Interface Element

A generic element. Document contents are represented as elements. For example, ListItem, Paragraph, and Table are elements and inherit all of the methods defined by Element, such as getType().

Implementing classes

Name	Brief description
`Body`	The content of a tab in a Google Docs document.
`ContainerElement`	A generic element that may contain other elements.
`Date`	An element representing a formatted date
`Equation`	An element representing a mathematical expression.
`EquationFunction`	An element representing a function in a mathematical `Equation`.
`EquationFunctionArgumentSeparator`	An element representing a function separator in a mathematical `Equation`.
`EquationSymbol`	An element representing a symbol in a mathematical `Equation`.
`FooterSection`	An element representing a footer section.
`Footnote`	An element representing a footnote.
`FootnoteSection`	An element representing a footnote section.
`HeaderSection`	An element representing a header section.
`HorizontalRule`	An element representing an horizontal rule.
`InlineDrawing`	An element representing an embedded drawing.
`InlineImage`	An element representing an embedded image.
`ListItem`	An element representing a list item.
`PageBreak`	An element representing a page break.
`Paragraph`	An element representing a paragraph.
`Person`	An element representing a link to a person.
`RichLink`	An element representing a link to a Google resource, such as a Drive file or a YouTube video.
`Table`	An element representing a table.
`TableCell`	An element representing a table cell.
`TableOfContents`	An element containing a table of contents.
`TableRow`	An element representing a table row.
`Text`	An element representing a rich text region.
`UnsupportedElement`	An element representing a region that is unknown or cannot be affected by a script, such as a page number.

Methods

Method	Return type	Brief description
`asBody()`	`Body`	Returns the current element as a `Body`.
`asDate()`	`Date`	Returns the current element as a `Date`.
`asEquation()`	`Equation`	Returns the current element as an `Equation`.
`asEquationFunction()`	`EquationFunction`	Returns the current element as a `EquationFunction`.
`asEquationFunctionArgumentSeparator()`	`EquationFunctionArgumentSeparator`	Returns the current element as a `EquationFunctionArgumentSeparator`.
`asEquationSymbol()`	`EquationSymbol`	Returns the current element as a `EquationSymbol`.
`asFooterSection()`	`FooterSection`	Returns the current element as a `FooterSection`.
`asFootnote()`	`Footnote`	Returns the current element as a `Footnote`.
`asFootnoteSection()`	`FootnoteSection`	Returns the current element as a `FootnoteSection`.
`asHeaderSection()`	`HeaderSection`	Returns the current element as a `HeaderSection`.
`asHorizontalRule()`	`HorizontalRule`	Returns the current element as a `HorizontalRule`.
`asInlineDrawing()`	`InlineDrawing`	Returns the current element as a `InlineDrawing`.
`asInlineImage()`	`InlineImage`	Returns the current element as a `InlineImage`.
`asListItem()`	`ListItem`	Returns the current element as a `ListItem`.
`asPageBreak()`	`PageBreak`	Returns the current element as a `PageBreak`.
`asParagraph()`	`Paragraph`	Returns the current element as a `Paragraph`.
`asPerson()`	`Person`	Returns the current element as a `Person`.
`asRichLink()`	`RichLink`	Returns the current element as a `RichLink`, for example, a link to a Google Sheets file.
`asTable()`	`Table`	Returns the current element as a `Table`.
`asTableCell()`	`TableCell`	Returns the current element as a `TableCell`.
`asTableOfContents()`	`TableOfContents`	Returns the current element as a `TableOfContents`.
`asTableRow()`	`TableRow`	Returns the current element as a `TableRow`.
`asText()`	`Text`	Returns the current element as a `Text`.
`copy()`	`Element`	Returns a detached, deep copy of the current element.
`getAttributes()`	`Object`	Retrieves the element's attributes.
`getNextSibling()`	`Element`	Retrieves the element's next sibling element.
`getParent()`	`ContainerElement`	Retrieves the element's parent element.
`getPreviousSibling()`	`Element`	Retrieves the element's previous sibling element.
`getType()`	`ElementType`	Retrieves the element's `ElementType`.
`isAtDocumentEnd()`	`Boolean`	Determines whether the element is at the end of the `Document`.
`merge()`	`Element`	Merges the element with the preceding sibling of the same type.
`removeFromParent()`	`Element`	Removes the element from its parent.
`setAttributes(attributes)`	`Element`	Sets the element's attributes.

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

`asDate()`

Returns the current element as a Date.

When you know an element is a Date, use this method to set its type as a Date. Doing so lets autocomplete in the Apps Script editor show you the methods you can use with a Date.

Return

Date — The current element with its type set as Date.

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

`asEquationFunction()`

Returns the current element as a EquationFunction.

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

Return

EquationFunction — 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

`asEquationFunctionArgumentSeparator()`

Returns the current element as a EquationFunctionArgumentSeparator.

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

Return

EquationFunctionArgumentSeparator — 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

`asEquationSymbol()`

Returns the current element as a EquationSymbol.

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

Return

EquationSymbol — 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

`asFootnote()`

Returns the current element as a Footnote.

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

Return

Footnote — 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

`asHorizontalRule()`

Returns the current element as a HorizontalRule.

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

Return

HorizontalRule — 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

`asInlineDrawing()`

Returns the current element as a InlineDrawing.

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

Return

InlineDrawing — 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

`asInlineImage()`

Returns the current element as a InlineImage.

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

Return

InlineImage — 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

`asPageBreak()`

Returns the current element as a PageBreak.

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

Return

PageBreak — 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

`asPerson()`

Returns the current element as a Person.

When you know an element is a Person, use this method to set its type as a person. Doing so lets autocomplete in the Apps Script editor show you the methods you can use with a person element.

Return

Person — The current element with its type set as Person.

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

`asRichLink()`

Returns the current element as a RichLink, for example, a link to a Google Sheets file.

When you know an element is a RichLink, use this method to set its type as a RichLink. Doing so lets autocomplete in the Apps Script editor show you the methods you can use with a RichLink.

Return

RichLink — The current element with its type set as RichLink.

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

`asText()`

Returns the current element as a Text.

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

Return

Text — 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

`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

Element — 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

`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.

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

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

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

// Log the paragraph attributes.
for (const 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

`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

`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

`getType()`

Retrieves the element's ElementType.

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

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

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

const 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.

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

// Example 1: Merge paragraphs
// Append two paragraphs to the document's active tab.
const par1 = body.appendParagraph('Paragraph 1.');
const 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.
const cells = [
  ['Row 1, Cell 1', 'Row 1, Cell 2'],
  ['Row 2, Cell 1', 'Row 2, Cell 2'],
];
// Build a table from the array.
const table = body.appendTable(cells);
// Get the first row in the table.
const row = table.getRow(0);
// Get the two cells in this row.
const cell1 = row.getCell(0);
const cell2 = row.getCell(1);
// Merge the current cell into its preceding sibling element.
const merged = cell2.merge();

Return

Element — 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.

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

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

Return

Element — 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

`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.

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

// Define a custom paragraph style.
const 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.
const par = body.appendParagraph('A paragraph with custom style.');

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

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`attributes`	`Object`	The element's attributes.

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