Class Text

Text

An element representing a rich text region. All text in a Document is contained within Text elements. A Text element can be contained within an Equation, EquationFunction, ListItem, or Paragraph, but cannot itself contain any other element. For more information on document structure, see the guide to extending Google Docs.

var body = DocumentApp.getActiveDocument().getBody();

// Use editAsText to obtain a single text element containing
// all the characters in the document.
var text = body.editAsText();

// Insert text at the beginning of the document.
text.insertText(0, 'Inserted text.\n');

// Insert text at the end of the document.
text.appendText('\nAppended text.');

// Make the first half of the document blue.
text.setForegroundColor(0, text.getText().length / 2, '#00FFFF');

Methods

MethodReturn typeBrief description
appendText(text)TextAdds the specified text to the end of this text region.
copy()TextReturns a detached, deep copy of the current element.
deleteText(startOffset, endOffsetInclusive)TextDeletes a range of text.
editAsText()TextObtains a Text version of the current element, for editing.
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.
getAttributes()ObjectRetrieves the element's attributes.
getAttributes(offset)ObjectRetrieves the attributes at the specified character offset.
getBackgroundColor()StringRetrieves the background color setting.
getBackgroundColor(offset)StringRetrieves the background color at the specified character offset.
getFontFamily()StringRetrieves the font family setting.
getFontFamily(offset)StringRetrieves the font family at the specified character offset.
getFontSize()NumberRetrieves the font size setting.
getFontSize(offset)NumberRetrieves the font size at the specified character offset.
getForegroundColor()StringRetrieves the foreground color setting.
getForegroundColor(offset)StringRetrieves the foreground color at the specified character offset.
getLinkUrl()StringRetrieves the link url.
getLinkUrl(offset)StringRetrieves the link URL at the specified character offset.
getNextSibling()ElementRetrieves the element's next sibling element.
getParent()ContainerElementRetrieves the element's parent element.
getPreviousSibling()ElementRetrieves the element's previous sibling element.
getText()StringRetrieves the contents of the element as a text string.
getTextAlignment()TextAlignmentGets the text alignment.
getTextAlignment(offset)TextAlignmentGets the text alignment for a single character.
getTextAttributeIndices()Integer[]Retrieves the set of text indices that correspond to the start of distinct text formatting runs.
getType()ElementTypeRetrieves the element's ElementType.
insertText(offset, text)TextInserts the specified text at the given character offset.
isAtDocumentEnd()BooleanDetermines whether the element is at the end of the Document.
isBold()BooleanRetrieves the bold setting.
isBold(offset)BooleanRetrieves the bold setting at the specified character offset.
isItalic()BooleanRetrieves the italic setting.
isItalic(offset)BooleanRetrieves the italic setting at the specified character offset.
isStrikethrough()BooleanRetrieves the strikethrough setting.
isStrikethrough(offset)BooleanRetrieves the strikethrough setting at the specified character offset.
isUnderline()BooleanRetrieves the underline setting.
isUnderline(offset)BooleanRetrieves the underline setting at the specified character offset.
merge()TextMerges the element with the preceding sibling of the same type.
removeFromParent()TextRemoves the element from its parent.
replaceText(searchPattern, replacement)ElementReplaces all occurrences of a given text pattern with a given replacement string, using regular expressions.
setAttributes(startOffset, endOffsetInclusive, attributes)TextApplies the specified attributes to the given character range.
setAttributes(attributes)TextSets the element's attributes.
setBackgroundColor(startOffset, endOffsetInclusive, color)TextSets the background color for the specified character range.
setBackgroundColor(color)TextSets the background color.
setBold(bold)TextSets the bold setting.
setBold(startOffset, endOffsetInclusive, bold)TextSets the bold setting for the specified character range.
setFontFamily(startOffset, endOffsetInclusive, fontFamilyName)TextSets the font family for the specified character range.
setFontFamily(fontFamilyName)TextSets the font family.
setFontSize(startOffset, endOffsetInclusive, size)TextSets the font size for the specified character range.
setFontSize(size)TextSets the font size.
setForegroundColor(startOffset, endOffsetInclusive, color)TextSets the foreground color for the specified character range.
setForegroundColor(color)TextSets the foreground color.
setItalic(italic)TextSets the italic setting.
setItalic(startOffset, endOffsetInclusive, italic)TextSets the italic setting for the specified character range.
setLinkUrl(startOffset, endOffsetInclusive, url)TextSets the link URL for the specified character range.
setLinkUrl(url)TextSets the link url.
setStrikethrough(strikethrough)TextSets the strikethrough setting.
setStrikethrough(startOffset, endOffsetInclusive, strikethrough)TextSets the strikethrough setting for the specified character range.
setText(text)TextSets the text contents.
setTextAlignment(startOffset, endOffsetInclusive, textAlignment)TextSets the text alignment for a given character range.
setTextAlignment(textAlignment)TextSets the text alignment.
setUnderline(underline)TextSets the underline setting.
setUnderline(startOffset, endOffsetInclusive, underline)TextSets the underline setting for the specified character range.

Detailed documentation

appendText(text)

Adds the specified text to the end of this text region.

// Opens the Docs file by its URL. If you created your script from within a
// Google Docs file, you can use DocumentApp.getActiveDocument() instead.
// TODO(developer): Replace the URL with your own.
const doc = DocumentApp.openByUrl('https://docs.google.com/document/d/abc123456/edit');

// Gets the document body.
const body = doc.getBody();

// Adds the text, 'Sample body text,' to the end of the document body.
const text = body.editAsText().appendText('Sample body text');

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
textStringThe text to append.

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

Text — 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

deleteText(startOffset, endOffsetInclusive)

Deletes a range of text.

// Opens the Docs file by its URL. If you created your script from within a
// Google Docs file, you can use DocumentApp.getActiveDocument() instead.
// TODO(developer): Replace the URL with your own.
 const doc = DocumentApp.openByUrl('https://docs.google.com/document/d/abc123456/edit');

// Gets the document body.
const body = doc.getBody();

// Deletes the first 10 characters in the body.
 const text = body.editAsText().deleteText(0, 9);

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
startOffsetIntegerThe character offset of the first character to delete.
endOffsetInclusiveIntegerThe character offset of the last character to delete.

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

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.

var body = DocumentApp.getActiveDocument().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


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

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 body = DocumentApp.getActiveDocument().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

getAttributes(offset)

Retrieves the attributes at the specified character offset.

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

// Opens the Docs file by its URL. If you created your script from within a
// Google Docs file, you can use DocumentApp.getActiveDocument() instead.
// TODO(developer): Replace the URL with your own.
const doc = DocumentApp.openByUrl('https://docs.google.com/document/d/abc123456/edit');

// Gets the document body.
const body = doc.getBody();

// Declares style attributes.
const style = {}
style[DocumentApp.Attribute.BOLD] = true;
style[DocumentApp.Attribute.ITALIC] = true;
style[DocumentApp.Attribute.FONT_SIZE] = 29;

// Sets the style attributes to the document body.
const text = body.editAsText();
text.setAttributes(style);

// Gets the style attributes applied to the eleventh character in the
// body and logs them to the console.
const attributes = text.getAttributes(10);
console.log(attributes);

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
offsetIntegerThe character offset.

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

getBackgroundColor()

Retrieves the background color setting.

Return

String — the background color, formatted in CSS notation (like '#ffffff'), 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

getBackgroundColor(offset)

Retrieves the background color at the specified character offset.

// Opens the Docs file by its URL. If you created your script from within a
// Google Docs file, you can use DocumentApp.getActiveDocument() instead.
// TODO(developer): Replace the URL with your own.
const doc = DocumentApp.openByUrl('https://docs.google.com/document/d/abc123456');

// Gets the document body.
const body = doc.getBody();

// Sets the background color of the first 3 characters in the body.
const text = body.editAsText().setBackgroundColor(0, 2, '#FFC0CB');

// Gets the background color of the first character in the body.
const backgroundColor = text.getBackgroundColor(0);

// Logs the background color to the console.
console.log(backgroundColor);

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
offsetIntegerThe character offset.

Return

String — The background color, formatted in CSS notation (like '#ffffff').

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

getFontFamily()

Retrieves the font family setting. The name can be any font from the Font menu in Docs or Google Fonts, and is case-sensitive. The methods getFontFamily() and setFontFamily(fontFamilyName) now use string names for fonts instead of the FontFamily enum. Although this enum is deprecated, it will remain available for compatibility with older scripts.

Return

String — the font family, 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

getFontFamily(offset)

Retrieves the font family at the specified character offset. The name can be any font from the Font menu in Docs or Google Fonts, and is case-sensitive. The methods getFontFamily() and setFontFamily(fontFamilyName) now use string names for fonts instead of the FontFamily enum. Although this enum is deprecated, it will remain available for compatibility with older scripts.

// Opens the Docs file by its URL. If you created your script from within a
// Google Docs file, you can use DocumentApp.getActiveDocument() instead.
// TODO(developer): Replace the URL with your own.
const doc = DocumentApp.openByUrl('https://docs.google.com/document/d/abc123456/edit');

// Gets the document body.
const body = doc.getBody();

// Sets the font of the first 16 characters to Impact.
const text = body.editAsText().setFontFamily(0, 15, 'Impact');

// Gets the font family of the 16th character in the document body.
const fontFamily = text.getFontFamily(15);

// Logs the font family to the console.
console.log(fontFamily);

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
offsetIntegerThe character offset.

Return

String — The font family.

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

getFontSize()

Retrieves the font size setting.

Return

Number — the font size, 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

getFontSize(offset)

Retrieves the font size at the specified character offset.

// Opens the Docs file by its URL. If you created your script from within a
// Google Docs file, you can use DocumentApp.getActiveDocument() instead.
// TODO(developer): Replace the URL with your own.
const doc = DocumentApp.openByUrl('https://docs.google.com/document/d/abc123456/edit');

// Gets the document body.
const body = doc.getBody();

// Sets the font size of the first 13 characters to 15.
const text = body.editAsText().setFontSize(0, 12, 15);

// Gets the font size of the first character.
const fontSize = text.getFontSize(0);

// Logs the font size to the console.
console.log(fontSize);

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
offsetIntegerThe character offset.

Return

Number — The font size.

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

getForegroundColor()

Retrieves the foreground color setting.

Return

String — the foreground color, formatted in CSS notation (like '#ffffff'), 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

getForegroundColor(offset)

Retrieves the foreground color at the specified character offset.

// Opens the Docs file by its URL. If you created your script from within a
// Google Docs file, you can use DocumentApp.getActiveDocument() instead.
// TODO(developer): Replace the URL with your own.
const doc = DocumentApp.openByUrl('https://docs.google.com/document/d/abc123456/edit');

// Gets the document body.
const body = doc.getBody();

// Sets the foreground color of the first 3 characters in the document body.
const text = body.editAsText().setForegroundColor(0, 2, '#0000FF');

// Gets the foreground color of the first character in the document body.
const foregroundColor = text.getForegroundColor(0);

// Logs the foreground color to the console.
console.log(foregroundcolor);

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
offsetIntegerThe character offset.

Return

String — The foreground color, formatted in CSS notation (like '#ffffff').

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

getLinkUrl(offset)

Retrieves the link URL at the specified character offset.

// Opens the Docs file by its URL. If you created your script from within a
// Google Docs file, you can use DocumentApp.getActiveDocument() instead.
// TODO(developer): Replace the URL with your own.
const doc = DocumentApp.openByUrl('https://docs.google.com/document/d/abc123456/edit');

// Gets the document body.
const body = doc.getBody();

// Applies a link to the first 10 characters in the body.
const text = body.editAsText().setLinkUrl(0, 9, 'https://www.example.com/');

// Gets the URL of the link from the first character.
const link = text.getLinkUrl(0);

// Logs the link URL to the console.
console.log(link);

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
offsetIntegerThe character offset.

Return

String — The link URL.

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

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

getTextAlignment(offset)

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

// Opens the Docs file by its URL. If you created your script from within a
// Google Docs file, you can use DocumentApp.getActiveDocument() instead.
// TODO(developer): Replace the URL with your own.
const doc = DocumentApp.openByUrl('https://docs.google.com/document/d/abc123456/edit');

// Gets the document body.
const body = doc.getBody();

// Sets the text alignment of the document body to NORMAL.
const text = body.editAsText().setTextAlignment(DocumentApp.TextAlignment.NORMAL);

// Gets the text alignment of the ninth character.
const alignment = text.getTextAlignment(8);

// Logs the text alignment to the console.
console.log(alignment.toString());

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
offsetIntegerThe offset of the character.

Return

TextAlignment — The type of text alignment, or null 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

getTextAttributeIndices()

Retrieves the set of text indices that correspond to the start of distinct text formatting runs.

// Opens the Docs file by its URL. If you created your script from within a
// Google Docs file, you can use DocumentApp.getActiveDocument() instead.
// TODO(developer): Replace the URL with your own.
const doc = DocumentApp.openByUrl('https://docs.google.com/document/d/abc123456/edit');

// Gets the document body.
const body = doc.getBody();

// Gets the text indices at which text formatting changes.
const indices = body.editAsText().getTextAttributeIndices();

// Logs the indices to the console.
console.log(indices.toString());

Return

Integer[] — The set of text indices at which text formatting changes.

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 body = DocumentApp.getActiveDocument().getBody();

// Obtain the first element in the document 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

insertText(offset, text)

Inserts the specified text at the given character offset.

// Opens the Docs file by its URL. If you created your script from within a
// Google Docs file, you can use DocumentApp.getActiveDocument() instead.
// TODO(developer): Replace the URL with your own.
const doc = DocumentApp.openByUrl('https://docs.google.com/document/d/abc123456/edit');

// Gets the document body.
const body = doc.getBody();

// Inserts the text, 'Sample inserted text', at the start of the body content.
const text = body.editAsText().insertText(0, 'Sample inserted text');

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
offsetIntegerThe character offset at which to insert the text.
textStringThe text to insert.

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

isAtDocumentEnd()

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

Return

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

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

isBold()

Retrieves the bold setting.

Return

Boolean — whether the text is bold, 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

isBold(offset)

Retrieves the bold setting at the specified character offset.

// Opens the Docs file by its URL. If you created your script from within a
// Google Docs file, you can use DocumentApp.getActiveDocument() instead.
// TODO(developer): Replace the URL with your own.
const doc = DocumentApp.openByUrl('https://docs.google.com/document/d/abc123456/edit');

// Gets the document body.
const body = doc.getBody();

// Bolds the first 4 characters in the document body.
const text = body.editAsText().setBold(0, 3, true);

// Gets whether or not the text is bold.
const bold = text.editAsText().isBold(0);

// Logs the text's bold setting to the console
console.log(bold);

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
offsetIntegerThe character offset.

Return

Boolean — The bold 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

isItalic()

Retrieves the italic setting.

Return

Boolean — whether the text is italic, 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

isItalic(offset)

Retrieves the italic setting at the specified character offset.

// Opens the Docs file by its URL. If you created your script from within a
// Google Docs file, you can use DocumentApp.getActiveDocument() instead.
// TODO(developer): Replace the URL with your own.
const doc = DocumentApp.openByUrl('https://docs.google.com/document/d/abc123456/edit');

// Gets the document body.
const body = doc.getBody();

// Sets the first 13 characters of the document body to italic.
const text = body.editAsText().setItalic(0, 12, true);

// Gets whether the fifth character in the document body is set to
// italic and logs it to the console.
const italic = text.isItalic(4);
console.log(italic);

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
offsetIntegerThe character offset.

Return

Boolean — The italic 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

isStrikethrough()

Retrieves the strikethrough setting.

Return

Boolean — whether the text is strikethrough, 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

isStrikethrough(offset)

Retrieves the strikethrough setting at the specified character offset.

// Opens the Docs file by its URL. If you created your script from within a
// Google Docs file, you can use DocumentApp.getActiveDocument() instead.
// TODO(developer): Replace the URL with your own.
const doc = DocumentApp.openByUrl('https://docs.google.com/document/d/abc123456/edit');

// Gets the document body.
const body = doc.getBody();

// Sets the first 17 characters of the document body to strikethrough.
const text = body.editAsText().setStrikethrough(0, 16, true);

// Gets whether the first character in the document body is set to
// strikethrough and logs it to the console.
const strikethrough = text.isStrikethrough(0);
console.log(strikethrough);

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
offsetIntegerThe character offset.

Return

Boolean — The strikethrough 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

isUnderline()

Retrieves the underline setting.

Return

Boolean — whether the text is underlined, 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

isUnderline(offset)

Retrieves the underline setting at the specified character offset.

// Opens the Docs file by its URL. If you created your script from within a
// Google Docs file, you can use DocumentApp.getActiveDocument() instead.
// TODO(developer): Replace the URL with your own.
const doc = DocumentApp.openByUrl('https://docs.google.com/document/d/abc123456/edit');

// Gets the document body.
const body = doc.getBody();

// Sets the first 13 characters of the document body to underline.
const text = body.editAsText().setUnderline(0, 12, false);

// Gets whether the first character in the document body is set to
// underline and logs it to the console
const underline = text.editAsText().isUnderline(0);
console.log(underline);

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
offsetIntegerThe character offset.

Return

Boolean — The underline 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.

var body = DocumentApp.getActiveDocument().getBody();
// Example 1: Merge paragraphs
// Append two paragraphs to the document.
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

Text — 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 body = DocumentApp.getActiveDocument().getBody();

// Remove all images in the document body.
var imgs = body.getImages();
for (var i = 0; i < imgs.length; i++) {
  imgs[i].removeFromParent();
}

Return

Text — 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

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.

var body = DocumentApp.getActiveDocument().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

setAttributes(startOffset, endOffsetInclusive, attributes)

Applies the specified attributes to the given character range.

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.

// Opens the Docs file by its URL. If you created your script from within a
// Google Docs file, you can use DocumentApp.getActiveDocument() instead.
// TODO(developer): Replace the URL with your own.
const doc = DocumentApp.openByUrl('https://docs.google.com/document/d/abc123456/edit');

// Gets the document body and edits as text.
const body = doc.getBody().editAsText();

// Declares style attributes for font size and font family.
const style = {}
style[DocumentApp.Attribute.FONT_SIZE] = 20 ;
style[DocumentApp.Attribute.FONT_FAMILY] = 'Impact';

// Sets the style attributes to the first 9 characters in the document body.
const text = body.setAttributes(0, 8, style);

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
startOffsetIntegerThe text range's start offset.
endOffsetInclusiveIntegerThe text range's end offset.
attributesObjectThe element's attributes.

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

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 body = DocumentApp.getActiveDocument().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

NameTypeDescription
attributesObjectThe element's attributes.

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

setBackgroundColor(startOffset, endOffsetInclusive, color)

Sets the background color for the specified character range.

// Opens the Docs file by its URL. If you created your script from within a
// Google Docs file, you can use DocumentApp.getActiveDocument() instead.
// TODO(developer): Replace the URL with your own.
const doc = DocumentApp.openByUrl('https://docs.google.com/document/d/abc123456/edit');

// Gets the document body.
const body = doc.getBody();

// Sets the background color of the first 3 characters in the
// document body to hex color #0000FF.
const text = body.editAsText().setBackgroundColor(0, 2, '#0000FF');

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
startOffsetIntegerThe text range's start offset.
endOffsetInclusiveIntegerThe text range's end offset.
colorStringThe background color, formatted in CSS notation (like '#ffffff').

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

setBackgroundColor(color)

Sets the background color.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
colorStringthe background color, formatted in CSS notation (like '#ffffff')

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

setBold(bold)

Sets the bold setting.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
boldBooleanthe bold setting

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

setBold(startOffset, endOffsetInclusive, bold)

Sets the bold setting for the specified character range.

// Opens the Docs file by its URL. If you created your script from within a
// Google Docs file, you can use DocumentApp.getActiveDocument() instead.
// TODO(developer): Replace the URL with your own.
const doc = DocumentApp.openByUrl('https://docs.google.com/document/d/abc123456/edit');

// Gets the document body.
const body = doc.getBody();

// Sets the first 11 characters in the document body to bold.
const text = body.editAsText().setBold(0, 10, true);

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
startOffsetIntegerThe text range's start offset.
endOffsetInclusiveIntegerThe text range's end offset.
boldBooleanThe bold setting.

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

setFontFamily(startOffset, endOffsetInclusive, fontFamilyName)

Sets the font family for the specified character range. The name can be any font from the Font menu in Docs or Google Fonts, and is case-sensitive. Unrecognized font names will render as Arial. The methods getFontFamily(offset) and setFontFamily(fontFamilyName) now use string names for fonts instead of the FontFamily enum. Although this enum is deprecated, it will remain available for compatibility with older scripts.

// Opens the Docs file by its URL. If you created your script from within a
// Google Docs file, you can use DocumentApp.getActiveDocument() instead.
// TODO(developer): Replace the URL with your own.
const doc = DocumentApp.openByUrl('https://docs.google.com/document/d/abc123456/edit');

// Gets body of the document.
const body = doc.getBody();

// Sets the font of the first 4 characters in the document body to Roboto.
const text = body.editAsText().setFontFamily(0, 3, 'Roboto');

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
startOffsetIntegerThe text range's start offset.
endOffsetInclusiveIntegerThe text range's end offset.
fontFamilyNameStringThe name of the font family, from the Font menu in Docs or Google Fonts.

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

setFontFamily(fontFamilyName)

Sets the font family. The name can be any font from the Font menu in Docs or Google Fonts, and is case-sensitive. Unrecognized font names will render as Arial. The methods getFontFamily() and setFontFamily(fontFamilyName) now use string names for fonts instead of the FontFamily enum. Although this enum is deprecated, it will remain available for compatibility with older scripts.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
fontFamilyNameStringthe name of the font family, from the Font menu in Docs or Google Fonts

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

setFontSize(startOffset, endOffsetInclusive, size)

Sets the font size for the specified character range.

// Opens the Docs file by its URL. If you created your script from within a
// Google Docs file, you can use DocumentApp.getActiveDocument() instead.
// TODO(developer): Replace the URL with your own.
const doc = DocumentApp.openByUrl('https://docs.google.com/document/d/abc123456/edit');

// Gets the document body.
const body = doc.getBody();

// Sets the size of the first 11 characters in the document body to 12.
const text = body.editAsText().setFontSize(0, 10, 12);

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
startOffsetIntegerThe text range's start offset.
endOffsetInclusiveIntegerThe text range's end offset.
sizeNumberThe font size.

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

setFontSize(size)

Sets the font size.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
sizeNumberthe font size

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

setForegroundColor(startOffset, endOffsetInclusive, color)

Sets the foreground color for the specified character range.

// Opens the Docs file by its URL. If you created your script from within a
// Google Docs file, you can use DocumentApp.getActiveDocument() instead.
// TODO(developer): Replace the URL with your own.
const doc = DocumentApp.openByUrl('https://docs.google.com/document/d/abc123456/edit');

// Gets the document body.
const body = doc.getBody();

// Sets the foreground color of the first 2 characters in the
// document body to hex color #FF0000.
const text = body.editAsText().setForegroundColor(0, 1, '#FF0000');

// Gets the foreground color for the second character in the document body.
const foregroundColor = text.getForegroundColor(1);

//  Logs the foreground color to the console.
console.log(foregroundColor);

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
startOffsetIntegerThe text range's start offset.
endOffsetInclusiveIntegerThe text range's end offset.
colorStringThe foreground color, formatted in CSS notation (like '#ffffff').

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

setForegroundColor(color)

Sets the foreground color.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
colorStringthe foreground color, formatted in CSS notation (like '#ffffff')

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

setItalic(italic)

Sets the italic setting.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
italicBooleanthe italic setting

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

setItalic(startOffset, endOffsetInclusive, italic)

Sets the italic setting for the specified character range.

// Opens the Docs file by its URL. If you created your script from within a
// Google Docs file, you can use DocumentApp.getActiveDocument() instead.
// TODO(developer): Replace the URL with your own.
const doc = DocumentApp.openByUrl('https://docs.google.com/document/d/abc123456/edit');

// Gets the document body.
const body = doc.getBody();

// Sets the first 11 characters in the document body to italic.
const text = body.editAsText().setItalic(0, 10, true);

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
startOffsetIntegerThe text range's start offset.
endOffsetInclusiveIntegerThe text range's end offset.
italicBooleanThe italic setting.

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

setLinkUrl(startOffset, endOffsetInclusive, url)

Sets the link URL for the specified character range.

// Opens the Docs file by its URL. If you created your script from within a
// Google Docs file, you can use DocumentApp.getActiveDocument() instead.
// TODO(developer): Replace the URL with your own.
const doc = DocumentApp.openByUrl('https://docs.google.com/document/d/abc123456/edit');

// Gets the document body.
const body = doc.getBody();

// Applies a link to the first 11 characters in the body.
const text = body.editAsText().setLinkUrl(0, 10, 'https://example.com');

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
startOffsetIntegerThe text range's start offset.
endOffsetInclusiveIntegerThe text range's end offset.
urlStringThe link URL.

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

setLinkUrl(url)

Sets the link url.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
urlStringthe link url

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

setStrikethrough(strikethrough)

Sets the strikethrough setting.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
strikethroughBooleanthe strikethrough setting

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

setStrikethrough(startOffset, endOffsetInclusive, strikethrough)

Sets the strikethrough setting for the specified character range.

// Opens the Docs file by its URL. If you created your script from within a
// Google Docs file, you can use DocumentApp.getActiveDocument() instead.
// TODO(developer): Replace the URL with your own.
const doc = DocumentApp.openByUrl('https://docs.google.com/document/d/abc123456/edit');

// Gets the document body.
const body = doc.getBody();

// Sets the first 11 characters in the document body to strikethrough.
const text = body.editAsText().setStrikethrough(0, 10, true);

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
startOffsetIntegerThe text range's start offset.
endOffsetInclusiveIntegerThe text range's end offset.
strikethroughBooleanThe strikethrough setting.

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

setText(text)

Sets the text contents.

// Opens the Docs file by its URL. If you created your script from within a
// Google Docs file, you can use DocumentApp.getActiveDocument() instead.
// TODO(developer): Replace the URL with your own.
const doc = DocumentApp.openByUrl('https://docs.google.com/document/d/abc123456/edit');

// Gets the document body.
const body = doc.getBody();

// Replaces the contents of the body with the text, 'New body text.'
const text = body.editAsText().setText('New body text.');

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
textStringThe new text contents.

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

setTextAlignment(startOffset, endOffsetInclusive, textAlignment)

Sets the text alignment for a given character range. The available types of alignment are DocumentApp.TextAlignment.NORMAL, DocumentApp.TextAlignment.SUBSCRIPT, and DocumentApp.TextAlignment.SUPERSCRIPT.

// Make the first character in the first paragraph be superscript.
var text = DocumentApp.getActiveDocument().getBody().getParagraphs()[0].editAsText();
text.setTextAlignment(0, 0, DocumentApp.TextAlignment.SUPERSCRIPT);

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
startOffsetIntegerThe start offset of the character range.
endOffsetInclusiveIntegerThe end offset of the character range (inclusive).
textAlignmentTextAlignmentThe type of text alignment to apply.

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

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 be superscript.
var text = DocumentApp.getActiveDocument().getBody().getParagraphs()[0].editAsText();
text.setTextAlignment(DocumentApp.TextAlignment.SUPERSCRIPT);

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
textAlignmentTextAlignmentthe type of text alignment to apply

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

setUnderline(underline)

Sets the underline setting.

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
underlineBooleanthe underline setting

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

setUnderline(startOffset, endOffsetInclusive, underline)

Sets the underline setting for the specified character range.

// Opens the Docs file by its URL. If you created your script from within a
// Google Docs file, you can use DocumentApp.getActiveDocument() instead.
// TODO(developer): Replace the URL with your own.
const doc = DocumentApp.openByUrl('https://docs.google.com/document/d/abc123456/edit');

// Gets the document body.
const body = doc.getBody();

// Sets the first 11 characters in the document body to underline.
const text = body.editAsText().setUnderline(0, 10, true);

Parameters

NameTypeDescription
startOffsetIntegerThe text range's start offset.
endOffsetInclusiveIntegerThe text range's end offset.
underlineBooleanThe underline setting.

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