Apps Script in Docs to merge all paragraphs that fall after an H3 element together with the H3 Element

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🚀 Revolutionize Your Google Docs with Our Latest Script: combineH3WithNextElement()

Ever faced the challenge of consolidating headings with their subsequent content for better readability and structure? Our latest script tackles this exact issue!

This smart script seamlessly merges any paragraph immediately following an H3 heading into the heading itself, creating a unified and cohesive section. This is especially useful for reports, articles, or any document where clear, concise headings are crucial.

🌟 Key Benefits:

  1. Enhanced Clarity: Merges headings with the following text for streamlined content.
  2. Improved Organization: No more disjointed sections; enjoy a neat document flow.
  3. Time Efficiency: Automates a common editing task, saving you valuable time.

Ideal for writers, editors, and anyone who regularly crafts lengthy, structured documents. Say goodbye to the hassle of manually adjusting headings and text. 🖋️✨

Creating a Google Apps Script to manipulate elements in a Google Docs document involves using the Google Docs API. The task you’re looking to accomplish is to find every heading (H3) in the document and then take the next element below each H3 heading and combine them together as an H3 heading.

Here’s a basic script to get you started. This script will iterate through the elements of a Google Docs document. When it finds an H3 heading, it will check the next element. If the next element is not another heading, it will append its text to the current H3 heading and remove the original element.

Please note, this script assumes that the “next element” is a text element. If the next element is not text (e.g., an image, a table), the script will need additional handling for those cases.

function combineH3WithNextElement() {
  var doc = DocumentApp.getActiveDocument();
  var body = doc.getBody();
  var elements = body.getNumChildren();
  
  for (var i = 0; i < elements; ) {
    var element = body.getChild(i);
    // Check if the element is a heading
    if (element.getType() == DocumentApp.ElementType.PARAGRAPH &&
        element.asParagraph().getHeading() == DocumentApp.ParagraphHeading.HEADING3) {
      // Check the next element
      if (i + 1 < elements) {
        var nextElement = body.getChild(i + 1);
        // If the next element is not a heading, combine it with the current H3
        if (nextElement.getType() == DocumentApp.ElementType.PARAGRAPH &&
            nextElement.asParagraph().getHeading() == DocumentApp.ParagraphHeading.NORMAL) {
          element.asParagraph().appendText(" " + nextElement.asParagraph().getText());
          body.removeChild(nextElement);
          elements--; // Update the total count of elements
          continue; // Skip the increment step to re-check the same index
        }
      }
    }
    i++;
  }
}

To use this script:

  1. Open your Google Docs document.
  2. Click on Extensions > Apps Script.
  3. Clear any existing code and paste the script provided above.
  4. Save the script, and then run combineH3WithNextElement function.

Remember, this script will modify your document directly, so it might be wise to test it on a copy of your document first. Additionally, you may need to modify the script depending on the specific structure and contents of your document.