Add a Horizontal Rule above each element that starts with a certain word in Google Docs using Apps Script

Creating an Apps Script to add a horizontal rule above each element that begins with the word “Question” in a Google Docs document involves searching the document for paragraphs starting with “Question” and then inserting a horizontal rule above those paragraphs. Here’s how you can do it:

Open your Google Docs document.
Click on “Extensions” > “Apps Script” to open the script editor for your document.
Delete any code in the script editor and replace it with the script provided below.
Save the script with a meaningful name, for example, “InsertHorizontalRuleForQuestions”.
Run the script by clicking the play (▶️) button. You might need to authorize the script to run on your Google account the first time.

Here’s the Apps Script:

function addHorizontalRuleAboveQuestions() {
  const doc = DocumentApp.getActiveDocument();
  const body = doc.getBody();
  const paragraphs = body.getParagraphs();

  for (let i = 0; i < paragraphs.length; i++) {
    const text = paragraphs[i].getText();
    if (text.startsWith("Question")) {
      // Insert a horizontal rule above this paragraph if it starts with "Question"
      body.insertHorizontalRule(i);
      i++; // Skip the next paragraph since it's the current question paragraph
    }
  }
}

This script iterates through all the paragraphs in the document. If a paragraph’s text starts with “Question”, it inserts a horizontal rule above that paragraph. Note that after inserting a horizontal rule, the script increments the counter i to adjust for the newly inserted element, ensuring the loop continues to check paragraphs correctly.

Important Notes:

Running this script will modify your document, so consider testing it on a copy of your document first.
Google Apps Script has limitations and quotas, so be mindful if running this script on very large documents.
If your document is collaborative, inform your collaborators before running the script, as it will make changes to the document structure.

Remember, after the first run, you can quickly run the script again from the “Recent executions” section in the Apps Script dashboard for your document, or by creating a custom menu in your Google Docs to execute the script directly from the Docs interface.

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