A generic element. Document
contents are
represented as elements. For example, ListItem
, Paragraph
, and Table
are
elements and inherit all of the methods defined by Element
, such as getType()
.
Implementing classes
Name | Brief description |
---|---|
Body | The content of a tab in a Google Docs document. |
ContainerElement | A generic element that may contain other elements. |
Date | An element representing a formatted date |
Equation | An element representing a mathematical expression. |
EquationFunction | An element representing a function in a mathematical Equation . |
EquationFunctionArgumentSeparator | An element representing a function separator in a mathematical Equation . |
EquationSymbol | An element representing a symbol in a mathematical Equation . |
FooterSection | An element representing a footer section. |
Footnote | An element representing a footnote. |
FootnoteSection | An element representing a footnote section. |
HeaderSection | An element representing a header section. |
HorizontalRule | An element representing an horizontal rule. |
InlineDrawing | An element representing an embedded drawing. |
InlineImage | An element representing an embedded image. |
ListItem | An element representing a list item. |
PageBreak | An element representing a page break. |
Paragraph | An element representing a paragraph. |
Person | An element representing a link to a person. |
RichLink | An element representing a link to a Google resource, such as a Drive file or a YouTube video. |
Table | An element representing a table. |
TableCell | An element representing a table cell. |
TableOfContents | An element containing a table of contents. |
TableRow | An element representing a table row. |
Text | An element representing a rich text region. |
UnsupportedElement | An element representing a region that is unknown or cannot be affected by a script, such as a page number. |
Methods
Method | Return type | Brief description |
---|---|---|
asBody() | Body | Returns the current element as a Body . |
asDate() | Date | Returns the current element as a Date . |
asEquation() | Equation | Returns the current element as an Equation . |
asEquationFunction() | EquationFunction | Returns the current element as a EquationFunction . |
asEquationFunctionArgumentSeparator() | EquationFunctionArgumentSeparator | Returns the current element as a EquationFunctionArgumentSeparator . |
asEquationSymbol() | EquationSymbol | Returns the current element as a EquationSymbol . |
asFooterSection() | FooterSection | Returns the current element as a FooterSection . |
asFootnote() | Footnote | Returns the current element as a Footnote . |
asFootnoteSection() | FootnoteSection | Returns the current element as a FootnoteSection . |
asHeaderSection() | HeaderSection | Returns the current element as a HeaderSection . |
asHorizontalRule() | HorizontalRule | Returns the current element as a HorizontalRule . |
asInlineDrawing() | InlineDrawing | Returns the current element as a InlineDrawing . |
asInlineImage() | InlineImage | Returns the current element as a InlineImage . |
asListItem() | ListItem | Returns the current element as a ListItem . |
asPageBreak() | PageBreak | Returns the current element as a PageBreak . |
asParagraph() | Paragraph | Returns the current element as a Paragraph . |
asPerson() | Person | Returns the current element as a Person . |
asRichLink() | RichLink | Returns the current element as a RichLink , for example, a link to a Google Sheets file. |
asTable() | Table | Returns the current element as a Table . |
asTableCell() | TableCell | Returns the current element as a TableCell . |
asTableOfContents() | TableOfContents | Returns the current element as a TableOfContents . |
asTableRow() | TableRow | Returns the current element as a TableRow . |
asText() | Text | Returns the current element as a Text . |
copy() | Element | Returns a detached, deep copy of the current element. |
getAttributes() | Object | Retrieves the element's attributes. |
getNextSibling() | Element | Retrieves the element's next sibling element. |
getParent() | ContainerElement | Retrieves the element's parent element. |
getPreviousSibling() | Element | Retrieves the element's previous sibling element. |
getType() | ElementType | Retrieves the element's ElementType . |
isAtDocumentEnd() | Boolean | Determines whether the element is at the end of the Document . |
merge() | Element | Merges the element with the preceding sibling of the same type. |
removeFromParent() | Element | Removes the element from its parent. |
setAttributes(attributes) | Element | Sets the element's attributes. |
Detailed documentation
asBody()
Returns the current element as a Body
.
Use this method to aid auto-complete whenever a given element is known to be of a specific type.
Return
Body
— The current element.
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
asDate()
Returns the current element as a Date
.
When you know an element is a Date
, use this method to set its type as a Date
. Doing so lets autocomplete in the Apps Script editor show you the methods you can use
with a Date
.
Return
Date
— The current element with its type set as Date
.
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
asEquation()
Returns the current element as an Equation
.
Use this method to aid auto-complete whenever a given element is known to be of a specific type.
Return
Equation
— The current element.
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
asEquationFunction()
Returns the current element as a EquationFunction
.
Use this method to aid auto-complete whenever a given element is known to be of a specific type.
Return
EquationFunction
— The current element.
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
asEquationFunctionArgumentSeparator()
Returns the current element as a EquationFunctionArgumentSeparator
.
Use this method to aid auto-complete whenever a given element is known to be of a specific type.
Return
EquationFunctionArgumentSeparator
— The current element.
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
asEquationSymbol()
Returns the current element as a EquationSymbol
.
Use this method to aid auto-complete whenever a given element is known to be of a specific type.
Return
EquationSymbol
— The current element.
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
asFootnote()
Returns the current element as a Footnote
.
Use this method to aid auto-complete whenever a given element is known to be of a specific type.
Return
Footnote
— The current element.
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
asFootnoteSection()
Returns the current element as a FootnoteSection
.
Use this method to aid auto-complete whenever a given element is known to be of a specific type.
Return
FootnoteSection
— The current element.
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
asHeaderSection()
Returns the current element as a HeaderSection
.
Use this method to aid auto-complete whenever a given element is known to be of a specific type.
Return
HeaderSection
— The current element.
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
asHorizontalRule()
Returns the current element as a HorizontalRule
.
Use this method to aid auto-complete whenever a given element is known to be of a specific type.
Return
HorizontalRule
— The current element.
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
asInlineDrawing()
Returns the current element as a InlineDrawing
.
Use this method to aid auto-complete whenever a given element is known to be of a specific type.
Return
InlineDrawing
— The current element.
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
asInlineImage()
Returns the current element as a InlineImage
.
Use this method to aid auto-complete whenever a given element is known to be of a specific type.
Return
InlineImage
— The current element.
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
asListItem()
Returns the current element as a ListItem
.
Use this method to aid auto-complete whenever a given element is known to be of a specific type.
Return
ListItem
— The current element.
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
asPageBreak()
Returns the current element as a PageBreak
.
Use this method to aid auto-complete whenever a given element is known to be of a specific type.
Return
PageBreak
— The current element.
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
asParagraph()
Returns the current element as a Paragraph
.
Use this method to aid auto-complete whenever a given element is known to be of a specific type.
Return
Paragraph
— The current element.
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
asPerson()
Returns the current element as a Person
.
When you know an element is a Person
, use this method to set its type as a person.
Doing so lets autocomplete in the Apps Script editor show you the methods you can use with a
person element.
Return
Person
— The current element with its type set as Person
.
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
asRichLink()
Returns the current element as a RichLink
, for example, a link to a Google Sheets file.
When you know an element is a RichLink
, use this method to set its type as a RichLink
. Doing so lets autocomplete in the Apps Script editor show you the methods you can
use with a RichLink
.
Return
RichLink
— The current element with its type set as RichLink
.
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
asTable()
Returns the current element as a Table
.
Use this method to aid auto-complete whenever a given element is known to be of a specific type.
Return
Table
— The current element.
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
asTableCell()
Returns the current element as a TableCell
.
Use this method to aid auto-complete whenever a given element is known to be of a specific type.
Return
TableCell
— The current element.
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
asTableOfContents()
Returns the current element as a TableOfContents
.
Use this method to aid auto-complete whenever a given element is known to be of a specific type.
Return
TableOfContents
— The current element.
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
asTableRow()
Returns the current element as a TableRow
.
Use this method to aid auto-complete whenever a given element is known to be of a specific type.
Return
TableRow
— The current element.
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
asText()
Returns the current element as a Text
.
Use this method to aid auto-complete whenever a given element is known to be of a specific type.
Return
Text
— The current element.
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
copy()
Returns a detached, deep copy of the current element.
Any child elements present in the element are also copied. The new element doesn't have a parent.
Return
Element
— The new copy.
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
getAttributes()
Retrieves the element's attributes.
The result is an object containing a property for each valid element attribute where each
property name corresponds to an item in the DocumentApp.Attribute
enumeration.
var doc = DocumentApp.getActiveDocument(); var documentTab = doc.getActiveTab().asDocumentTab(); var body = documentTab.getBody(); // Append a styled paragraph. var par = body.appendParagraph('A bold, italicized paragraph.'); par.setBold(true); par.setItalic(true); // Retrieve the paragraph's attributes. var atts = par.getAttributes(); // Log the paragraph attributes. for (var att in atts) { Logger.log(att + ":" + atts[att]); }
Return
Object
— The element's attributes.
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
getNextSibling()
Retrieves the element's next sibling element.
The next sibling has the same parent and follows the current element.
Return
Element
— The next sibling element.
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
getParent()
Retrieves the element's parent element.
The parent element contains the current element.
Return
ContainerElement
— The parent element.
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
getPreviousSibling()
Retrieves the element's previous sibling element.
The previous sibling has the same parent and precedes the current element.
Return
Element
— The previous sibling element.
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
getType()
Retrieves the element's ElementType
.
Use getType()
to determine the exact type of a given element.
var doc = DocumentApp.getActiveDocument(); var documentTab = doc.getActiveTab().asDocumentTab(); var body = documentTab.getBody(); // Obtain the first element in the active tab's body. var firstChild = body.getChild(0); // Use getType() to determine the element's type. if (firstChild.getType() == DocumentApp.ElementType.PARAGRAPH) { Logger.log('The first element is a paragraph.'); } else { Logger.log('The first element is not a paragraph.'); }
Return
ElementType
— The element type.
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
isAtDocumentEnd()
Determines whether the element is at the end of the Document
.
Return
Boolean
— Whether the element is at the end of the tab.
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
merge()
Merges the element with the preceding sibling of the same type.
Only elements of the same ElementType
can be merged. Any child elements contained in
the current element are moved to the preceding sibling element.
The current element is removed from the document.
var doc = DocumentApp.getActiveDocument(); var documentTab = doc.getActiveTab().asDocumentTab(); var body = documentTab.getBody(); // Example 1: Merge paragraphs // Append two paragraphs to the document's active tab. var par1 = body.appendParagraph('Paragraph 1.'); var 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. var cells = [ ['Row 1, Cell 1', 'Row 1, Cell 2'], ['Row 2, Cell 1', 'Row 2, Cell 2'] ]; // Build a table from the array. var table = body.appendTable(cells); // Get the first row in the table. var row = table.getRow(0); // Get the two cells in this row. var cell1 = row.getCell(0); var cell2 = row.getCell(1); // Merge the current cell into its preceding sibling element. var merged = cell2.merge();
Return
Element
— The merged element.
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
removeFromParent()
Removes the element from its parent.
var doc = DocumentApp.getActiveDocument(); var documentTab = doc.getActiveTab().asDocumentTab() var body = documentTab.getBody(); // Remove all images in the active tab's body. var imgs = body.getImages(); for (var i = 0; i < imgs.length; i++) { imgs[i].removeFromParent(); }
Return
Element
— The removed element.
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents
setAttributes(attributes)
Sets the element's attributes.
The specified attributes parameter must be an object where each property name is an item in
the DocumentApp.Attribute
enumeration and each property value is the new value to be
applied.
var doc = DocumentApp.getActiveDocument(); var documentTab = doc.getActiveTab().asDocumentTab(); var body = documentTab.getBody(); // Define a custom paragraph style. var 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. var par = body.appendParagraph('A paragraph with custom style.'); // Apply the custom style. par.setAttributes(style);
Parameters
Name | Type | Description |
---|---|---|
attributes | Object | The element's attributes. |
Return
Element
— The current element.
Authorization
Scripts that use this method require authorization with one or more of the following scopes:
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly
-
https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents