Class Paragraph Stay organized with collections Save and categorize content based on your preferences.
Page Summary
Several methods are available to manipulate elements within a Google Document using Apps Script, including replacing text, setting alignment, and adjusting spacing.
Methods like
replaceTextuse regular expressions with limitations based on Google's RE2 library.Various methods allow setting paragraph attributes, heading styles, indentations, and line spacing.
Authorization with specific scopes, such as
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonlyorhttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents, is required to use these methods.You can set the entire text content of a paragraph using the
setTextmethod, which replaces existing content.
An element representing a paragraph. AParagraph may containEquation,Footnote,Horizontal,Inline,Inline,Page,andText elements. For more information on document structure, see theguide to extending Google Docs.
Paragraphs may not contain new-line characters. New-line characters ("\n") areconverted to line-break characters ("\r").
constbody=DocumentApp.getActiveDocument().getActiveTab().asDocumentTab().getBody();// Append a tab header paragraph.constheader=body.appendParagraph('A Document');header.setHeading(DocumentApp.ParagraphHeading.HEADING1);// Append a section header paragraph.constsection=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 |
|---|---|---|
add | Positioned | Creates and inserts a newPositioned from the specified image blob. |
append | Horizontal | Creates and appends a newHorizontal. |
append | Inline | Creates and appends a newInline from the specified image blob. |
append | Inline | Appends the givenInline. |
append | Page | Creates and appends a newPage. |
append | Page | Appends the givenPage. |
append | Text | Creates and appends a newText element with the specified contents. |
append | Text | Appends the givenText element. |
clear() | Paragraph | Clears the contents of the element. |
copy() | Paragraph | Returns a detached, deep copy of the current element. |
edit | Text | Obtains aText version of the current element, for editing. |
find | Range | Searches the contents of the element for a descendant of the specified type. |
find | Range | Searches the contents of the element for a descendant of the specified type, starting from thespecifiedRange. |
find | Range | Searches the contents of the element for the specified text pattern using regular expressions. |
find | Range | Searches the contents of the element for the specified text pattern, starting from a givensearch result. |
get | Horizontal | Retrieves theHorizontal. |
get | Object | Retrieves the element's attributes. |
get | Element | Retrieves the child element at the specified child index. |
get | Integer | Retrieves the child index for the specified child element. |
get | Paragraph | Retrieves theParagraph. |
get | Number|null | Retrieves the end indentation, in points. |
get | Number|null | Retrieves the first line indentation, in points. |
get | Number|null | Retrieves the start indentation. |
get | Number|null | Retrieves the line spacing, in points. |
get | String|null | Retrieves the link url. |
get | Element|null | Retrieves the element's next sibling element. |
get | Integer | Retrieves the number of children. |
get | Container | Retrieves the element's parent element. |
get | Positioned | Gets aPositioned by the image's ID. |
get | Positioned | Gets allPositioned objects anchored to the paragraph. |
get | Element|null | Retrieves the element's previous sibling element. |
get | Number|null | Retrieves the spacing after the element, in points. |
get | Number|null | Retrieves the spacing before the element, in points. |
get | String | Retrieves the contents of the element as a text string. |
get | Text | Gets the text alignment. |
get | Element | Retrieves the element'sElement. |
insert | Horizontal | Creates and inserts aHorizontal at the specified index. |
insert | Inline | Creates and inserts a newInline from the specified image blob, at the specifiedindex. |
insert | Inline | Inserts the givenInline at the specified index. |
insert | Page | Creates and inserts a newPage at the specified index. |
insert | Page | Inserts the givenPage at the specified index. |
insert | Text | Creates and inserts a new text element at the specified index. |
insert | Text | Inserts the givenText element at the specified index, with the specified textcontents. |
is | Boolean | Determines whether the element is at the end of theDocument. |
is | Boolean|null | Retrieves the left-to-right setting. |
merge() | Paragraph|null | Merges the element with the preceding sibling of the same type. |
remove | Paragraph | Removes the specified child element. |
remove | Paragraph|null | Removes the element from its parent. |
remove | Boolean | Removes aPositioned by the image's ID. |
replace | Element | Replaces all occurrences of a given text pattern with a given replacement string, using regularexpressions. |
set | Paragraph | Sets theHorizontal. |
set | Paragraph | Sets the element's attributes. |
set | Paragraph | Sets theParagraph. |
set | Paragraph | Sets the end indentation, in points. |
set | Paragraph | Sets the first line indentation, in points. |
set | Paragraph | Sets the start indentation, in points. |
set | Paragraph | Sets the left-to-right setting. |
set | Paragraph | Sets the line spacing, as a quantity indicating the number of lines to use for spacing. |
set | Paragraph | Sets the link url. |
set | Paragraph | Sets the spacing after the element, in points. |
set | Paragraph | Sets the spacing before the element, in points. |
set | void | Sets the contents of the paragraph as text. |
set | Paragraph | Sets the text alignment. |
Detailed documentation
addPositionedImage(image)
Creates and inserts a newPositioned 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.constdoc=DocumentApp.openById('123abc');// Gets the body contents of the tab by its ID.// TODO(developer): Replace the ID with your own.constbody=doc.getTab('123abc').asDocumentTab().getBody();// Gets the first paragraph from the body.constparagraph=body.getParagraphs()[0];// Fetches the specified image URL.constimage=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 | Blob | The image data. |
Return
Positioned — The new positioned image.
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the followingscopes:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonlyhttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
appendHorizontalRule()
Creates and appends a newHorizontal.
// 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.constdoc=DocumentApp.openById('123abc');// Gets the body contents of the tab by its ID.// TODO(developer): Replace the ID with your own.constbody=doc.getTab('123abc').asDocumentTab().getBody();// Gets the first paragraph from the body.constparagraph=body.getParagraphs()[0];// Adds a horizontal line under the first paragraph.paragraph.appendHorizontalRule();
Return
Horizontal — 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.currentonlyhttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
appendInlineImage(image)
Creates and appends a newInline 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.constdoc=DocumentApp.openById('123abc');// Gets the body contents of the tab by its ID.// TODO(developer): Replace the ID with your own.constbody=doc.getTab('123abc').asDocumentTab().getBody();// Gets the first paragraph from the body.constparagraph=body.getParagraphs()[0];// Fetches the image from the specified image URL.constimage=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 | Blob | The image data. |
Return
Inline — The appended image.
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the followingscopes:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonlyhttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
appendInlineImage(image)
Appends the givenInline.
// 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.constdoc=DocumentApp.openById('123abc');// Gets the body contents of the tab by its ID.// TODO(developer): Replace the ID with your own.constbody=doc.getTab('123abc').asDocumentTab().getBody();// Gets the first paragraph from the body.constparagraph=body.getParagraphs()[0];// Makes a copy of the first image in the body.constimage=body.getImages()[0].copy();// Adds the image to the first paragraph.paragraph.appendInlineImage(image);
Parameters
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
image | Inline | The image data. |
Return
Inline — The appended image.
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the followingscopes:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonlyhttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
appendPageBreak()
Creates and appends a newPage.
Note:Page may not be contained withinTable.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.constdoc=DocumentApp.openById('123abc');// Gets the body contents of the tab by its ID.// TODO(developer): Replace the ID with your own.constbody=doc.getTab('123abc').asDocumentTab().getBody();// Gets the first paragraph from the body.constparagraph=body.getParagraphs()[0];// Adds a page break after the first paragraph.paragraph.appendPageBreak();
Return
Page — The new page break element.
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the followingscopes:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonlyhttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
appendPageBreak(pageBreak)
Appends the givenPage.
Note:Page can't be contained withinTable.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.constdoc=DocumentApp.openById('123abc');// Gets the body contents of the tab by its ID.// TODO(developer): Replace the ID with your own.constbody=doc.getTab('123abc').asDocumentTab().getBody();// Gets the first paragraph from the body.constparagraph=body.getParagraphs()[0];// Adds a page break after the first paragraph.constpageBreak=paragraph.appendPageBreak();// Makes a copy of the page break.constnewPageBreak=pageBreak.copy();// Adds the copied page break to the paragraph.paragraph.appendPageBreak(newPageBreak);
Parameters
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
page | Page | The page break to append. |
Return
Page — The appended page break element.
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the followingscopes:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonlyhttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
appendText(text)
Creates and appends a newText 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.constdoc=DocumentApp.openById('123abc');// Gets the body contents of the tab by its ID.// TODO(developer): Replace the ID with your own.constbody=doc.getTab('123abc').asDocumentTab().getBody();// Gets the first paragraph from the body.constparagraph=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 followingscopes:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonlyhttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
appendText(text)
Appends the givenText 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.constdoc=DocumentApp.openById('123abc');// Gets the body contents of the tab by its ID.// TODO(developer): Replace the ID with your own.constbody=doc.getTab('123abc').asDocumentTab().getBody();// Gets the text from the first paragraph in the body.constparagraph1=body.getParagraphs()[0];consttext=paragraph1.getText();// Gets the third paragraph in the body.constparagraph3=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 followingscopes:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonlyhttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
clear()
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
Paragraph — The new copy.
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the followingscopes:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonlyhttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
editAsText()
Obtains aText version of the current element, for editing.
Useedit for manipulating the elements contents as rich text. Theedit mode ignores non-text elements (such asInline andHorizontal).
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
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
element | Element | The type of element to search for. |
Return
Range — 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.currentonlyhttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
findElement(elementType, from)
Searches the contents of the element for a descendant of the specified type, starting from thespecifiedRange.
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
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
element | Element | The type of element to search for. |
from | Range | The search result to search from. |
Return
Range — 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.currentonlyhttps://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
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
search | String | the pattern to search for |
Return
Range — 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.currentonlyhttps://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
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
search | String | the pattern to search for |
from | Range | the search result to search from |
Return
Range — 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.currentonlyhttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
getAlignment()
Retrieves theHorizontal.
// 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.constdoc=DocumentApp.openById('123abc');// Gets the body contents of the tab by its ID.// TODO(developer): Replace the ID with your own.constbody=doc.getTab('123abc').asDocumentTab().getBody();// Gets the first paragraph from the body.constparagraph=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
Horizontal — The alignment.
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the followingscopes:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonlyhttps://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 theDocument 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.currentonlyhttps://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
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
child | 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 followingscopes:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonlyhttps://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 followingscopes:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonlyhttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
getHeading()
Retrieves theParagraph.
// 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.constdoc=DocumentApp.openById('123abc');// Gets the body contents of the tab by its ID.// TODO(developer): Replace the ID with your own.constbody=doc.getTab('123abc').asDocumentTab().getBody();// Adds a paragraph to the body.constparagraph=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
Paragraph — The heading.
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the followingscopes:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonlyhttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
getIndentEnd()
Retrieves the end indentation, in points.
Return
Number|null — the end indentation, in points
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the followingscopes:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonlyhttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
getIndentFirstLine()
Retrieves the first line indentation, in points.
Return
Number|null — the first line indentation, in points
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the followingscopes:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonlyhttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
getIndentStart()
Retrieves the start indentation.
Return
Number|null — the start indentation
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the followingscopes:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonlyhttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
getLineSpacing()
Retrieves the line spacing, in points.
Return
Number|null — the line spacing, in points
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the followingscopes:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonlyhttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
getLinkUrl()
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.currentonlyhttps://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.currentonlyhttps://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.currentonlyhttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
getParent()
Retrieves the element's parent element.
The parent element contains the current element.
Return
Container — The parent element.
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the followingscopes:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonlyhttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
getPositionedImage(id)
Gets aPositioned by the image's ID.
Parameters
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
id | String | the image id |
Return
Positioned — the positioned image
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the followingscopes:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonlyhttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
getPositionedImages()
Gets allPositioned objects anchored to the paragraph.
Return
Positioned — a list of positioned images
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the followingscopes:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonlyhttps://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.currentonlyhttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
getSpacingAfter()
Retrieves the spacing after the element, in points.
Return
Number|null — the spacing after the element, in points
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the followingscopes:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonlyhttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
getSpacingBefore()
Retrieves the spacing before the element, in points.
Return
Number|null — the spacing before the element, in points
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the followingscopes:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonlyhttps://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.currentonlyhttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
getTextAlignment()
Gets the text alignment. The available types of alignment areDocument,Document, andDocument.
Return
Text — 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.currentonlyhttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
getType()
Retrieves the element'sElement.
Useget 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
Element — The element type.
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the followingscopes:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonlyhttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
insertHorizontalRule(childIndex)
Creates and inserts aHorizontal at the specified index.
Parameters
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
child | Integer | the index at which to insert the element |
Return
Horizontal — the new horizontal rule element
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the followingscopes:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonlyhttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
insertInlineImage(childIndex, image)
Creates and inserts a newInline from the specified image blob, at the specifiedindex.
Parameters
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
child | Integer | the index at which to insert the element |
image | Blob | the image data |
Return
Inline — the inserted inline image element
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the followingscopes:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonlyhttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
insertInlineImage(childIndex, image)
Inserts the givenInline at the specified index.
Parameters
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
child | Integer | the index at which to insert the element |
image | Inline | the image data |
Return
Inline — the inserted inline image element
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the followingscopes:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonlyhttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
insertPageBreak(childIndex)
Creates and inserts a newPage at the specified index.
Note:Page may not be contained withinTable.If the current element is contained in a table cell, an exception will be thrown.
Parameters
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
child | Integer | the index at which to insert the element |
Return
Page — the new page break element
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the followingscopes:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonlyhttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
insertPageBreak(childIndex, pageBreak)
Inserts the givenPage at the specified index.
Note:Page may not be contained withinTable.If the current element is contained in a table cell, an exception will be thrown.
Parameters
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
child | Integer | the index at which to insert the element |
page | Page | the p[age break to insert |
Return
Page — the inserted page break element
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the followingscopes:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonlyhttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
insertText(childIndex, text)
Creates and inserts a new text element at the specified index.
Parameters
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
child | 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 followingscopes:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonlyhttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
insertText(childIndex, text)
Inserts the givenText element at the specified index, with the specified textcontents.
Parameters
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
child | 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 followingscopes:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonlyhttps://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.currentonlyhttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
isLeftToRight()
Retrieves the left-to-right setting.
Return
Boolean|null — the left-to-right setting
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the followingscopes:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonlyhttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
merge()
Merges the element with the preceding sibling of the same type.
Only elements of the sameElement can be merged. Any child elements contained inthe current element are moved to the preceding sibling element.
The current element is removed from the document.
constdoc=DocumentApp.getActiveDocument();constdocumentTab=doc.getActiveTab().asDocumentTab();constbody=documentTab.getBody();// Example 1: Merge paragraphs// Append two paragraphs to the document's active tab.constpar1=body.appendParagraph('Paragraph 1.');constpar2=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.constcells=[['Row 1, Cell 1','Row 1, Cell 2'],['Row 2, Cell 1','Row 2, Cell 2'],];// Build a table from the array.consttable=body.appendTable(cells);// Get the first row in the table.constrow=table.getRow(0);// Get the two cells in this row.constcell1=row.getCell(0);constcell2=row.getCell(1);// Merge the current cell into its preceding sibling element.constmerged=cell2.merge();
Return
Paragraph|null — The merged element.
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the followingscopes:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonlyhttps://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 followingscopes:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonlyhttps://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
Paragraph|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.currentonlyhttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
removePositionedImage(id)
Removes aPositioned 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 followingscopes:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonlyhttps://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
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
search | 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 followingscopes:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonlyhttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
setAlignment(alignment)
Sets theHorizontal.
Parameters
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
alignment | Horizontal | the horizontal alignment |
Return
Paragraph — the current element
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the followingscopes:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonlyhttps://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 intheDocument 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
| 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 followingscopes:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonlyhttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
setHeading(heading)
Sets theParagraph.
Parameters
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
heading | Paragraph | the heading |
Return
Paragraph — the current element
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the followingscopes:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonlyhttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
setIndentEnd(indentEnd)
Sets the end indentation, in points.
Parameters
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
indent | 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 followingscopes:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonlyhttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
setIndentFirstLine(indentFirstLine)
Sets the first line indentation, in points.
Parameters
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
indent | 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 followingscopes:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonlyhttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
setIndentStart(indentStart)
Sets the start indentation, in points.
Parameters
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
indent | 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 followingscopes:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonlyhttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
setLeftToRight(leftToRight)
Sets the left-to-right setting.
Parameters
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
left | 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 followingscopes:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonlyhttps://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 followingscopes:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonlyhttps://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 followingscopes:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonlyhttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
setSpacingAfter(spacingAfter)
Sets the spacing after the element, in points.
Parameters
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
spacing | 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 followingscopes:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonlyhttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
setSpacingBefore(spacingBefore)
Sets the spacing before the element, in points.
Parameters
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
spacing | 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 followingscopes:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonlyhttps://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 followingscopes:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonlyhttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
setTextAlignment(textAlignment)
Sets the text alignment. The available types of alignment areDocument,Document, andDocument.
// 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
| Name | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
text | Text | 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 followingscopes:
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonlyhttps://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
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Last updated 2025-12-11 UTC.