Interface Element  |  Apps Script  |  Google for Developers (original) (raw)

Interface Element

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Element

A generic element. [Document](/apps-script/reference/document/document) contents are represented as elements. For example, [ListItem](/apps-script/reference/document/list-item), [Paragraph](/apps-script/reference/document/paragraph), and [Table](/apps-script/reference/document/table) are elements and inherit all of the methods defined by Element, such as [getType()](#getType%28%29).

Implementing classes

Name Brief description
Body The content of a tab in a Google Docs document.
ContainerElement A generic element that may contain other elements.
Date An element representing a formatted date
Equation An element representing a mathematical expression.
EquationFunction An element representing a function in a mathematical Equation.
EquationFunctionArgumentSeparator An element representing a function separator in a mathematical Equation.
EquationSymbol An element representing a symbol in a mathematical Equation.
FooterSection An element representing a footer section.
Footnote An element representing a footnote.
FootnoteSection An element representing a footnote section.
HeaderSection An element representing a header section.
HorizontalRule An element representing an horizontal rule.
InlineDrawing An element representing an embedded drawing.
InlineImage An element representing an embedded image.
ListItem An element representing a list item.
PageBreak An element representing a page break.
Paragraph An element representing a paragraph.
Person An element representing a link to a person.
RichLink An element representing a link to a Google resource, such as a Drive file or a YouTube video.
Table An element representing a table.
TableCell An element representing a table cell.
TableOfContents An element containing a table of contents.
TableRow An element representing a table row.
Text An element representing a rich text region.
UnsupportedElement An element representing a region that is unknown or cannot be affected by a script, such as a page number.

Detailed documentation

asBody()

Returns the current element as a [Body](/apps-script/reference/document/body).

Use this method to aid auto-complete whenever a given element is known to be of a specific type.

Return

[Body](/apps-script/reference/document/body) — The current element.

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

asDate()

Returns the current element as a [Date](/apps-script/reference/document/date).

When you know an element is a [Date](/apps-script/reference/document/date), use this method to set its type as a [Date](/apps-script/reference/document/date). Doing so lets autocomplete in the Apps Script editor show you the methods you can use with a [Date](/apps-script/reference/document/date).

Return

[Date](/apps-script/reference/document/date) — The current element with its type set as [Date](/apps-script/reference/document/date).

Authorization

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

asEquation()

Returns the current element as an [Equation](/apps-script/reference/document/equation).

Use this method to aid auto-complete whenever a given element is known to be of a specific type.

Return

[Equation](/apps-script/reference/document/equation) — The current element.

Authorization

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

asEquationFunction()

Returns the current element as a [EquationFunction](/apps-script/reference/document/equation-function).

Use this method to aid auto-complete whenever a given element is known to be of a specific type.

Return

[EquationFunction](/apps-script/reference/document/equation-function) — The current element.

Authorization

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

asEquationFunctionArgumentSeparator()

Returns the current element as a [EquationFunctionArgumentSeparator](/apps-script/reference/document/equation-function-argument-separator).

Use this method to aid auto-complete whenever a given element is known to be of a specific type.

Return

[EquationFunctionArgumentSeparator](/apps-script/reference/document/equation-function-argument-separator) — The current element.

Authorization

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

asEquationSymbol()

Returns the current element as a [EquationSymbol](/apps-script/reference/document/equation-symbol).

Use this method to aid auto-complete whenever a given element is known to be of a specific type.

Return

[EquationSymbol](/apps-script/reference/document/equation-symbol) — The current element.

Authorization

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

asHorizontalRule()

Returns the current element as a [HorizontalRule](/apps-script/reference/document/horizontal-rule).

Use this method to aid auto-complete whenever a given element is known to be of a specific type.

Return

[HorizontalRule](/apps-script/reference/document/horizontal-rule) — The current element.

Authorization

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

asInlineDrawing()

Returns the current element as a [InlineDrawing](/apps-script/reference/document/inline-drawing).

Use this method to aid auto-complete whenever a given element is known to be of a specific type.

Return

[InlineDrawing](/apps-script/reference/document/inline-drawing) — The current element.

Authorization

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

asInlineImage()

Returns the current element as a [InlineImage](/apps-script/reference/document/inline-image).

Use this method to aid auto-complete whenever a given element is known to be of a specific type.

Return

[InlineImage](/apps-script/reference/document/inline-image) — The current element.

Authorization

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

asListItem()

Returns the current element as a [ListItem](/apps-script/reference/document/list-item).

Use this method to aid auto-complete whenever a given element is known to be of a specific type.

Return

[ListItem](/apps-script/reference/document/list-item) — The current element.

Authorization

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

asPageBreak()

Returns the current element as a [PageBreak](/apps-script/reference/document/page-break).

Use this method to aid auto-complete whenever a given element is known to be of a specific type.

Return

[PageBreak](/apps-script/reference/document/page-break) — The current element.

Authorization

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

asParagraph()

Returns the current element as a [Paragraph](/apps-script/reference/document/paragraph).

Use this method to aid auto-complete whenever a given element is known to be of a specific type.

Return

[Paragraph](/apps-script/reference/document/paragraph) — The current element.

Authorization

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

asPerson()

Returns the current element as a [Person](/apps-script/reference/document/person).

When you know an element is a [Person](/apps-script/reference/document/person), use this method to set its type as a person. Doing so lets autocomplete in the Apps Script editor show you the methods you can use with a person element.

Return

[Person](/apps-script/reference/document/person) — The current element with its type set as [Person](/apps-script/reference/document/person).

Authorization

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

Returns the current element as a [RichLink](/apps-script/reference/document/rich-link), for example, a link to a Google Sheets file.

When you know an element is a [RichLink](/apps-script/reference/document/rich-link), use this method to set its type as a [RichLink](/apps-script/reference/document/rich-link). Doing so lets autocomplete in the Apps Script editor show you the methods you can use with a [RichLink](/apps-script/reference/document/rich-link).

Return

[RichLink](/apps-script/reference/document/rich-link) — The current element with its type set as [RichLink](/apps-script/reference/document/rich-link).

Authorization

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

asTable()

Returns the current element as a [Table](/apps-script/reference/document/table).

Use this method to aid auto-complete whenever a given element is known to be of a specific type.

Return

[Table](/apps-script/reference/document/table) — The current element.

Authorization

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

asTableCell()

Returns the current element as a [TableCell](/apps-script/reference/document/table-cell).

Use this method to aid auto-complete whenever a given element is known to be of a specific type.

Return

[TableCell](/apps-script/reference/document/table-cell) — The current element.

Authorization

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

asTableOfContents()

Returns the current element as a [TableOfContents](/apps-script/reference/document/table-of-contents).

Use this method to aid auto-complete whenever a given element is known to be of a specific type.

Return

[TableOfContents](/apps-script/reference/document/table-of-contents) — The current element.

Authorization

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

asTableRow()

Returns the current element as a [TableRow](/apps-script/reference/document/table-row).

Use this method to aid auto-complete whenever a given element is known to be of a specific type.

Return

[TableRow](/apps-script/reference/document/table-row) — The current element.

Authorization

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

asText()

Returns the current element as a [Text](/apps-script/reference/document/text).

Use this method to aid auto-complete whenever a given element is known to be of a specific type.

Return

[Text](/apps-script/reference/document/text) — The current element.

Authorization

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

copy()

Returns a detached, deep copy of the current element.

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

Return

[Element](#) — The new copy.

Authorization

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

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:

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:

getParent()

Retrieves the element's parent element.

The parent element contains the current element.

Return

[ContainerElement](/apps-script/reference/document/container-element) — The parent element.

Authorization

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

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:

getType()

Retrieves the element's [ElementType](/apps-script/reference/document/element-type).

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](/apps-script/reference/document/element-type) — The element type.

Authorization

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

isAtDocumentEnd()

Determines whether the element is at the end of the [Document](/apps-script/reference/document/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:

merge()

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

Only elements of the same [ElementType](/apps-script/reference/document/element-type) 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

[Element](#) — The merged element.

Authorization

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

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

[Element](#) — The removed element.

Authorization

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

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

Name Type Description
attributes Object The element's attributes.

Return

[Element](#) — The current element.

Authorization

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

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Last updated 2024-12-03 UTC.