Class Document

A document, containing rich text and elements such as tables and lists.

Documents may be opened or created using DocumentApp.

// Open a document by ID.
var doc = DocumentApp.openById("<my-id>");

// Create and open a document.
doc = DocumentApp.create("Document Title");

Methods

Method	Return type	Brief description
`addBookmark(position)`	`Bookmark`	Adds a `Bookmark` at the given `Position`.
`addEditor(emailAddress)`	`Document`	Adds the given user to the list of editors for the `Document`.
`addEditor(user)`	`Document`	Adds the given user to the list of editors for the `Document`.
`addEditors(emailAddresses)`	`Document`	Adds the given array of users to the list of editors for the `Document`.
`addFooter()`	`FooterSection`	Adds a document footer section, if none exists.
`addHeader()`	`HeaderSection`	Adds a document header section, if none exists.
`addNamedRange(name, range)`	`NamedRange`	Adds a `NamedRange`, which is a `Range` that has a name and ID to use for later retrieval.
`addViewer(emailAddress)`	`Document`	Adds the given user to the list of viewers for the `Document`.
`addViewer(user)`	`Document`	Adds the given user to the list of viewers for the `Document`.
`addViewers(emailAddresses)`	`Document`	Adds the given array of users to the list of viewers for the `Document`.
`getAs(contentType)`	`Blob`	Retrieves the current `Document` contents as a blob of the specified type.
`getBlob()`	`Blob`	Retrieves the current `Document` contents as a blob.
`getBody()`	`Body`	Retrieves the active document's `Body`.
`getBookmark(id)`	`Bookmark`	Gets the `Bookmark` with the given ID.
`getBookmarks()`	`Bookmark[]`	Gets all `Bookmark` objects in the document.
`getCursor()`	`Position`	Gets the user's cursor in the active document.
`getEditors()`	`User[]`	Gets the list of editors for this `Document`.
`getFooter()`	`FooterSection`	Retrieves the document's footer section, if one exists.
`getFootnotes()`	`Footnote[]`	Retrieves all the `Footnote` elements in the document body.
`getHeader()`	`HeaderSection`	Retrieves the document's header section, if one exists.
`getId()`	`String`	Retrieves the document's unique identifier.
`getLanguage()`	`String`	Gets the document's language code.
`getName()`	`String`	Retrieves the title of the document.
`getNamedRangeById(id)`	`NamedRange`	Gets the `NamedRange` with the given ID.
`getNamedRanges()`	`NamedRange[]`	Gets all `NamedRange` objects in the document.
`getNamedRanges(name)`	`NamedRange[]`	Gets all `NamedRange` objects in the document with the given name.
`getSelection()`	`Range`	Gets the user's selection in the active document.
`getSupportedLanguageCodes()`	`String[]`	Gets all language codes that are supported in Google Docs files.
`getUrl()`	`String`	Retrieves the URL to access the current document.
`getViewers()`	`User[]`	Gets the list of viewers and commenters for this `Document`.
`newPosition(element, offset)`	`Position`	Creates a new `Position`, which is a reference to a location in the document, relative to a specific element.
`newRange()`	`RangeBuilder`	Creates a builder used to construct `Range` objects from document elements.
`removeEditor(emailAddress)`	`Document`	Removes the given user from the list of editors for the `Document`.
`removeEditor(user)`	`Document`	Removes the given user from the list of editors for the `Document`.
`removeViewer(emailAddress)`	`Document`	Removes the given user from the list of viewers and commenters for the `Document`.
`removeViewer(user)`	`Document`	Removes the given user from the list of viewers and commenters for the `Document`.
`saveAndClose()`	`void`	Saves the current `Document`.
`setCursor(position)`	`Document`	Sets the user's cursor in the active document, given a `Position`.
`setLanguage(languageCode)`	`Document`	Sets the document's language code.
`setName(name)`	`Document`	Sets the document title.
`setSelection(range)`	`Document`	Sets the user's selection in the active document, given a `Range`.

Detailed documentation

`addBookmark(position)`

Adds a Bookmark at the given Position.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`position`	`Position`	the position of the new bookmark

Return

Bookmark — the new bookmark

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

`addEditor(emailAddress)`

Adds the given user to the list of editors for the Document. If the user was already on the list of viewers, this method promotes the user out of the list of viewers.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`emailAddress`	`String`	The email address of the user to add.

Return

Document — This Document, for chaining.

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

`addEditor(user)`

Adds the given user to the list of editors for the Document. If the user was already on the list of viewers, this method promotes the user out of the list of viewers.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`user`	`User`	A representation of the user to add.

Return

Document — This Document, for chaining.

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

`addEditors(emailAddresses)`

Adds the given array of users to the list of editors for the Document. If any of the users were already on the list of viewers, this method promotes them out of the list of viewers.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`emailAddresses`	`String[]`	An array of email addresses of the users to add.

Return

Document — This Document, for chaining.

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

`addFooter()`

Adds a document footer section, if none exists.

Return

FooterSection — the document footer

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

`addHeader()`

Adds a document header section, if none exists.

Return

HeaderSection — the document header

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

`addNamedRange(name, range)`

Adds a NamedRange, which is a Range that has a name and ID to use for later retrieval. Names aren't necessarily unique; several different ranges in the same document can share the same name, much like a class in HTML. By contrast, IDs are unique within the document, like an ID in HTML. After you add a NamedRange to a document, you can't modify it, you can only remove it.

Any script that accesses the document can access a NamedRange. To avoid unintended conflicts between scripts, consider prefixing range names with a unique string.

// Creates a named range that includes every table in the document.
var doc = DocumentApp.getActiveDocument();
var rangeBuilder = doc.newRange();
var tables = doc.getBody().getTables();
for (var i = 0; i < tables.length; i++) {
  rangeBuilder.addElement(tables[i]);
}
doc.addNamedRange('Document tables', rangeBuilder.build());

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`name`	`String`	The name for the range, which doesn't need to be unique; range names must be between 1-256 characters.
`range`	`Range`	The range of elements to associate with the name; the range can be the active selection, a search result, or manually constructed with `newRange()`.

Return

NamedRange — The NamedRange.

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

`addViewer(emailAddress)`

Adds the given user to the list of viewers for the Document. If the user was already on the list of editors, this method has no effect.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`emailAddress`	`String`	The email address of the user to add.

Return

Document — This Document, for chaining.

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

`addViewer(user)`

Adds the given user to the list of viewers for the Document. If the user was already on the list of editors, this method has no effect.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`user`	`User`	A representation of the user to add.

Return

Document — This Document, for chaining.

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

`addViewers(emailAddresses)`

Adds the given array of users to the list of viewers for the Document. If any of the users were already on the list of editors, this method has no effect for them.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`emailAddresses`	`String[]`	An array of email addresses of the users to add.

Return

Document — This Document, for chaining.

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

`getAs(contentType)`

Retrieves the current Document contents as a blob of the specified type.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`contentType`	`String`	the MIME type to convert to; currently only `'application/pdf'` is supported

Return

Blob — the current document as a blob

`getBlob()`

Retrieves the current Document contents as a blob.

Return

Blob — the current document as a blob

`getBody()`

Retrieves the active document's Body.

Documents may contain different types of sections (e.g. HeaderSection, FooterSection). The active section for a document is the Body.

Element methods in Document delegate to the active Body.

Return

Body — the active document body section

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

`getBookmark(id)`

Gets the Bookmark with the given ID. This method returns null if no such Bookmark exists.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`id`	`String`	the ID for the `Bookmark`

Return

Bookmark — the Bookmark with the given ID, or null if no such Bookmark exists

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

`getBookmarks()`

Gets all Bookmark objects in the document.

Return

Bookmark[] — an array of the Bookmark objects in the document

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

`getCursor()`

Gets the user's cursor in the active document. A script can only access the cursor of the user who is running the script, and only if the script is bound to the document.

// Insert some text at the cursor position and make it bold.
var cursor = DocumentApp.getActiveDocument().getCursor();
if (cursor) {
  // Attempt to insert text at the cursor position. If the insertion returns null, the cursor's
  // containing element doesn't allow insertions, so show the user an error message.
  var element = cursor.insertText('ಠ‿ಠ');
  if (element) {
    element.setBold(true);
  } else {
    DocumentApp.getUi().alert('Cannot insert text here.');
  }
} else {
  DocumentApp.getUi().alert('Cannot find a cursor.');
}

Return

Position — A representation of the user's cursor, or null if the user does not have a cursor placed in the document or if the script is not bound to the document.

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

`getEditors()`

Gets the list of editors for this Document.

Return

User[] — An array of users with edit permission.

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

`getFooter()`

Retrieves the document's footer section, if one exists.

Return

FooterSection — the document footer

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

`getFootnotes()`

Retrieves all the Footnote elements in the document body.

Calls to getFootnotes cause an iteration over the document's elements. For large documents, avoid unnecessary calls to this method.

Return

Footnote[] — the document footnotes

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

`getHeader()`

Retrieves the document's header section, if one exists.

Return

HeaderSection — the document header

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

`getId()`

Retrieves the document's unique identifier. The document ID is used with DocumentApp.openById() to open a specific document instance.

Return

String — the document's ID

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

`getLanguage()`

Gets the document's language code. This is the language shown in the document editor's File > Language, which may not be the actual language that the document contains.

Return

String — The document language, or null if not defined.

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

`getName()`

Retrieves the title of the document.

Return

String — the document title

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

`getNamedRangeById(id)`

Gets the NamedRange with the given ID. This method returns null if no such NamedRange exists. Names are not necessarily unique; several different ranges in the same document may share the same name, much like a class in HTML. By contrast, IDs are unique within the document, like an ID in HTML.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`id`	`String`	the range's ID, which is unique within the document

Return

NamedRange — the NamedRange with the given ID, or null if no such range exists

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

`getNamedRanges()`

Gets all NamedRange objects in the document.

A NamedRange can be accessed by any script that accesses the document. To avoid unintended conflicts between scripts, consider prefixing range names with a unique string.

Return

NamedRange[] — an array of the NamedRange objects in the document, possibly including multiple ranges with the same name

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

`getNamedRanges(name)`

Gets all NamedRange objects in the document with the given name. Names are not necessarily unique; several different ranges in the same document may share the same name, much like a class in HTML. By contrast, IDs are unique within the document, like an ID in HTML.

A NamedRange can be accessed by any script that accesses the document. To avoid unintended conflicts between scripts, consider prefixing range names with a unique string.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`name`	`String`	the range's name, which is not necessarily unique

Return

NamedRange[] — an array of the NamedRange objects in the document with the given name

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

`getSelection()`

Gets the user's selection in the active document. A script can only access the selection of the user who is running the script, and only if the script is bound to the document.

// Display a dialog box that tells the user how many elements are included in the selection.
var selection = DocumentApp.getActiveDocument().getSelection();
if (selection) {
  var elements = selection.getRangeElements();
  DocumentApp.getUi().alert('Number of selected elements: ' + elements.length);
} else {
  DocumentApp.getUi().alert('Nothing is selected.');
}

Return

Range — A representation of the user's selection, or null if the user does not have anything selected in the document, if only the end of a paragraph is selected, if only the end of a paragraph and a new line are selected, or if the script is not bound to the document.

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

`getSupportedLanguageCodes()`

Gets all language codes that are supported in Google Docs files.

Return

String[] — An array of language codes.

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

`getUrl()`

Retrieves the URL to access the current document.

var doc = DocumentApp.getActiveDocument();

// Send out the link to open the document.
MailApp.sendEmail("<email-address>", doc.getName(), doc.getUrl());

Return

String — the URL to access the current document

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

`getViewers()`

Gets the list of viewers and commenters for this Document.

Return

User[] — An array of users with view or comment permission.

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

`newPosition(element, offset)`

Creates a new Position, which is a reference to a location in the document, relative to a specific element. The user's cursor is represented as a Position, among other uses.

// Append a paragraph, then place the user's cursor after the first word of the new paragraph.
var doc = DocumentApp.getActiveDocument();
var paragraph = doc.getBody().appendParagraph('My new paragraph.');
var position = doc.newPosition(paragraph.getChild(0), 2);
doc.setCursor(position);

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`element`	`Element`	the element that will contain the new `Position`; this must be either a `Text` element or a container element like `Paragraph`
`offset`	`Integer`	for `Text` elements, the number of characters before the `Position`; for other elements, the number of child elements before the `Position` within the same container element

Return

Position — the new Position

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

`newRange()`

Creates a builder used to construct Range objects from document elements.

// Change the user's selection to a range that includes every table in the document.
var doc = DocumentApp.getActiveDocument();
var rangeBuilder = doc.newRange();
var tables = doc.getBody().getTables();
for (var i = 0; i < tables.length; i++) {
  rangeBuilder.addElement(tables[i]);
}
doc.setSelection(rangeBuilder.build());

Return

RangeBuilder — the new builder

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

`removeEditor(emailAddress)`

Removes the given user from the list of editors for the Document. This method doesn't block users from accessing the Document if they belong to a class of users who have general access—for example, if the Document is shared with the user's entire domain, or if the Document is in a shared drive that the user can access.

For Drive files, this also removes the user from the list of viewers.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`emailAddress`	`String`	The email address of the user to remove.

Return

Document — This Document, for chaining.

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

`removeEditor(user)`

For Drive files, this also removes the user from the list of viewers.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`user`	`User`	A representation of the user to remove.

Return

Document — This Document, for chaining.

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

`removeViewer(emailAddress)`

Removes the given user from the list of viewers and commenters for the Document. This method has no effect if the user is an editor, not a viewer or commenter. This method also doesn't block users from accessing the Document if they belong to a class of users who have general access—for example, if the Document is shared with the user's entire domain, or if the Document is in a shared drive that the user can access.

For Drive files, this also removes the user from the list of editors.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`emailAddress`	`String`	The email address of the user to remove.

Return

Document — This Document for chaining.

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

`removeViewer(user)`

Removes the given user from the list of viewers and commenters for the Document. This method has no effect if the user is an editor, not a viewer. This method also doesn't block users from accessing the Document if they belong to a class of users who have general access—for example, if the Document is shared with the user's entire domain, or if the Document is in a shared drive that the user can access.

For Drive files, this also removes the user from the list of editors.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`user`	`User`	A representation of the user to remove.

Return

Document — This Document for chaining.

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

`saveAndClose()`

Saves the current Document. Causes pending updates to be flushed and applied.

The saveAndClose() method is automatically invoked at the end of script execution for each open editable Document.

A closed Document can't be edited. Use DocumentApp.openById() to reopen a given document for editing.

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

`setCursor(position)`

Sets the user's cursor in the active document, given a Position. A script can only access the cursor of the user who is running the script, and only if the script is bound to the document.

// Append a paragraph, then place the user's cursor after the first word of the new paragraph.
var doc = DocumentApp.getActiveDocument();
var paragraph = doc.getBody().appendParagraph('My new paragraph.');
var position = doc.newPosition(paragraph.getChild(0), 2);
doc.setCursor(position);

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`position`	`Position`	the new cursor location

Return

Document — this Document, for chaining

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

`setLanguage(languageCode)`

Sets the document's language code. This is the language shown in the document editor's File > Language, which may not be the actual language that the document contains. Use getSupportedLanguageCodes() to get all the valid language codes.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`languageCode`	`String`	The language code.

Return

Document — This Document, for chaining.

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

`setName(name)`

Sets the document title.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`name`	`String`	the new document title

Return

Document — the current document

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

`setSelection(range)`

Sets the user's selection in the active document, given a Range. A script can only access the selection of the user who is running the script, and only if the script is bound to the document.

// Change the user's selection to a range that includes every table in the document.
var doc = DocumentApp.getActiveDocument();
var rangeBuilder = doc.newRange();
var tables = doc.getBody().getTables();
for (var i = 0; i < tables.length; i++) {
  rangeBuilder.addElement(tables[i]);
}
doc.setSelection(rangeBuilder.build());

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`range`	`Range`	the new range of elements to select

Return

Document — this Document, for chaining

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