Class HorizontalRule

  • AHorizontalRule is an element representing a horizontal rule in a document.

  • AHorizontalRule can be contained within aListItem orParagraph but cannot contain other elements.

  • Key methods for aHorizontalRule include copying, retrieving attributes, getting sibling and parent elements, getting its type, checking if it's at the document end, removing it, and setting its attributes.

HorizontalRule

An element representing an horizontal rule. AHorizontalRule can be contained within aListItem orParagraph, but cannot itself contain any other element. For moreinformation on document structure, see theguide to extending Google Docs.

Methods

MethodReturn typeBrief description
copy()HorizontalRuleReturns a detached, deep copy of the current element.
getAttributes()ObjectRetrieves the element's attributes.
getNextSibling()Element|nullRetrieves the element's next sibling element.
getParent()ContainerElement|nullRetrieves the element's parent element.
getPreviousSibling()Element|nullRetrieves the element's previous sibling element.
getType()ElementTypeRetrieves the element'sElementType.
isAtDocumentEnd()BooleanDetermines whether the element is at the end of theDocument.
removeFromParent()HorizontalRule|nullRemoves the element from its parent.
setAttributes(attributes)HorizontalRuleSets the element's attributes.

Detailed documentation

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

HorizontalRule — 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

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

getNextSibling()

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

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

getPreviousSibling()

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

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

isAtDocumentEnd()

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

removeFromParent()

Removes the element from its parent.

constdoc=DocumentApp.getActiveDocument();constdocumentTab=doc.getActiveTab().asDocumentTab();constbody=documentTab.getBody();// Remove all images in the active tab's body.constimgs=body.getImages();for(leti=0;i <imgs.length;i++){imgs[i].removeFromParent();}

Return

HorizontalRule|null — The removed 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

HorizontalRule — 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.