntax.

The provided regular expression pattern is independently matched against each text block contained in the current element.

var body = DocumentApp.getActiveDocument().getActiveTab().asDocumentTab().getBody();

// Clear the text surrounding "Apps Script", with or without text.
body.replaceText("^.*Apps ?Script.*$", "Apps Script");

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
searchPatternStringthe regex pattern to search for
replacementStringthe text to use as replacement

Return

Element — the current element

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents

setAttributes(attributes)

Sets the element's attributes.

The specified attributes parameter must be an object where each property name is an item in the DocumentApp.Attribute enumeration and each property value is the new value to be applied.

var doc = DocumentApp.getActiveDocument();
var documentTab = doc.getActiveTab().asDocumentTab();
var body = documentTab.getBody();

// Define a custom paragraph style.
var style = {};
style[DocumentApp.Attribute.HORIZONTAL_ALIGNMENT] =
    DocumentApp.HorizontalAlignment.RIGHT;
style[DocumentApp.Attribute.FONT_FAMILY] = 'Calibri';
style[DocumentApp.Attribute.FONT_SIZE] = 18;
style[DocumentApp.Attribute.BOLD] = true;

// Append a plain paragraph.
var par = body.appendParagraph('A paragraph with custom style.');

// Apply the custom style.
par.setAttributes(style);

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
attributesObjectThe element's attributes.

Return

ContainerElement — The current element.

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents

setLinkUrl(url)

Sets the link url.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
urlStringthe link url

Return

ContainerElement — the current element

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents

setTextAlignment(textAlignment)

Sets the text alignment. The available types of alignment are DocumentApp.TextAlignment.NORMAL, DocumentApp.TextAlignment.SUBSCRIPT, and DocumentApp.TextAlignment.SUPERSCRIPT.

// Make the entire first paragraph in the active tab be superscript.
var documentTab = DocumentApp.getActiveDocument().getActiveTab().asDocumentTab();
var text = documentTab.getBody().getParagraphs()[0].editAsText();
text.setTextAlignment(DocumentApp.TextAlignment.SUPERSCRIPT);

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
textAlignmentTextAlignmentthe type of text alignment to apply

Return

ContainerElement — the current element

Authorization

Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:

  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
  • https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents