Class ListItem

  • A ListItem in Google Docs is a Paragraph linked by a list ID that maintains consecutive numbering within its list.

  • ListItem elements can contain various document elements like images, text, equations, and page breaks.

  • Numerous methods are available to manipulate ListItem elements, including adding, getting information about, modifying, removing, and searching within them.

  • Many ListItem methods require specific authorization scopes like https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.currentonly or https://www.googleapis.com/auth/documents.
ListItem

An element representing a list item. A ListItem is a Paragraph that is associated with a list ID. A ListItem may contain Equation, Footnote, HorizontalRule, InlineDrawing, InlineImage, PageBreak, and Text elements. For more information on document structure, see the guide to extending Google Docs.

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

ListItems with the same list ID belong to the same list and are numbered accordingly. The ListItems for a given list are not required to be adjacent in the tab or even have the same parent element. Two items belonging to the same list may exist anywhere in the tab while maintaining consecutive numbering, as the following example illustrates: 

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

// Append a new list item to the body.
const item1 = body.appendListItem('Item 1');

// Log the new list item's list ID.
Logger.log(item1.getListId());

// Append a table after the list item.
body.appendTable([['Cell 1', 'Cell 2']]);

// Append a second list item with the same list ID. The two items are treated as
// the same list, despite not being consecutive.
const item2 = body.appendListItem('Item 2');
item2.setListId(item1);

Methods

MethodReturn typeBrief description
addPositionedImage(image)PositionedImageCreates and inserts a new PositionedImage from the specified image blob.
appendHorizontalRule()HorizontalRuleCreates and appends a new HorizontalRule.
appendInlineImage(image)InlineImageCreates and appends a new InlineImage from the specified image blob.
appendInlineImage(image)InlineImageAppends the given InlineImage.
appendPageBreak()PageBreakCreates and appends a new PageBreak.
appendPageBreak(pageBreak)PageBreakAppends the given PageBreak.
appendText(text)TextCreates and appends a new Text element with the specified contents.
appendText(text)TextAppends the given Text element.
clear()ListItemClears the contents of the element.
copy()ListItemReturns a detached, deep copy of the current element.
editAsText()TextObtains a Text version of the current element, for editing.
findElement(elementType)RangeElementSearches the contents of the element for a descendant of the specified type.
findElement(elementType, from)RangeElementSearches the contents of the element for a descendant of the specified type, starting from the specified RangeElement.
findText(searchPattern)RangeElementSearches the contents of the element for the specified text pattern using regular expressions.
findText(searchPattern, from)RangeElementSearches the contents of the element for the specified text pattern, starting from a given search result.
getAlignment()HorizontalAlignmentRetrieves the HorizontalAlignment.
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.
getGlyphType()GlyphTypeRetrieves the list item's GlyphType.
getHeading()ParagraphHeadingRetrieves the ParagraphHeading.
getIndentEnd()NumberRetrieves the end indentation, in points.
getIndentFirstLine()NumberRetrieves the first line indentation, in points.
getIndentStart()NumberRetrieves the start indentation.
getLineSpacing()NumberRetrieves the line spacing, in points.
getLinkUrl()StringRetrieves the link url.
getListId()StringRetrieves the list ID.
getNestingLevel()IntegerRetrieves the list item's nesting level.
getNextSibling()ElementRetrieves the element's next sibling element.
getNumChildren()IntegerRetrieves the number of children.
getParent()ContainerElementRetrieves the element's parent element.
getPositionedImage(id)PositionedImageGets a PositionedImage by the image's ID.
getPositionedImages()PositionedImage[]Gets all PositionedImage objects anchored to the paragraph.
getPreviousSibling()ElementRetrieves the element's previous sibling element.
getSpacingAfter()NumberRetrieves the spacing after the element, in points.
getSpacingBefore()NumberRetrieves the spacing before the element, in points.
getText()StringRetrieves the contents of the element as a text string.
getTextAlignment()TextAlignmentGets the text alignment.
getType()ElementTypeRetrieves the element's ElementType.
insertHorizontalRule(childIndex)HorizontalRuleCreates and inserts a HorizontalRule at the specified index.
insertInlineImage(childIndex, image)InlineImageCreates and inserts a new InlineImage from the specified image blob, at the specified index.
insertInlineImage(childIndex, image)InlineImageInserts the given InlineImage at the specified index.
insertPageBreak(childIndex)PageBreakCreates and inserts a new PageBreak at the specified index.
insertPageBreak(childIndex, pageBreak)PageBreakInserts the given PageBreak at the specified index.
insertText(childIndex, text)TextCreates and inserts a new text element at the specified index.
insertText(childIndex, text)TextInserts the given Text element at the specified index, with the specified text contents.
isAtDocumentEnd()BooleanDetermines whether the element is at the end of the Document.
isLeftToRight()BooleanRetrieves the left-to-right setting.
merge()ListItemMerges the element with the preceding sibling of the same type.
removeChild(child)ListItemRemoves the specified child element.
removeFromParent()ListItemRemoves the element from its parent.
removePositionedImage(id)BooleanRemoves a PositionedImage by the image's ID.
replaceText(searchPattern, replacement)ElementReplaces all occurrences of a given text pattern with a given replacement string, using regular expressions.
setAlignment(alignment)ListItemSets the HorizontalAlignment.
setAttributes(attributes)ListItemSets the element's attributes.
setGlyphType(glyphType)ListItemSets the list item's GlyphType.
setHeading(heading)ListItemSets the ParagraphHeading.
setIndentEnd(indentEnd)ListItemSets the end indentation, in points.
setIndentFirstLine(indentFirstLine)ListItemSets the first line indentation, in points.
setIndentStart(indentStart)ListItemSets the start indentation, in points.
setLeftToRight(leftToRight)ListItemSets the left-to-right setting.
setLineSpacing(multiplier)ListItemSets the line spacing, as a quantity indicating the number of lines to use for spacing.
setLinkUrl(url)ListItemSets the link url.
setListId(listItem)ListItemSets the list ID.
setNestingLevel(nestingLevel)ListItemSets the list item's nesting level.
setSpacingAfter(spacingAfter)ListItemSets the spacing after the element, in points.
setSpacingBefore(spacingBefore)ListItemSets the spacing before the element, in points.
setText(text)voidSets the contents of the list item as text.
setTextAlignment(textAlignment)ListItemSets the text alignment.

Detailed documentation

addPositionedImage(image)

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

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
imageBlobSourcethe image data

Return

PositionedImage — the new positioned image

Authorization

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

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

appendHorizontalRule()

Creates and appends a new HorizontalRule.

Return

HorizontalRule — the new horizontal rule

Authorization

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

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

appendInlineImage(image)

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

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
imageBlobSourcethe image data

Return

InlineImage — the appended image

Authorization

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

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

appendInlineImage(image)

Appends the given InlineImage.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
imageInlineImagethe image data

Return

InlineImage — the appended image

Authorization

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

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

appendPageBreak()

Creates and appends a new PageBreak.

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

Return

PageBreak — the new page break element

Authorization

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

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

appendPageBreak(pageBreak)

Appends the given PageBreak.

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

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
pageBreakPageBreakthe page break to append

Return

PageBreak — the appended page break element

Authorization

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

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

appendText(text)

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

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
textStringthe text contents

Return

Text — the new text element

Authorization

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

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

appendText(text)

Appends the given Text element.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
textTextthe text element to append

Return

Text — the appended text element

Authorization

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

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

clear()

Clears the contents of the element.

Return

ListItem — The current element.

copy()

Returns a detached, deep copy of the current element.

Any child elements present in the element are also copied. The new element doesn't have a parent.

Return

ListItem — The new copy.

Authorization

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

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

editAsText()

Obtains a Text version of the current element, for editing.

Use editAsText for manipulating the elements contents as rich text. The editAsText mode ignores non-text elements (such as InlineImage and HorizontalRule).

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

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

// Insert two paragraphs separated by a paragraph containing an
// horizontal rule.
body.insertParagraph(0, 'An editAsText sample.');
body.insertHorizontalRule(0);
body.insertParagraph(0, 'An example.');

// Delete " sample.\n\n An" removing the horizontal rule in the process.
body.editAsText().deleteText(14, 25);

Return

Text — a text version of the current element

findElement(elementType)

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

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
elementTypeElementTypeThe type of element to search for.

Return

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

Authorization

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

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

findElement(elementType, from)

Searches the contents of the element for a descendant of the specified type, starting from the specified RangeElement. 

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

// Define the search parameters.

let searchResult = null;

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

Parameters

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

Return

RangeElement — A search result indicating the next position of the search element.

Authorization

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

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

findText(searchPattern)

Searches the contents of the element for the specified text pattern using regular expressions.

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

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

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
searchPatternStringthe pattern to search for

Return

RangeElement — a search result indicating the position of the search text, or null if there is no match

Authorization

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

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

findText(searchPattern, from)

Searches the contents of the element for the specified text pattern, starting from a given search result.

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

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

Parameters

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

Return

RangeElement — a search result indicating the next position of the search text, or null if there is no match

Authorization

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

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

getAlignment()

Retrieves the HorizontalAlignment.

Return

HorizontalAlignment — the alignment

Authorization

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

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

getAttributes()

Retrieves the element's attributes.

The result is an object containing a property for each valid element attribute where each property name corresponds to an item in the DocumentApp.Attribute enumeration. 

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

// Append a styled paragraph.
const par = body.appendParagraph('A bold, italicized paragraph.');
par.setBold(true);
par.setItalic(true);

// Retrieve the paragraph's attributes.
const atts = par.getAttributes();

// Log the paragraph attributes.
for (const att in atts) {
  Logger.log(`${att}:${atts[att]}`);
}

Return

Object — The element's attributes.

Authorization

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

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

getChild(childIndex)

Retrieves the child element at the specified child index. 

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

// Obtain the first element in the tab.
const firstChild = body.getChild(0);

// If it's a paragraph, set its contents.
if (firstChild.getType() === DocumentApp.ElementType.PARAGRAPH) {
  firstChild.asParagraph().setText('This is the first paragraph.');
}

Parameters

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 following scopes:

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

getChildIndex(child)

Retrieves the child index for the specified child element.

Parameters

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 following scopes:

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

getGlyphType()

Retrieves the list item's GlyphType.

Return

GlyphType — the glyph 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

getHeading()

Retrieves the ParagraphHeading.

Return

ParagraphHeading — the heading

Authorization

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

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

getIndentEnd()

Retrieves the end indentation, in points.

Return

Number — the end indentation, in points

Authorization

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

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

getIndentFirstLine()

Retrieves the first line indentation, in points.

Return

Number — the first line indentation, in points

Authorization

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

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

getIndentStart()

Retrieves the start indentation.

Return

Number — the start indentation

Authorization

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

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

getLineSpacing()

Retrieves the line spacing, in points.

Return

Number — the line spacing, in points

Authorization

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

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

getLinkUrl()

Retrieves the link url.

Return

String — the link url, or null if the element contains multiple values for this attribute

Authorization

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

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

getListId()

Retrieves the list ID.

Return

String — the list ID

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

getNestingLevel()

Retrieves the list item's nesting level.

By default, list items have a nesting level of zero. The nesting level determines the glyph that is used by the list item.

Return

Integer — the nesting level

Authorization

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

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

getNextSibling()

Retrieves the element's next sibling element.

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

Return

Element — The next sibling element.

Authorization

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

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

getNumChildren()

Retrieves the number of children. 

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

// Log the number of elements in the tab.
Logger.log(`There are ${body.getNumChildren()} elements in the tab's body.`);

Return

Integer — The number of children.

Authorization

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

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

getParent()

Retrieves the element's parent element.

The parent element contains the current element.

Return

ContainerElement — The parent element.

Authorization

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

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

getPositionedImage(id)

Gets a PositionedImage by the image's ID.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
idStringthe image id

Return

PositionedImage — the positioned image

Authorization

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

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

getPositionedImages()

Gets all PositionedImage objects anchored to the paragraph.

Return

PositionedImage[] — a list of positioned images

Authorization

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

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

getPreviousSibling()

Retrieves the element's previous sibling element.

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

Return

Element — The previous sibling element.

Authorization

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

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

getSpacingAfter()

Retrieves the spacing after the element, in points.

Return

Number — the spacing after the element, in points

Authorization

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

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

getSpacingBefore()

Retrieves the spacing before the element, in points.

Return

Number — the spacing before the element, in points

Authorization

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

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

getText()

Retrieves the contents of the element as a text string.

Return

String — the contents of the element as text string

Authorization

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

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

getTextAlignment()

Gets the text alignment. The available types of alignment are DocumentApp.TextAlignment.NORMAL, DocumentApp.TextAlignment.SUBSCRIPT, and DocumentApp.TextAlignment.SUPERSCRIPT.

Return

TextAlignment — the type of text alignment, or null if the text contains multiple types of text alignments or if the text alignment has never been set

Authorization

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

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

getType()

Retrieves the element's ElementType.

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

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

// Obtain the first element in the active tab's body.

const firstChild = body.getChild(0);

// Use getType() to determine the element's type.
if (firstChild.getType() === DocumentApp.ElementType.PARAGRAPH) {
  Logger.log('The first element is a paragraph.');
} else {
  Logger.log('The first element is not a paragraph.');
}

Return

ElementType — The element type.

Authorization

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

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

insertHorizontalRule(childIndex)

Creates and inserts a HorizontalRule at the specified index.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
childIndexIntegerthe index at which to insert the element

Return

HorizontalRule — the new horizontal rule element

Authorization

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

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

insertInlineImage(childIndex, image)

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

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
childIndexIntegerthe index at which to insert the element
imageBlobSourcethe image data

Return

InlineImage — the inserted inline image element

Authorization

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

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

insertInlineImage(childIndex, image)

Inserts the given InlineImage at the specified index.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
childIndexIntegerthe index at which to insert the element
imageInlineImagethe image data

Return

InlineImage — the inserted inline image element

Authorization

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

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

insertPageBreak(childIndex)

Creates and inserts a new PageBreak at the specified index.

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

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
childIndexIntegerthe index at which to insert the element

Return

PageBreak — the new page break element

Authorization

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

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

insertPageBreak(childIndex, pageBreak)

Inserts the given PageBreak at the specified index.

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

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
childIndexIntegerthe index at which to insert the element
pageBreakPageBreakthe p[age break to insert

Return

PageBreak — the inserted page break element

Authorization

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

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

insertText(childIndex, text)

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

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
childIndexIntegerthe index at which to insert the element
textStringthe text contents

Return

Text — the new text element

Authorization

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

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

insertText(childIndex, text)

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

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
childIndexIntegerthe index at which to insert the element
textTextthe text element to insert

Return

Text — the inserted text element

Authorization

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

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

isAtDocumentEnd()

Determines whether the element is at the end of the Document.

Return

Boolean — Whether the element is at the end of the tab.

Authorization

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

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

isLeftToRight()

Retrieves the left-to-right setting.

Return

Boolean — the left-to-right setting

Authorization

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

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

merge()

Merges the element with the preceding sibling of the same type.

Only elements of the same ElementType can be merged. Any child elements contained in the current element are moved to the preceding sibling element.

The current element is removed from the document. 

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

// Example 1: Merge paragraphs
// Append two paragraphs to the document's active tab.
const par1 = body.appendParagraph('Paragraph 1.');
const par2 = body.appendParagraph('Paragraph 2.');
// Merge the newly added paragraphs into a single paragraph.
par2.merge();

// Example 2: Merge table cells
// Create a two-dimensional array containing the table's cell contents.
const cells = [
  ['Row 1, Cell 1', 'Row 1, Cell 2'],
  ['Row 2, Cell 1', 'Row 2, Cell 2'],
];
// Build a table from the array.
const table = body.appendTable(cells);
// Get the first row in the table.
const row = table.getRow(0);
// Get the two cells in this row.
const cell1 = row.getCell(0);
const cell2 = row.getCell(1);
// Merge the current cell into its preceding sibling element.
const merged = cell2.merge();

Return

ListItem — The merged element.

Authorization

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

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

removeChild(child)

Removes the specified child element.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
childElementthe child element to remove

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

removeFromParent()

Removes the element from its parent. 

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

// Remove all images in the active tab's body.
const imgs = body.getImages();
for (let i = 0; i < imgs.length; i++) {
  imgs[i].removeFromParent();
}

Return

ListItem — The removed element.

Authorization

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

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

removePositionedImage(id)

Removes a PositionedImage by the image's ID.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
idString

Return

Boolean — whether or not the specified image was removed

Authorization

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

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

replaceText(searchPattern, replacement)

Replaces all occurrences of a given text pattern with a given replacement string, using regular expressions.

The search pattern is passed as a string, not a JavaScript regular expression object. Because of this you'll need to escape any backslashes in the pattern.

This methods uses Google's RE2 regular expression library, which limits the supported syntax.

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

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

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

Parameters

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 following scopes:

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

setAlignment(alignment)

Sets the HorizontalAlignment.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
alignmentHorizontalAlignmentthe horizontal alignment

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

setAttributes(attributes)

Sets the element's attributes.

The specified attributes parameter must be an object where each property name is an item in the DocumentApp.Attribute enumeration and each property value is the new value to be applied. 

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

// Define a custom paragraph style.
const style = {};
style[DocumentApp.Attribute.HORIZONTAL_ALIGNMENT] =
    DocumentApp.HorizontalAlignment.RIGHT;
style[DocumentApp.Attribute.FONT_FAMILY] = 'Calibri';
style[DocumentApp.Attribute.FONT_SIZE] = 18;
style[DocumentApp.Attribute.BOLD] = true;

// Append a plain paragraph.
const par = body.appendParagraph('A paragraph with custom style.');

// Apply the custom style.
par.setAttributes(style);

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
attributesObjectThe element's attributes.

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

setGlyphType(glyphType)

Sets the list item's GlyphType.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
glyphTypeGlyphTypethe glyph 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

setHeading(heading)

Sets the ParagraphHeading.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
headingParagraphHeadingthe heading

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

setIndentEnd(indentEnd)

Sets the end indentation, in points.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
indentEndNumberthe end indentation, in points

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

setIndentFirstLine(indentFirstLine)

Sets the first line indentation, in points.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
indentFirstLineNumberthe first line indentation, in points

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

setIndentStart(indentStart)

Sets the start indentation, in points.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
indentStartNumberthe start indentation, in points

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

setLeftToRight(leftToRight)

Sets the left-to-right setting.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
leftToRightBooleanthe left-to-right setting

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

setLineSpacing(multiplier)

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

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
multiplierNumberthe number of lines

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

setLinkUrl(url)

Sets the link url.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
urlStringthe link url

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

setListId(listItem)

Sets the list ID.

The list ID is set to the same value for the specified ListItem. The two ListItems will be treated as members of the same list.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
listItemListItemthe list item whose list ID to use

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

setNestingLevel(nestingLevel)

Sets the list item's nesting level.

By default, list items have a nesting level of zero. The nesting level determines the glyph that is used by the list item.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
nestingLevelIntegerthe nesting level

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

setSpacingAfter(spacingAfter)

Sets the spacing after the element, in points.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
spacingAfterNumberthe spacing after the element, in points

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

setSpacingBefore(spacingBefore)

Sets the spacing before the element, in points.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
spacingBeforeNumberthe spacing before the element, in points

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

setText(text)

Sets the contents of the list item as text.

Note: existing contents are cleared.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
textStringthe new text contents

Authorization

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

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

setTextAlignment(textAlignment)

Sets the text alignment. The available types of alignment are DocumentApp.TextAlignment.NORMAL, DocumentApp.TextAlignment.SUBSCRIPT, and DocumentApp.TextAlignment.SUPERSCRIPT. 

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

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
textAlignmentTextAlignmentthe type of text alignment to apply

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