Class Paragraph

An element representing a paragraph. A Paragraph may contain Equation, Footnote, HorizontalRule, InlineDrawing, InlineImage, PageBreak, and Text elements. For more information on document structure, see the guide to extending Google Docs.

Paragraphs may not contain new-line characters. New-line characters ("\n") are converted to line-break characters ("\r").

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

// Append a tab header paragraph.
const header = body.appendParagraph('A Document');
header.setHeading(DocumentApp.ParagraphHeading.HEADING1);

// Append a section header paragraph.
const section = body.appendParagraph('Section 1');
section.setHeading(DocumentApp.ParagraphHeading.HEADING2);

// Append a regular paragraph.
body.appendParagraph('This is a typical paragraph.');

Methods

Method	Return type	Brief description
`addPositionedImage(image)`	`PositionedImage`	Creates and inserts a new `PositionedImage` from the specified image blob.
`appendHorizontalRule()`	`HorizontalRule`	Creates and appends a new `HorizontalRule`.
`appendInlineImage(image)`	`InlineImage`	Creates and appends a new `InlineImage` from the specified image blob.
`appendInlineImage(image)`	`InlineImage`	Appends the given `InlineImage`.
`appendPageBreak()`	`PageBreak`	Creates and appends a new `PageBreak`.
`appendPageBreak(pageBreak)`	`PageBreak`	Appends the given `PageBreak`.
`appendText(text)`	`Text`	Creates and appends a new `Text` element with the specified contents.
`appendText(text)`	`Text`	Appends the given `Text` element.
`clear()`	`Paragraph`	Clears the contents of the element.
`copy()`	`Paragraph`	Returns a detached, deep copy of the current element.
`editAsText()`	`Text`	Obtains a `Text` version of the current element, for editing.
`findElement(elementType)`	`RangeElement`	Searches the contents of the element for a descendant of the specified type.
`findElement(elementType, from)`	`RangeElement`	Searches the contents of the element for a descendant of the specified type, starting from the specified `RangeElement`.
`findText(searchPattern)`	`RangeElement`	Searches the contents of the element for the specified text pattern using regular expressions.
`findText(searchPattern, from)`	`RangeElement`	Searches the contents of the element for the specified text pattern, starting from a given search result.
`getAlignment()`	`HorizontalAlignment`	Retrieves the `HorizontalAlignment`.
`getAttributes()`	`Object`	Retrieves the element's attributes.
`getChild(childIndex)`	`Element`	Retrieves the child element at the specified child index.
`getChildIndex(child)`	`Integer`	Retrieves the child index for the specified child element.
`getHeading()`	`ParagraphHeading`	Retrieves the `ParagraphHeading`.
`getIndentEnd()`	`Number`	Retrieves the end indentation, in points.
`getIndentFirstLine()`	`Number`	Retrieves the first line indentation, in points.
`getIndentStart()`	`Number`	Retrieves the start indentation.
`getLineSpacing()`	`Number`	Retrieves the line spacing, in points.
`getLinkUrl()`	`String`	Retrieves the link url.
`getNextSibling()`	`Element`	Retrieves the element's next sibling element.
`getNumChildren()`	`Integer`	Retrieves the number of children.
`getParent()`	`ContainerElement`	Retrieves the element's parent element.
`getPositionedImage(id)`	`PositionedImage`	Gets a `PositionedImage` by the image's ID.
`getPositionedImages()`	`PositionedImage[]`	Gets all `PositionedImage` objects anchored to the paragraph.
`getPreviousSibling()`	`Element`	Retrieves the element's previous sibling element.
`getSpacingAfter()`	`Number`	Retrieves the spacing after the element, in points.
`getSpacingBefore()`	`Number`	Retrieves the spacing before the element, in points.
`getText()`	`String`	Retrieves the contents of the element as a text string.
`getTextAlignment()`	`TextAlignment`	Gets the text alignment.
`getType()`	`ElementType`	Retrieves the element's `ElementType`.
`insertHorizontalRule(childIndex)`	`HorizontalRule`	Creates and inserts a `HorizontalRule` at the specified index.
`insertInlineImage(childIndex, image)`	`InlineImage`	Creates and inserts a new `InlineImage` from the specified image blob, at the specified index.
`insertInlineImage(childIndex, image)`	`InlineImage`	Inserts the given `InlineImage` at the specified index.
`insertPageBreak(childIndex)`	`PageBreak`	Creates and inserts a new `PageBreak` at the specified index.
`insertPageBreak(childIndex, pageBreak)`	`PageBreak`	Inserts the given `PageBreak` at the specified index.
`insertText(childIndex, text)`	`Text`	Creates and inserts a new text element at the specified index.
`insertText(childIndex, text)`	`Text`	Inserts the given `Text` element at the specified index, with the specified text contents.
`isAtDocumentEnd()`	`Boolean`	Determines whether the element is at the end of the `Document`.
`isLeftToRight()`	`Boolean`	Retrieves the left-to-right setting.
`merge()`	`Paragraph`	Merges the element with the preceding sibling of the same type.
`removeChild(child)`	`Paragraph`	Removes the specified child element.
`removeFromParent()`	`Paragraph`	Removes the element from its parent.
`removePositionedImage(id)`	`Boolean`	Removes a `PositionedImage` by the image's ID.
`replaceText(searchPattern, replacement)`	`Element`	Replaces all occurrences of a given text pattern with a given replacement string, using regular expressions.
`setAlignment(alignment)`	`Paragraph`	Sets the `HorizontalAlignment`.
`setAttributes(attributes)`	`Paragraph`	Sets the element's attributes.
`setHeading(heading)`	`Paragraph`	Sets the `ParagraphHeading`.
`setIndentEnd(indentEnd)`	`Paragraph`	Sets the end indentation, in points.
`setIndentFirstLine(indentFirstLine)`	`Paragraph`	Sets the first line indentation, in points.
`setIndentStart(indentStart)`	`Paragraph`	Sets the start indentation, in points.
`setLeftToRight(leftToRight)`	`Paragraph`	Sets the left-to-right setting.
`setLineSpacing(multiplier)`	`Paragraph`	Sets the line spacing, as a quantity indicating the number of lines to use for spacing.
`setLinkUrl(url)`	`Paragraph`	Sets the link url.
`setSpacingAfter(spacingAfter)`	`Paragraph`	Sets the spacing after the element, in points.
`setSpacingBefore(spacingBefore)`	`Paragraph`	Sets the spacing before the element, in points.
`setText(text)`	`void`	Sets the contents of the paragraph as text.
`setTextAlignment(textAlignment)`	`Paragraph`	Sets the text alignment.

Detailed documentation

`addPositionedImage(image)`

Creates and inserts a new PositionedImage from the specified image blob.

// Opens the Docs file by its ID. If you created your script from within
// a Google Docs file, you can use DocumentApp.getActiveDocument() instead.
// TODO(developer): Replace the ID with your own.
const doc = DocumentApp.openById('123abc');

// Gets the body contents of the tab by its ID.
// TODO(developer): Replace the ID with your own.
const body = doc.getTab('123abc').asDocumentTab().getBody();

// Gets the first paragraph from the body.
const paragraph = body.getParagraphs()[0];

// Fetches the specified image URL.
const image = UrlFetchApp.fetch(
    'https://fonts.gstatic.com/s/i/productlogos/apps_script/v10/web-24dp/logo_apps_script_color_1x_web_24dp.png',
);

// Adds the image to the tab, anchored to the first paragraph.
paragraph.addPositionedImage(image);

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`image`	`BlobSource`	The image data.

Return

PositionedImage — The new positioned image.

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

`appendHorizontalRule()`

Creates and appends a new HorizontalRule.

// Opens the Docs file by its ID. If you created your script from within
// a Google Docs file, you can use DocumentApp.getActiveDocument() instead.
// TODO(developer): Replace the ID with your own.
const doc = DocumentApp.openById('123abc');

// Gets the body contents of the tab by its ID.
// TODO(developer): Replace the ID with your own.
const body = doc.getTab('123abc').asDocumentTab().getBody();

// Gets the first paragraph from the body.
const paragraph = body.getParagraphs()[0];

// Adds a horizontal line under the first paragraph.
paragraph.appendHorizontalRule();

Return

HorizontalRule — The new horizontal rule.

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

`appendInlineImage(image)`

Creates and appends a new InlineImage from the specified image blob.

// Opens the Docs file by its ID. If you created your script from within
// a Google Docs file, you can use DocumentApp.getActiveDocument() instead.
// TODO(developer): Replace the ID with your own.
const doc = DocumentApp.openById('123abc');

// Gets the body contents of the tab by its ID.
// TODO(developer): Replace the ID with your own.
const body = doc.getTab('123abc').asDocumentTab().getBody();

// Gets the first paragraph from the body.
const paragraph = body.getParagraphs()[0];

// Fetches the image from the specified image URL.
const image = UrlFetchApp.fetch(
    'https://fonts.gstatic.com/s/i/productlogos/apps_script/v10/web-96dp/logo_apps_script_color_1x_web_96dp.png',
);

// Adds the image to the first paragraph.
paragraph.appendInlineImage(image);

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`image`	`BlobSource`	The image data.

Return

InlineImage — The appended image.

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

`appendInlineImage(image)`

Appends the given InlineImage.

// Opens the Docs file by its ID. If you created your script from within
// a Google Docs file, you can use DocumentApp.getActiveDocument() instead.
// TODO(developer): Replace the ID with your own.
const doc = DocumentApp.openById('123abc');

// Gets the body contents of the tab by its ID.
// TODO(developer): Replace the ID with your own.
const body = doc.getTab('123abc').asDocumentTab().getBody();

// Gets the first paragraph from the body.
const paragraph = body.getParagraphs()[0];

// Makes a copy of the first image in the body.
const image = body.getImages()[0].copy();

// Adds the image to the first paragraph.
paragraph.appendInlineImage(image);

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`image`	`InlineImage`	The image data.

Return

InlineImage — The appended image.

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

`appendPageBreak()`

Creates and appends a new PageBreak.

Note: PageBreaks may not be contained within TableCells. If the current element is contained in a table cell, an exception will be thrown.

// Opens the Docs file by its ID. If you created your script from within
// a Google Docs file, you can use DocumentApp.getActiveDocument() instead.
// TODO(developer): Replace the ID with your own.
const doc = DocumentApp.openById('123abc');

// Gets the body contents of the tab by its ID.
// TODO(developer): Replace the ID with your own.
const body = doc.getTab('123abc').asDocumentTab().getBody();

// Gets the first paragraph from the body.
const paragraph = body.getParagraphs()[0];

// Adds a page break after the first paragraph.
paragraph.appendPageBreak();

Return

PageBreak — The new page break 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

`appendPageBreak(pageBreak)`

Appends the given PageBreak.

Note: PageBreaks can't be contained within TableCells. If the current element exists in a table cell, the script throws an exception.

// Opens the Docs file by its ID. If you created your script from within
// a Google Docs file, you can use DocumentApp.getActiveDocument() instead.
// TODO(developer): Replace the ID with your own.
const doc = DocumentApp.openById('123abc');

// Gets the body contents of the tab by its ID.
// TODO(developer): Replace the ID with your own.
const body = doc.getTab('123abc').asDocumentTab().getBody();

// Gets the first paragraph from the body.
const paragraph = body.getParagraphs()[0];

// Adds a page break after the first paragraph.
const pageBreak = paragraph.appendPageBreak();

// Makes a copy of the page break.
const newPageBreak = pageBreak.copy();

// Adds the copied page break to the paragraph.
paragraph.appendPageBreak(newPageBreak);

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`pageBreak`	`PageBreak`	The page break to append.

Return

PageBreak — The appended page break 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

`appendText(text)`

Creates and appends a new Text element with the specified contents.

// Opens the Docs file by its ID. If you created your script from within
// a Google Docs file, you can use DocumentApp.getActiveDocument() instead.
// TODO(developer): Replace the ID with your own.
const doc = DocumentApp.openById('123abc');

// Gets the body contents of the tab by its ID.
// TODO(developer): Replace the ID with your own.
const body = doc.getTab('123abc').asDocumentTab().getBody();

// Gets the first paragraph from the body.
const paragraph = body.getParagraphs()[0];

// Adds a string to the paragraph.
paragraph.appendText('This is a new sentence.');

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`text`	`String`	The text contents.

Return

Text — The new text 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

`appendText(text)`

Appends the given Text element.

// Opens the Docs file by its ID. If you created your script from within
// a Google Docs file, you can use DocumentApp.getActiveDocument() instead.
// TODO(developer): Replace the ID with your own.
const doc = DocumentApp.openById('123abc');

// Gets the body contents of the tab by its ID.
// TODO(developer): Replace the ID with your own.
const body = doc.getTab('123abc').asDocumentTab().getBody();

// Gets the text from the first paragraph in the body.
const paragraph1 = body.getParagraphs()[0];
const text = paragraph1.getText();

// Gets the third paragraph in the body.
const paragraph3 = body.getParagraphs()[2];

// Adds the text from the first paragraph to the third paragraph.
paragraph3.appendText(text);

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`text`	`Text`	The text element to append.

Return

Text — The appended text 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

Paragraph — 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

Paragraph — 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.

const 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

Name	Type	Description
`elementType`	`ElementType`	The 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.

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

// Define the search parameters.

let searchResult = null;

// Search until the paragraph is found.
while (
    (searchResult = body.findElement(
         DocumentApp.ElementType.PARAGRAPH,
         searchResult,
         ))) {
  const par = searchResult.getElement().asParagraph();
  if (par.getHeading() === DocumentApp.ParagraphHeading.HEADING1) {
    // Found one, update and stop.
    par.setText('This is the first header.');
    break;
  }
}

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`elementType`	`ElementType`	The type of element to search for.
`from`	`RangeElement`	The 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

Name	Type	Description
`searchPattern`	`String`	the 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

Name	Type	Description
`searchPattern`	`String`	the pattern to search for
`from`	`RangeElement`	the 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

`getAlignment()`

Retrieves the HorizontalAlignment.

// Opens the Docs file by its ID. If you created your script from within
// a Google Docs file, you can use DocumentApp.getActiveDocument() instead.
// TODO(developer): Replace the ID with your own.
const doc = DocumentApp.openById('123abc');

// Gets the body contents of the tab by its ID.
// TODO(developer): Replace the ID with your own.
const body = doc.getTab('123abc').asDocumentTab().getBody();

// Gets the first paragraph from the body.
const paragraph = body.getParagraphs()[0];

// Sets the horizontal alignment to left for the first paragraph.
paragraph.setAlignment(DocumentApp.HorizontalAlignment.LEFT);

// Gets the horizontal alignment of the first paragraph and logs it to the
// console.
console.log(paragraph.getAlignment().toString());

Return

HorizontalAlignment — The alignment.

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

`getChild(childIndex)`

Retrieves the child element at the specified child index.

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

// Obtain the first element in the tab.
const 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

Name	Type	Description
`childIndex`	`Integer`	The 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

Name	Type	Description
`child`	`Element`	The 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

`getHeading()`

Retrieves the ParagraphHeading.

// Opens the Docs file by its ID. If you created your script from within
// a Google Docs file, you can use DocumentApp.getActiveDocument() instead.
// TODO(developer): Replace the ID with your own.
const doc = DocumentApp.openById('123abc');

// Gets the body contents of the tab by its ID.
// TODO(developer): Replace the ID with your own.
const body = doc.getTab('123abc').asDocumentTab().getBody();

// Adds a paragraph to the body.
const paragraph = body.appendParagraph('Title heading');

// Sets the paragraph heading style to 'Title.'
paragraph.setHeading(DocumentApp.ParagraphHeading.TITLE);

// Gets the heading style and logs it to the console.
console.log(paragraph.getHeading().toString());

Return

ParagraphHeading — The heading.

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

`getIndentEnd()`

Retrieves the end indentation, in points.

Return

Number — the end indentation, in points

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

`getIndentFirstLine()`

Retrieves the first line indentation, in points.

Return

Number — the first line indentation, in points

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

`getIndentStart()`

Retrieves the start indentation.

Return

Number — the start indentation

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

`getLineSpacing()`

Retrieves the line spacing, in points.

Return

Number — the line spacing, in points

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.

const 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

`getPositionedImage(id)`

Gets a PositionedImage by the image's ID.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`id`	`String`	the image id

Return

PositionedImage — the positioned image

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

`getPositionedImages()`

Gets all PositionedImage objects anchored to the paragraph.

Return

PositionedImage[] — a list of positioned images

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

`getSpacingAfter()`

Retrieves the spacing after the element, in points.

Return

Number — the spacing after the element, in points

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

`getSpacingBefore()`

Retrieves the spacing before the element, in points.

Return

Number — the spacing before the element, in points

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.

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

`insertHorizontalRule(childIndex)`

Creates and inserts a HorizontalRule at the specified index.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`childIndex`	`Integer`	the index at which to insert the element

Return

HorizontalRule — the new horizontal rule 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

`insertInlineImage(childIndex, image)`

Creates and inserts a new InlineImage from the specified image blob, at the specified index.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`childIndex`	`Integer`	the index at which to insert the element
`image`	`BlobSource`	the image data

Return

InlineImage — the inserted inline image 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

`insertInlineImage(childIndex, image)`

Inserts the given InlineImage at the specified index.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`childIndex`	`Integer`	the index at which to insert the element
`image`	`InlineImage`	the image data

Return

InlineImage — the inserted inline image 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

`insertPageBreak(childIndex)`

Creates and inserts a new PageBreak at the specified index.

Note: PageBreaks may not be contained within TableCells. If the current element is contained in a table cell, an exception will be thrown.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`childIndex`	`Integer`	the index at which to insert the element

Return

PageBreak — the new page break 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

`insertPageBreak(childIndex, pageBreak)`

Inserts the given PageBreak at the specified index.

Note: PageBreaks may not be contained within TableCells. If the current element is contained in a table cell, an exception will be thrown.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`childIndex`	`Integer`	the index at which to insert the element
`pageBreak`	`PageBreak`	the p[age break to insert

Return

PageBreak — the inserted page break 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

`insertText(childIndex, text)`

Creates and inserts a new text element at the specified index.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`childIndex`	`Integer`	the index at which to insert the element
`text`	`String`	the text contents

Return

Text — the new text 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

`insertText(childIndex, text)`

Inserts the given Text element at the specified index, with the specified text contents.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`childIndex`	`Integer`	the index at which to insert the element
`text`	`Text`	the text element to insert

Return

Text — the inserted text 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

`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

`isLeftToRight()`

Retrieves the left-to-right setting.

Return

Boolean — the left-to-right setting

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

Paragraph — 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

`removeChild(child)`

Removes the specified child element.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`child`	`Element`	the child element to remove

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

`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

Paragraph — 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

`removePositionedImage(id)`

Removes a PositionedImage by the image's ID.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`id`	`String`	the image id

Return

Boolean — whether or not the specified image was removed

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.

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

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

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`searchPattern`	`String`	the regex pattern to search for
`replacement`	`String`	the 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

`setAlignment(alignment)`

Sets the HorizontalAlignment.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`alignment`	`HorizontalAlignment`	the horizontal alignment

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

`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

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

`setHeading(heading)`

Sets the ParagraphHeading.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`heading`	`ParagraphHeading`	the heading

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

`setIndentEnd(indentEnd)`

Sets the end indentation, in points.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`indentEnd`	`Number`	the end indentation, in points

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

`setIndentFirstLine(indentFirstLine)`

Sets the first line indentation, in points.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`indentFirstLine`	`Number`	the first line indentation, in points

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

`setIndentStart(indentStart)`

Sets the start indentation, in points.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`indentStart`	`Number`	the start indentation, in points

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

`setLeftToRight(leftToRight)`

Sets the left-to-right setting.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`leftToRight`	`Boolean`	the left-to-right setting

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

`setLineSpacing(multiplier)`

Sets the line spacing, as a quantity indicating the number of lines to use for spacing.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`multiplier`	`Number`	the number of lines

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

`setLinkUrl(url)`

Sets the link url.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`url`	`String`	the link url

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

`setSpacingAfter(spacingAfter)`

Sets the spacing after the element, in points.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`spacingAfter`	`Number`	the spacing after the element, in points

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

`setSpacingBefore(spacingBefore)`

Sets the spacing before the element, in points.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`spacingBefore`	`Number`	the spacing before the element, in points

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

`setText(text)`

Sets the contents of the paragraph as text.

Note: existing contents are cleared.

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`text`	`String`	the new text contents

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.
const documentTab =
    DocumentApp.getActiveDocument().getActiveTab().asDocumentTab();
const text = documentTab.getBody().getParagraphs()[0].editAsText();
text.setTextAlignment(DocumentApp.TextAlignment.SUPERSCRIPT);

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
`textAlignment`	`TextAlignment`	the type of text alignment to apply

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