CODEWITHSUNDEEP
google-apps-scriptgoogle-docsgoogle-docs-api
user2769877
user2769877

Reputation: 23

how to read, with google apps script, the heading reference in a google docs

Question: how to read the heading reference (of the form #heading=h.12345) in a google docs doc?

Background: Would like to use cross-references within doc. Example.

1.1 Chapter 1 (i.e. paragraph has heading DocumentApp.ParagraphHeading.HEADING1)

Sample text. For more, see chapter 1.2.

1.2 Chapter 2

Sample text. For more, see chapter 1.1.

Now, google docs can do cross-references (insert link), but are "normal" links and do not carry the chapter number.

Thus, approach would be to: - insert links for cross-references

I looked at getLinkUrl without success:

var links = [];
var ps = DocumentApp.getActiveDocument().getBody().getParagraphs();
for(var i = 0; i < ps.length; i++) {
  var h = ps[i].getHeading();
  if( h == DocumentApp.ParagraphHeading.HEADING1 ) {
    var t = ps[i].editAsText();
    var u = t.getLinkUrl();
  }
}

Is it possible to read the heading reference at all?

Upvotes: 2

Views: 2886

Answers (2)

Tanya Gupta
Tanya Gupta

Reputation: 560

Here is your code (modified slightly) to detect HEADING1 assuming there is only one instance. It can be adapted to detect other heading types and multiple occurrences. 

function get_some_heading() {
  var ps = DocumentApp.getActiveDocument().getBody()
  var searchType = DocumentApp.ElementType.PARAGRAPH;
  var searchHeading = DocumentApp.ParagraphHeading.HEADING1;
  var searchResult = null;

  while (searchResult = ps.findElement(searchType, searchResult)) {
    var par = searchResult.getElement().asParagraph();
    if (par.getHeading() == searchHeading) {
      // Found one, update Logger.log and stop.
      var h = searchResult.getElement().asText().getText();

      return h;
    }
  }

  //return null or something
}

Here is the enum Paragraph Heading reference and here is the search pattern reference used above (for a slightly different use case).

Upvotes: 1

Mogsdad
Mogsdad

Reputation: 45750

Is it possible to read the heading reference at all?

Absolutely, at least from the Table of Contents. Those references are in the attributes of the TOC entries. You can see an example, with a script, in this answer.

Upvotes: 1

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