Class Body

  • Scripts using the documented methods require authorization with either thehttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly orhttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents scopes.

  • Methods are available to insert and remove elements like tables within the document body.

  • Text content can be manipulated by replacing text patterns using regular expressions.

  • Various attributes, including formatting and margins, can be set for elements and headings within the document body.

  • Page dimensions such as height and width can be adjusted.

Body

The content of a tab in a Google Docs document. TheBody may containListItem,Paragraph,Table, andTableOfContents elements. For more information ondocument structure, see theguide toextending Google Docs.

TheBody typically contains the full tab's contents except for theHeaderSection,FooterSection, and anyFootnoteSection elements.

constbody=DocumentApp.getActiveDocument().getActiveTab().asDocumentTab().getBody();// Append a paragraph and a page break to the tab's body section directly.body.appendParagraph('A paragraph.');body.appendPageBreak();

Methods

MethodReturn typeBrief description
appendHorizontalRule()HorizontalRuleCreates and appends a newHorizontalRule.
appendImage(image)InlineImageCreates and appends a newInlineImage from the specified image blob.
appendImage(image)InlineImageAppends the givenInlineImage.
appendListItem(listItem)ListItemAppends the givenListItem.
appendListItem(text)ListItemCreates and appends a newListItem containing the specified text contents.
appendPageBreak()PageBreakCreates and appends a newPageBreak.
appendPageBreak(pageBreak)PageBreakAppends the givenPageBreak.
appendParagraph(paragraph)ParagraphAppends the givenParagraph.
appendParagraph(text)ParagraphCreates and appends a newParagraph containing the specified text contents.
appendTable()TableCreates and appends a newTable.
appendTable(cells)TableAppends a newTable containing aTableCell for each specified string value.
appendTable(table)TableAppends the givenTable.
clear()BodyClears the contents of the element.
copy()BodyReturns a detached, deep copy of the current element.
editAsText()TextObtains aText version of the current element, for editing.
findElement(elementType)RangeElement|nullSearches the contents of the element for a descendant of the specified type.
findElement(elementType, from)RangeElement|nullSearches the contents of the element for a descendant of the specified type, starting from thespecifiedRangeElement.
findText(searchPattern)RangeElement|nullSearches the contents of the element for the specified text pattern using regular expressions.
findText(searchPattern, from)RangeElement|nullSearches the contents of the element for the specified text pattern, starting from a givensearch result.
getAttributes()ObjectRetrieves the element's attributes.
getChild(childIndex)ElementRetrieves the child element at the specified child index.
getChildIndex(child)IntegerRetrieves the child index for the specified child element.
getHeadingAttributes(paragraphHeading)ObjectRetrieves the set of attributes for the providedParagraphHeading.
getImages()InlineImage[]|nullRetrieves all theInlineImages contained in the section.
getListItems()ListItem[]|nullRetrieves all theListItems contained in the section.
getMarginBottom()Number|nullRetrieves the bottom margin, in points.
getMarginLeft()Number|nullRetrieves the left margin, in points.
getMarginRight()Number|nullRetrieves the right margin.
getMarginTop()Number|nullRetrieves the top margin.
getNumChildren()IntegerRetrieves the number of children.
getPageHeight()Number|nullRetrieves the page height, in points.
getPageWidth()Number|nullRetrieves the page width, in points.
getParagraphs()Paragraph[]|nullRetrieves all theParagraphs contained in the section (includingListItems).
getParent()ContainerElement|nullRetrieves the element's parent element.
getTables()Table[]|nullRetrieves all theTables contained in the section.
getText()StringRetrieves the contents of the element as a text string.
getTextAlignment()TextAlignment|nullGets the text alignment.
getType()ElementTypeRetrieves the element'sElementType.
insertHorizontalRule(childIndex)HorizontalRuleCreates and inserts a newHorizontalRule at the specified index.
insertImage(childIndex, image)InlineImageCreates and inserts anInlineImage from the specified image blob, at the specifiedindex.
insertImage(childIndex, image)InlineImageInserts the givenInlineImage at the specified index.
insertListItem(childIndex, listItem)ListItemInserts the givenListItem at the specified index.
insertListItem(childIndex, text)ListItemCreates and inserts a newListItem at the specified index, containing the specifiedtext contents.
insertPageBreak(childIndex)PageBreakCreates and inserts a newPageBreak at the specified index.
insertPageBreak(childIndex, pageBreak)PageBreakInserts the givenPageBreak at the specified index.
insertParagraph(childIndex, paragraph)ParagraphInserts the givenParagraph at the specified index.
insertParagraph(childIndex, text)ParagraphCreates and inserts a newParagraph at the specified index, containing the specifiedtext contents.
insertTable(childIndex)TableCreates and inserts a newTable at the specified index.
insertTable(childIndex, cells)TableCreates and inserts a newTable containing the specified cells, at the specified index.
insertTable(childIndex, table)TableInserts the givenTable at the specified index.
removeChild(child)BodyRemoves the specified child element.
replaceText(searchPattern, replacement)ElementReplaces all occurrences of a given text pattern with a given replacement string, using regularexpressions.
setAttributes(attributes)BodySets the element's attributes.
setHeadingAttributes(paragraphHeading, attributes)BodySets the attributes for the providedParagraphHeading.
setMarginBottom(marginBottom)BodySets the bottom margin, in points.
setMarginLeft(marginLeft)BodySets the left margin, in points.
setMarginRight(marginRight)BodySets the right margin, in points.
setMarginTop(marginTop)BodySets the top margin.
setPageHeight(pageHeight)BodySets the page height, in points.
setPageWidth(pageWidth)BodySets the page width, in points.
setText(text)BodySets the contents as plain text.
setTextAlignment(textAlignment)BodySets the text alignment.

Deprecated methods

MethodReturn typeBrief description
getFootnotes()Footnote[]|nullRetrieves all theFootnotes contained in the section.
getLinkUrl()String|nullRetrieves the link url.
getNextSibling()Element|nullRetrieves the element's next sibling element.
getPreviousSibling()Element|nullRetrieves the element's previous sibling element.
isAtDocumentEnd()BooleanDetermines whether the element is at the end of theDocument.
setLinkUrl(url)BodySets the link url.

Detailed documentation

appendHorizontalRule()

Creates and appends a newHorizontalRule.

TheHorizontalRule will be contained in a newParagraph.

Return

HorizontalRule — The new horizontal rule.

Authorization

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

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

appendImage(image)

Creates and appends a newInlineImage from the specified image blob.

The image will be contained in a newParagraph.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
imageBlobSourceThe image data.

Return

InlineImage — The appended image.

Authorization

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

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

appendImage(image)

Appends the givenInlineImage.

TheInlineImage will be contained in a newParagraph.

Use this version ofappendImage when appending a copy of an existingInlineImage.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
imageInlineImageThe image data.

Return

InlineImage — The appended image.

Authorization

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

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

appendListItem(listItem)

Appends the givenListItem.

Use this version ofappendListItem when appending a copy of an existingListItem.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
listItemListItemThe list item to append.

Return

ListItem — The appended list item.

Authorization

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

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

appendListItem(text)

Creates and appends a newListItem containing the specified text contents.

Consecutive list items are added as part of the same list.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
textStringThe list item's text contents.

Return

ListItem — The new list item.

Authorization

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

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

appendPageBreak()

Creates and appends a newPageBreak.

ThePageBreak will be contained in a newParagraph.

Return

PageBreak — The new page break.

Authorization

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

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

appendPageBreak(pageBreak)

Appends the givenPageBreak.

ThePageBreak will be contained in a newParagraph.

Use this version ofappendPageBreak when appending a copy of an existingPageBreak.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
pageBreakPageBreakThe page break to append.

Return

PageBreak — The appended page break.

Authorization

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

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

appendParagraph(paragraph)

Appends the givenParagraph.

Use this version ofappendParagraph when appending a copy of an existingParagraph.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
paragraphParagraphThe paragraph to append.

Return

Paragraph — The appended paragraph.

Authorization

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

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

appendParagraph(text)

Creates and appends a newParagraph containing the specified text contents.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
textStringThe paragraph's text contents.

Return

Paragraph — The new paragraph.

Authorization

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

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

appendTable()

Creates and appends a newTable.

This method will also append an empty paragraph after the table, since Google Docs documentscannot end with a table.

Return

Table — The new table.

Authorization

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

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

appendTable(cells)

Appends a newTable containing aTableCell for each specified string value.

This method will also append an empty paragraph after the table, since Google Docs documentscannot end with a table.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
cellsString[][]The text contents of the table cells to add to the new table.

Return

Table — The appended table.

Authorization

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

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

appendTable(table)

Appends the givenTable.

Use this version ofappendTable when appending a copy of an existingTable.This method will also append an empty paragraph after the table, since Google Docs documentscannot end with a table.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
tableTableThe table to append.

Return

Table — The appended table.

Authorization

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

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

clear()

Clears the contents of the element.

Return

Body — 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 aparent.

Return

Body — The new copy.

Authorization

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

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

editAsText()

Obtains aText version of the current element, for editing.

UseeditAsText for manipulating the elements contents as rich text. TheeditAsText mode ignores non-text elements (such asInlineImage andHorizontalRule).

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

constbody=DocumentApp.getActiveDocument().getActiveTab().asDocumentTab().getBody();// Insert two paragraphs separated by a paragraph containing an// horizontal rule.body.insertParagraph(0,'An editAsText sample.');body.insertHorizontalRule(0);body.insertParagraph(0,'An example.');// Delete " sample.\n\n An" removing the horizontal rule in the process.body.editAsText().deleteText(14,25);

Return

Text — a text version of the current element


findElement(elementType)

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

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
elementTypeElementTypeThe type of element to search for.

Return

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

Authorization

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

  • 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 thespecifiedRangeElement.

constbody=DocumentApp.getActiveDocument().getActiveTab().asDocumentTab().getBody();// Define the search parameters.letsearchResult=null;// Search until the paragraph is found.while((searchResult=body.findElement(DocumentApp.ElementType.PARAGRAPH,searchResult,))){constpar=searchResult.getElement().asParagraph();if(par.getHeading()===DocumentApp.ParagraphHeading.HEADING1){// Found one, update and stop.par.setText('This is the first header.');break;}}

Parameters

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

Return

RangeElement|null — 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 followingscopes:

  • 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 ascapture groups and mode modifiers.

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

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
searchPatternStringthe pattern to search for

Return

RangeElement|null — 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 followingscopes:

  • 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 givensearch result.

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

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

Parameters

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

Return

RangeElement|null — 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 followingscopes:

  • 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 eachproperty name corresponds to an item in theDocumentApp.Attribute enumeration.

constdoc=DocumentApp.getActiveDocument();constdocumentTab=doc.getActiveTab().asDocumentTab();constbody=documentTab.getBody();// Append a styled paragraph.constpar=body.appendParagraph('A bold, italicized paragraph.');par.setBold(true);par.setItalic(true);// Retrieve the paragraph's attributes.constatts=par.getAttributes();// Log the paragraph attributes.for(constattinatts){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 followingscopes:

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

getChild(childIndex)

Retrieves the child element at the specified child index.

constbody=DocumentApp.getActiveDocument().getActiveTab().asDocumentTab().getBody();// Obtain the first element in the tab.constfirstChild=body.getChild(0);// If it's a paragraph, set its contents.if(firstChild.getType()===DocumentApp.ElementType.PARAGRAPH){firstChild.asParagraph().setText('This is the first paragraph.');}

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
childIndexIntegerThe index of the child element to retrieve.

Return

Element — The child element at the specified index.

Authorization

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

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

getChildIndex(child)

Retrieves the child index for the specified child element.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
childElementThe child element for which to retrieve the index.

Return

Integer — The child index.

Authorization

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

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

getHeadingAttributes(paragraphHeading)

Retrieves the set of attributes for the providedParagraphHeading.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
paragraphHeadingParagraphHeadingThe heading whose attributes should be retrieved.

Return

Object — A map of the attributes and their current values.

Authorization

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

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

getImages()

Retrieves all theInlineImages contained in the section.

Return

InlineImage[]|null — The section images.

Authorization

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

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

getListItems()

Retrieves all theListItems contained in the section.

Return

ListItem[]|null — The section list items.

Authorization

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

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

getMarginBottom()

Retrieves the bottom margin, in points.

Return

Number|null — The bottom margin, in points.

Authorization

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

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

getMarginLeft()

Retrieves the left margin, in points.

Return

Number|null — The left margin, in points.

Authorization

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

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

getMarginRight()

Retrieves the right margin.

Return

Number|null — The right margin, in points.

Authorization

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

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

getMarginTop()

Retrieves the top margin.

Return

Number|null — The top margin, in points.

Authorization

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

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

getNumChildren()

Retrieves the number of children.

constbody=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 followingscopes:

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

getPageHeight()

Retrieves the page height, in points.

Return

Number|null — The page height, in points.

Authorization

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

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

getPageWidth()

Retrieves the page width, in points.

Return

Number|null — The page width, in points.

Authorization

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

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

getParagraphs()

Retrieves all theParagraphs contained in the section (includingListItems).

Return

Paragraph[]|null — The section paragraphs.

Authorization

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

  • 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|null — The parent element.

Authorization

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

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

getTables()

Retrieves all theTables contained in the section.

Return

Table[]|null — The section tables.

Authorization

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

  • 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 followingscopes:

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

getTextAlignment()

Gets the text alignment. The available types of alignment areDocumentApp.TextAlignment.NORMAL,DocumentApp.TextAlignment.SUBSCRIPT, andDocumentApp.TextAlignment.SUPERSCRIPT.

Return

TextAlignment|null — the type of text alignment, ornull 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 followingscopes:

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

getType()

Retrieves the element'sElementType.

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

constdoc=DocumentApp.getActiveDocument();constdocumentTab=doc.getActiveTab().asDocumentTab();constbody=documentTab.getBody();// Obtain the first element in the active tab's body.constfirstChild=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 followingscopes:

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

insertHorizontalRule(childIndex)

Creates and inserts a newHorizontalRule at the specified index.

TheHorizontalRule will be contained in a newParagraph.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
childIndexIntegerThe index at which to insert the element.

Return

HorizontalRule — The new horizontal rule.

Authorization

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

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

insertImage(childIndex, image)

Creates and inserts anInlineImage from the specified image blob, at the specifiedindex.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
childIndexIntegerThe index at which to insert the element.
imageBlobSourceThe image data.

Return

InlineImage — The inserted inline image.

Authorization

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

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

insertImage(childIndex, image)

Inserts the givenInlineImage at the specified index.

The image will be contained in a newParagraph.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
childIndexIntegerThe index at which to insert the element.
imageInlineImageThe image to insert.

Return

InlineImage — The inserted inline image.

Authorization

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

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

insertListItem(childIndex, listItem)

Inserts the givenListItem at the specified index.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
childIndexIntegerThe index at which to insert.
listItemListItemThe list item to insert.

Return

ListItem — The inserted list item.

Authorization

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

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

insertListItem(childIndex, text)

Creates and inserts a newListItem at the specified index, containing the specifiedtext contents.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
childIndexIntegerThe index at which to insert.
textStringThe list item's text contents.

Return

ListItem — The new list item.

Authorization

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

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

insertPageBreak(childIndex)

Creates and inserts a newPageBreak at the specified index.

ThePageBreak will be contained in a newParagraph.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
childIndexIntegerThe index at which to insert the element.

Return

PageBreak — The new page break.

Authorization

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

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

insertPageBreak(childIndex, pageBreak)

Inserts the givenPageBreak at the specified index.

ThePageBreak will be contained in a newParagraph.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
childIndexIntegerThe index at which to insert the element.
pageBreakPageBreakThe page break to insert.

Return

PageBreak — The inserted page break.

Authorization

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

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

insertParagraph(childIndex, paragraph)

Inserts the givenParagraph at the specified index.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
childIndexIntegerThe index at which to insert.
paragraphParagraphThe paragraph to insert.

Return

Paragraph — The inserted paragraph.

Authorization

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

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

insertParagraph(childIndex, text)

Creates and inserts a newParagraph at the specified index, containing the specifiedtext contents.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
childIndexIntegerThe index at which to insert.
textStringThe paragraph's text contents.

Return

Paragraph — The new paragraph.

Authorization

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

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

insertTable(childIndex)

Creates and inserts a newTable at the specified index.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
childIndexIntegerThe index at which to insert.

Return

Table — The new table.

Authorization

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

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

insertTable(childIndex, cells)

Creates and inserts a newTable containing the specified cells, at the specified index.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
childIndexIntegerThe index at which to insert.
cellsString[][]The text contents of the table cells to add to the new table.

Return

Table — The new table.

Authorization

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

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

insertTable(childIndex, table)

Inserts the givenTable at the specified index.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
childIndexIntegerThe index at which to insert.
tableTableThe table to insert.

Return

Table — The inserted table.

Authorization

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

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

removeChild(child)

Removes the specified child element.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
childElementThe child element to remove.

Return

Body — The current element.

Authorization

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

  • 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 regularexpressions.

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'sRE2 regularexpression library, which limits thesupported syntax.

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

constbody=DocumentApp.getActiveDocument().getActiveTab().asDocumentTab().getBody();// Clear the text surrounding "Apps Script", with or without text.body.replaceText('^.*Apps ?Script.*$','Apps Script');

Parameters

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

Return

Element — the current element

Authorization

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

  • 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 intheDocumentApp.Attribute enumeration and each property value is the new value to beapplied.

constdoc=DocumentApp.getActiveDocument();constdocumentTab=doc.getActiveTab().asDocumentTab();constbody=documentTab.getBody();// Define a custom paragraph style.conststyle={};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.constpar=body.appendParagraph('A paragraph with custom style.');// Apply the custom style.par.setAttributes(style);

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
attributesObjectThe element's attributes.

Return

Body — The current element.

Authorization

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

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

setHeadingAttributes(paragraphHeading, attributes)

Sets the attributes for the providedParagraphHeading.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
paragraphHeadingParagraphHeadingThe heading whose attributes should be set.
attributesObjectA map of attributes and the values to set them to.

Return

Body — The current element.

Authorization

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

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

setMarginBottom(marginBottom)

Sets the bottom margin, in points.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
marginBottomNumberThe bottom margin, in points.

Return

Body — The current element.

Authorization

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

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

setMarginLeft(marginLeft)

Sets the left margin, in points.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
marginLeftNumberThe left margin, in points.

Return

Body — The current element.

Authorization

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

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

setMarginRight(marginRight)

Sets the right margin, in points.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
marginRightNumberThe right margin.

Return

Body — The current element.

Authorization

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

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

setMarginTop(marginTop)

Sets the top margin.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
marginTopNumberThe top margin, in points.

Return

Body — The current element.

Authorization

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

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

setPageHeight(pageHeight)

Sets the page height, in points.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
pageHeightNumberThe page height, in points.

Return

Body — The current element.

Authorization

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

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

setPageWidth(pageWidth)

Sets the page width, in points.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
pageWidthNumberThe page width, in points.

Return

Body — The current element.

Authorization

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

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

setText(text)

Sets the contents as plain text.

Note: existing contents are cleared.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
textStringThe new text contents.

Return

Body — The current element.

Authorization

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

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

setTextAlignment(textAlignment)

Sets the text alignment. The available types of alignment areDocumentApp.TextAlignment.NORMAL,DocumentApp.TextAlignment.SUBSCRIPT, andDocumentApp.TextAlignment.SUPERSCRIPT.

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

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
textAlignmentTextAlignmentthe type of text alignment to apply

Return

Body — the current element

Authorization

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

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

Deprecated methods

getFootnotes()

Deprecated. This element cannot contain aFootnote.

Retrieves all theFootnotes contained in the section.

Return

Footnote[]|null — The section footnotes.

Authorization

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

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

getLinkUrl()

Deprecated. Instead of applying a link to an entire section, apply the link to an element within the section instead.

Retrieves the link url.

Return

String|null — 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 followingscopes:

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

getNextSibling()

Deprecated. This element does not have any siblings.

Retrieves the element's next sibling element.

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

Return

Element|null — The next sibling element.

Authorization

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

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

getPreviousSibling()

Deprecated. This element does not have any siblings.

Retrieves the element's previous sibling element.

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

Return

Element|null — The previous sibling element.

Authorization

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

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

isAtDocumentEnd()

Deprecated. This method is not reliable forHeaderSection.

Determines whether the element is at the end of theDocument.

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 followingscopes:

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

setLinkUrl(url)

Deprecated. Instead of applying a link to an entire section, apply the link to an element within the section instead.

Sets the link url.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
urlStringthe link url

Return

Body — the current element

Authorization

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

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

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Last updated 2025-12-11 UTC.