General text handling elements

Document

The Document object contains the entire document, including general properties, such as the current selection.

Clipboard	Text	R/W	This property allows for accessing the clipboard. It can be used as a function argument for the Insert Text method.
Contents	Text	R/W	The content of the document.
Length	Long	R/O	The length of the text in the document.
Font Name	Text	R/W	The name of the font used.
Font Size	Short	R/W	The size of the font used.
Font Face	Enums	R/W	The attributes of the current font. The list includes the Bold, Italic, Underline, Outline, Shadow, Condense, and Extend elements. You can omit the braces if you want to specify a single attribute only.
Tab Stops	Short	R/W	The tab stop position.
MIME Type	Text	R/O	The MIME type of the document. This function returns "text/html" by default.
Syntax Highlighting	Short	R/W	Selects Syntax Highlighting mode: 0 - off 1 - detailed Source editor only: 2 - Links, images, and plug-ins 3 - URLs
Auto Indenting	Bool	R/W	Toggles Auto Indenting on and off.
Line Index	Long	R/W	The number of the current line.
Column Index	Long	R/W	The current column.
Current Line	Object	R/O	The current line as a line object.
Selection	Object	R/O	The current selection.
Status Line	Text	R/W	The content of the status line.

Line

The Line object refers to a specific line.

Index	Long	R/O	The line number, starting at 1.
Position	list	R/O	The Position as a list with the {line, 1} syntax.
Contents	Text	R/W	The content of the line.
Length	Long	R/O	The length of the text on the line.

Character

The Character object refers to a particular character.

Index	Long	R/O	The position of the character, relative to the beginning of the document at position 1.
Position	list	R/O	The position as a list with the {line, column} syntax.
Contents	Text	R/W	The content of the character.
Length	Long	R/O	The length of the character (constant 1).

Selection object

The Selection object exists all the time, even if there is no current selection. The Is Visible property indicates whether the selection exists or not. You can modify the selection by changing the Starting Position and Ending Position properties. Changing the Contents property replaces the current selection with the specified text.

Address the Selection object through the Selection property, not by its name.

Starting Position	list	R/W	The beginning of the selection.
Ending Position	Long	R/W	The end of the selection.
Is Visible	Bool	R/O	True if a selection exists.
Contents	Text	R/W	The content of the selection.
Length	Long	R/O	The length of the text in the selection.

Methods

Insert Text		"Text"	Inserts the function parameter as text at the current position.
Insert File		filename	Inserts the specified file at the current cursor position.
Find		"String"	Searches for the specified string. The result is true if the string has been found. The found string will be selected.
	[Applying	Option(s)]	Applies the specified options. One or more options may be specified. Multiple options must be specified as a list in braces.
	Available Options:
	Ignore case		Distinguishes between uppercase and lowercase.
	Wraparound		Wrap around the beginning or the end of the document.
	From Top		Start the search at the beginning or the end of the text or the current selection.
	Backwards		Search direction is backwards.
	Word		Search word by word.
Replace	"String"		Searches for the specified string and replaces it with another string. The result is true if the string has been found and replaced. The found and replaced string will be selected. If the direct parameter is omitted, the specified string replaces the current selection.
	Using	"String"	The string used for replacing.
	[Applying	Option(s)]	Applies the specified options. One or more options may be specified. Multiple options must be specified as a list in braces.
	Available Options:
	Ignore case		Distinguishes between uppercase and lowercase.
	Wraparound		Wrap around the beginning or the end of the document.
	From Top		Start the search at the beginning or the end of the text or the current selection.
	Backwards		Search direction is backwards.
	Word		Search word by word.
Undo			Undoes the last changes.
Redo			Restores data to the state before the last Undo action.
Delete		Object	Deletes the specified object, which may be the selection object, a line, or other. If the object is not specified, it deletes the current selection.
Select		Object	Makes a selection. The specified object may be a suite of lines or characters--for example, "Lines 3 thru 7."
	From	List	The selection may be specified using two lists with a {line, column} syntax at the beginning and end of the selection.
	To	List
Select paragraph			This command searches a blank line before and after the current line and selects the text between the two blank lines and the subsequent blank line, positioning the cursor on the blank line. In the example given below, the cursor is placed on the line "1st Line." The asterisks mark the lines that will be selected after executing this command.   1st line * 2nd line * 3rd line * 4th line   etc.
	[Between	Object]	As an option, the selection can be confined to particular lines by specifying a range explicitly. Example: "Select Paragraph Between Lines 3 thru 5."
Deselect			Cancels the current selection.
Go to		Object	Sets the current position to the specified line or character object.
Delete spaces			Deletes all spaces and tabs from the current position to the end of the line or to the next character that is neither a space nor a tab.

Automating Operations Using AppleScript > General text handling elements