Class DocumentApp

AI-generated Key Takeaways

• The DocumentApp service in Google Apps Script allows you to programmatically create, open, and edit Google Documents.

• You can open existing documents using their ID or URL, or create new documents with a specified name.

• DocumentApp provides access to a document's user interface, enabling features like custom menus, dialogs, and sidebars.

• It offers a variety of properties and methods to manipulate document content, formatting, and elements.

• Using this service requires specific authorization scopes related to document access and modification.

DocumentApp

The document service creates and opens Documents that can be edited.

// Open a document by ID.
// TODO(developer): Replace the ID with your own.
let doc = DocumentApp.openById('DOCUMENT_ID');

// Create and open a document.
doc = DocumentApp.create('Document Name');

Properties

Property	Type	Description
Attribute	Attribute	The Attribute enumeration.
ElementType	ElementType	The ElementType enumeration.
FontFamily	FontFamily	The FontFamily enumeration.
GlyphType	GlyphType	The GlyphType enumeration.
HorizontalAlignment	HorizontalAlignment	The HorizontalAlignment enumeration.
ParagraphHeading	ParagraphHeading	The ParagraphHeading enumeration.
PositionedLayout	PositionedLayout	The PositionedLayout enumeration.
TextAlignment	TextAlignment	The TextAlignment enumeration.
VerticalAlignment	VerticalAlignment	The VerticalAlignment enumeration.

Methods

Method	Return type	Brief description
create(name)	Document	Creates and returns a new document.
getActiveDocument()	Document	Returns the document to which the script is container-bound.
getUi()	Ui	Returns an instance of the document's user-interface environment that allows the script to add features like menus, dialogs, and sidebars.
openById(id)	Document	Returns the document with the specified ID.
openByUrl(url)	Document	Opens and returns the document with the specified URL.

Detailed documentation

create(name)

Creates and returns a new document.

// Create and open a new document.
const doc = DocumentApp.create('Document Name');

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
name	String	The new document's name.

Return

Document — The new document instance.

Authorization

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

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

---

getActiveDocument()

Returns the document to which the script is container-bound. To interact with document to which the script is not container-bound, use openById(id) or openByUrl(url) instead.

// Get the document to which this script is bound.
const doc = DocumentApp.getActiveDocument();

Return

Document — the document instance

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

---

getUi()

Returns an instance of the document's user-interface environment that allows the script to add features like menus, dialogs, and sidebars. A script can only interact with the UI for the current instance of an open document, and only if the script is bound to the document. For more information, see the guides to menus and dialogs and sidebars.

// Add a custom menu to the active document, including a separator and a
// sub-menu.
function onOpen(e) {
  DocumentApp.getUi()
      .createMenu('My Menu')
      .addItem('My menu item', 'myFunction')
      .addSeparator()
      .addSubMenu(
          DocumentApp.getUi()
              .createMenu('My sub-menu')
              .addItem('One sub-menu item', 'mySecondFunction')
              .addItem('Another sub-menu item', 'myThirdFunction'),
          )
      .addToUi();
}

Return

Ui — an instance of this document's user-interface environment

---

openById(id)

Returns the document with the specified ID. If the script is container-bound to the document, use getActiveDocument() instead.

// Open a document by ID.
// TODO(developer): Replace the ID with your own.
const doc = DocumentApp.openById('DOCUMENT_ID');

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
id	String	The ID of the document to open.

Return

Document — The document instance.

Authorization

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

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

---

openByUrl(url)

Opens and returns the document with the specified URL. If the script is container-bound to the document, use getActiveDocument() instead.

// Open a document by URL.
const doc = DocumentApp.openByUrl(
    'https://docs.google.com/document/d/1234567890abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz_a1b2c3/edit',
);

Parameters

Name	Type	Description
url	String	the URL of the document to open

Return

Document — the document instance

Authorization

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

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