Apps Script Remove Blank Lines from Docs Document

Creating a Google Apps Script to remove blank lines from a Google Docs document is a great way to clean up and streamline your document. Here’s how you can write a script for this purpose:

1. Open your Google Docs document: Open the document you want to apply this script to.
2. Open the Script Editor:
   • Go to Extensions > Apps Script.
   • This will open a new tab with the Google Apps Script editor.
3. Write the Script:
   • In the script editor, you can write a function that goes through the document and removes any blank paragraphs.

Here’s an example script:

function removeBlankLines() {
  var doc = DocumentApp.getActiveDocument();
  var body = doc.getBody();
  var paragraphs = body.getParagraphs();

  for (var i = paragraphs.length - 2; i >= 0; i--) {
    var text = paragraphs[i].getText().trim();
    if (text === '') {
      body.removeChild(paragraphs[i]);
    }
  }
}

This script iterates through all paragraphs in the document in reverse order (to avoid indexing issues when removing elements) and checks if the paragraph is empty (after trimming any white space). If it is empty, it removes that paragraph.

4. Save and Run the Script:
   • Click the disk icon or File > Save to save your script.
   • Name your project.
   • Run the function removeBlankLines by clicking the play button.
5. Authorize the Script:
   • The first time you run the script, you’ll need to authorize it.
   • Follow the prompts to give the necessary permissions to your script.
6. Using the Script:
   • Whenever you need to remove blank lines from your document, just run the removeBlankLines function in the script editor.

This script will help in maintaining a clean and professional look for your documents by removing any unintended blank lines.