Adding text boxes to word

Achieve more control and flexibility with your documents

Updated on September 11, 2022

What to Know

• Select Insert > Text Box > choose a text box template. Select and drag box to the position you want.
• To resize text, select and drag circles around the edge. To rotate text, select and drag the circular arrow.
• Place the cursor inside the text box and type the information you want to appear.

This article explains how to use text boxes in Microsoft Word. Instructions apply to Word for Microsoft 365, Word 2019, Word 2016, and Word 2013.

How to Insert a Text Box in Word

Start by opening the document you want to add a text box to. Then follow the steps below.

1. On the ribbon, select Insert.

2. In the Text group, select Text Box, then choose a text box template.

3. The new text box appears in the middle of the text, and the Shape Format tab is automatically selected.

4. Select and drag the box to the position you want. To resize the text box, select and drag the circles around the edge. To rotate the text box, select and drag the circular arrow at the top of the box.

5. Place the cursor inside the text box and type the information you want to appear there.

Why Use Text Boxes?

When you type text in Microsoft Word, you have options for making it look a particular way on the page (such as changing the page margins), but those options are limited. Text boxes expand your formatting repertoire by offering additional control and flexibility for how your text appears. You can place a text box anywhere within a document and format it with different colors and fonts. This feature is especially helpful for creating a blockquote or a sidebar.

Customize a Text Box

After you create a text box, you can customize it in a number of ways.

1. To bring up options, place the cursor inside the text box and right-click. Choose an option and follow the screen prompts to add a border, change the style, or adjust the way the text box interacts with the other text on the page.

   Alternatively, use the controls on the Shape Format tab.

2. To go directly to the Layout Options menu, select the text box, then select the Layout Options icon (it looks like a horseshoe and is located to the right of the text box).

3. Change the text, make more adjustments, or move the box to another location at any time. To delete a text box, select its border, then press Delete on the keyboard.

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Even though Microsoft Word gives you plenty of ways to format, align, and manipulate text, there may be a time when it’s not enough. By using text boxes in Word, you have the flexibility to place text where you want, put it inside a shape, or customize it to make it pop.

You can insert a premade text box that includes formatting and a style or start from scratch by drawing your own.

Insert a Built-In Text Box

Using a premade text box, you can get a jump start on the formatting or apply a bit of flare without any extra work. Currently, this feature is only available in Word on Windows, not Mac.

1. Head to the “Insert” tab and open the “Text Box” drop-down box. You’ll see options below “Built-in” at the top. If you hover your cursor over one, you can see a brief description.

1. Choose the premade text box you want to use, and you’ll see it pop onto the page.

1. Click inside the box, which selects the sample text, then type your own.

You can customize the built-in text box, just like one you draw yourself, which is described below.

Draw a Text Box

If you want a complete blank canvas for your text box, you can draw one the size you need and insert your text. Additionally, this is the only option for inserting a text box in Word on Mac at this time.

1. Go to the “Insert” tab and open the “Text Box” drop-down box. On Windows, select “Draw Text Box.”

1. On Mac, select either “Draw Text Box” or “Draw Vertical Text Box.” The latter places the text sideways in the box as shown below.

1. When your cursor changes to a crosshair symbol, drag to draw the text box the size you want. You can still resize the text box later if needed.

1. Once you have your box, just type your text inside of it.

Note: you can also add text boxes in Google Docs.

How to Resize, Rotate, or Move a Text Box

You aren’t stuck with the size, angle, or location of your new text box. You can easily resize, rotate, or move a text box in Word a few different ways.

Resize a Text Box

1. To quickly resize a text box, drag a corner or edge.

1. You can also go to the “Shape Format” tab to change the size. Use the Size section of the ribbon to enter the dimensions in the “Height” and “Width” boxes.

1. If you want to size your box according to the text within it, right-click the text box and pick “Format Shape.” When the sidebar opens, go to the “Layout & Properties” tab and check the box for “Resize shape to fit text.”

Rotate a Text Box

1. To freely rotate the box, drag the circular arrow at the top to the right or left.

1. To rotate it right or left 90 degrees, go to the “Shape Format” tab. Pick an option from the “Rotate” drop-down menu in the “Arrange” section of the ribbon.

1. For an exact angle, right-click and choose “More Layout Options.” Open the Size tab, enter the angle in the “Rotation” box, and click “OK.”

Move a Text Box

To move a text box, drag it to your desired location.

Because a text box works like an object, any other text in your document won’t move out of the way for a text box. However, you can use the Wrap Text and Position features to adjust this if needed.

1. Go to the “Shape Format” tab, then use the “Wrap Text” drop-down box in the “Arrange” section of the ribbon to choose a wrapping option. For instance, you can place the box in line with the text.

1. You can also use the “Position” drop-down box to the left of “Wrap Text” to place the box in a specific spot within the text. For example, you can place it on the top left with text wrapping around it.

Tip: learn how you can create and customize tables in Word.

How to Customize the Text Box Appearance

Along with resizing, rotating, or moving a text box, you may want to change its appearance. You can customize the shape of the text box, apply a background color, or give it a border.

1. Select the text box and head to the “Shape Format” tab, then use the following sections of the ribbon to customize the box and text:

• Insert Shapes: open the “Edit Shape” drop-down menu, move to “Change Shape,” and select a new shape in the pop-out menu.

• Shape Styles: pick a preformatted design in the Shapes Styles box or choose a fill, apply a border, or add a shadow.

• WordArt Styles and Text: use these two sections to adjust the appearance of the text. Apply a design, fill, outline, or effect. You can also change the direction or align the text. For the font style and size, use the options in the “Font” section of the “Home” tab.

1. For additional options, right-click the text box and select “Format Shape,” then you can adjust both the box and text settings in the sidebar. Some options match those in the ribbon while others are different. For instance, you can adjust the transparency of the box or text.

Try this: create an organized document with a table of contents and add page numbers in Word.

How to Connect Text Boxes in Word

One super-handy feature of text boxes in Word is that you can link them together. This allows you to start typing in one box and have the text carry over to the next box. It’s ideal for a list of tips, brief instructions, or short stories you want to include with your content.

To link text boxes, the box you want to connect to the previous one must be empty. If you already have your boxes filled with text, you can either remove the text from the subsequent boxes or add new boxes and remove the existing ones.

1. Insert a text box as described earlier, then add a second text box, but be sure to leave it empty.

1. Select the first text box, go to the “Shape Format” tab, and pick “Create Link” in the Text section of the ribbon.

1. When your cursor changes to a paint can icon, click inside the second text box. This creates a link between the two. If you want a third or fourth text box linked, follow the same process by linking the second box to the third, third to the fourth, and so on.

1. As you add text to the first box, the text that won’t fit then fills the second text box. If you have more text boxes, they will continue to fall into them.

1. If you resize the text boxes, the amount of text in each one adjusts to accommodate it. When you resize one text box, you’ll see the linked box automatically resize as well.

1. Should you decide later you don’t want the boxes linked, you can break the link. Select the first text box, go to the “Shape Format” tab, and click “Break Link.” Follow the same process to remove any additional text box connections.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I add a hyperlink to a text box in Word?

You can add a link to a text box or specific text within it, just like any other object or text in a Word document.

To link the box, select it. To link specific text within the box, select it instead. Right-click, pick “Link” or “Hyperlink,” then choose an existing file or web page, place in the document, new document, or email address. On the right, select the item or add the URL and click “OK.”

How do I stop text from wrapping inside of a text box?

By default, the text inside of a text box wraps to the next line when it reaches the edge of the shape. But you can change this if you would like.

Right-click the text box and pick “Format Shape.” When the sidebar opens, select the “Layout & Properties” tab and uncheck the box for “Wrap text in shape.”

Can I temporarily hide text boxes in Word?

As you work on the other content in your document, you may want to hide a text box or two to focus on other things.

Select a text box, go to the “Shape Format” tab, and click “Selection Pane” in the “Arrange” section. When the sidebar opens, click the eye icon to the right of a text box to hide it. For all text boxes, click “Hide All” at the top. To unhide the text boxes, select the eye with a line through it to the right or pick “Show All” at the top.

Image credit: Pixabay. All screenshots by Sandy Writtenhouse.

Adding text boxes can make your document stand out.

• Using the pre-defined text box in MS Word 
• Using the Draw Text Box tool in MS Word

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Method 1: Using The Pre-defined Text Box In Ms Word

Step 1. Open up your MS Word document. 

Step 2. Go to the Insert tab on the ribbon. 

On the ribbon, click the Insert tab found next to the Home tab at the upper-left corner of your window. Then, move to the left side of the ribbon and select Text Box.

A drop-down menu will appear displaying several built-in text boxes that come in pre-defined formats. 

If that isn’t enough for you, there’s also the option of clicking More Text Boxes from Office.com for more styles.

Start selecting a style that suits the theme of your document. The formatted text box will then appear at the right side of your file.

Once you’ve clicked on a text box style, a text box with a default message should appear.

Simply double-click or select the text box to edit the text, and input your own text into the box.

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Method 2: Using the Draw Text Box tool in MS Word 

This method allows you to create a text box from scratch and, later on, modify it to fit your own creative design. 

Step 1. Open up your MS Word document. 

Step 2. Go to the Insert tab on the ribbon. 

On the ribbon, click on the Insert tab. You’ll find this next to the Home tab at the upper-left corner of your window. Then, move to the left side of the ribbon and select Text Box.

This will open a drop-down menu on the right side of your screen.

Now, select the Draw Text Box tool found at the bottom of the menu. 

Once selected, you will notice that your mouse cursor will change into a black crosshair. This signals us that we are ready to create a text box. 

The yellow circle beside the crosshair was purposefully added to help you spot the mouse.

Step 3. Draw your text box. 

Once that’s done, we can now draw the text box by left-clicking and holding down the mouse while dragging your cursor to a particular direction.

You can now place your desired text in the box. Furthermore, you can resize the text box by clicking and dragging the circles around the box. 

Notice that we have stretched the text box a bit to make sure the sentences inside have ample space to move around.

There you have it! You just created a simple text box from scratch. 

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Resizing, Moving, and Deleting a Text Box in MS Word

In this section, we will walk you through the steps of resizing, moving, and deleting your text box in MS Word. 

Here’s how you can do that. 

Resizing a text box in MS Word

You can easily resize your MS Word text boxes by simply dragging any of the four corners of your text box.

Make sure that your cursor changes into a crosshair before dragging. Otherwise, you will be moving your box instead of resizing it. 

You should be able to drag your text box horizontally and vertically at the same time.  

Another way is to drag the midpoints of each side if you want to resize one side at a time. Drag the top or bottom midpoints to resize vertically and left or right midpoints to resize horizontally. 

For a more accurate sizing, MS Word has a Drawing tool where you can specify the height and width of your text box in exact units. 

After selecting a text box, go to the Format tab on the ribbon. Note that this will only be visible when you have selected at least one text box. 

On the right-most part of the ribbon, you will see the height and width field under the Size group. You can then enter your exact measurements in the given fields. 

Tip: Double-clicking any side of your text box, automatically activates the Format tab. 

Moving a text box in MS Word 

Moving a text box in MS Word can easily be done by selecting the text box then dragging it by any of the sides. Make sure you avoid selecting the circles as these will resize your text box instead of moving it  

Make sure to NOT hover your mouse inside the box, as this will only let you edit the text. 

As another option, you can use your keyboard’s arrow keys to move your text box.

This method enables you to move your text box gradually by millimeters. This way, you can easily align them with other elements in your document.  

If you’re looking for a more accurate way to position your text box, you can use MS Word’s Layout options found in the Format tab. We used the Top and Bottom text wrapping for this example. Go ahead and choose one that suits your layout.  

Tip: Click on the More Layout Options for a finer way to position your text box.  

Deleting a text box in MS Word

After selecting a text box, you should be able to delete it by pressing the Delete or Backspace keys on your keyboard.  

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Customizing a Text Box in MS Word

Microsoft Word offers several ways to customize text boxes with colors, shapes, styles, and a number of other effects. Even built-in text boxes can be modified to your preference. All these options are found in the Format tab on the ribbon. Remember that the Format tab can only be activated once a text box is selected. 

Tip: Double-clicking any side of your text box automatically activates the Format tab. 

Here’s a quick rundown of some of the groups under the Format tab. 

Shape Styles Group

The options in this group can be used to customize the shape, background color, border outline, and shape effects of your text box. Of course, Microsoft Word has a number of pre-defined themes readily available for use.  

WordArt Styles Group

As for any Word document, you can change your text as WordArt. If you’re not familiar with WordArt, don’t worry we’ve got you covered. 

WordArt is simply how Microsoft Word refers to style options that make your text come alive with special effects. Basically, they’re pre-decorated text that’s ready for use. You can simply choose a style to see how it works. 

These options are also accessible when you right-click on any side of your text box.  You should see the three formatting tools: Style, Fill, and Outline. 

As you may have noticed, there’re more than a dozen customization tweaks that we can do to make our text boxes stand out. Try out a few more and tell us down in the comments which styles you liked best!

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Conclusion

We hope you found this article helpful!

A text box is an element you can insert and position anywhere in a document. Text boxes are great for calling special attention to a quote or a whole block of text.

Insert a Text Box

1. Click the Insert tab.
2. Expand the Text group, if necessary.
3. Click the Text Box button.

A gallery of text box styles appears. The styles range from simple text boxes to stylized sidebars.

4. Select the text box you’d like to use.

   

The text box is automatically inserted.

5. Click the text box and type to replace the placeholder text.

   

The placeholder text disappears as soon as you start typing.

Text boxes can be sized, moved, arranged, and styled just like shapes and pictures.

Draw Text Boxes

You don’t have to use one of Word’s built-in text boxes; you can create one from scratch.

1. From the Insert tab, expand the Text group, if necessary.
2. Click the Text Box button.
3. Select Draw Text Box.

   

The pointer changes to a crosshair, indicating that you can draw the text box.

4. Click and drag in your document to create the text box.

   

The text box is inserted.

Link Text Boxes

Linking text boxes allows text to flow between them. For example, you could make the text of a long article flow through several smaller text boxes in a more advanced layout.

1. After you have created two or more text boxes, select the first one.

The second text box must be empty, so make sure to remove any text in it before proceeding.

2. Click the Format tab in the Drawing Tools ribbon group.
3. Click Create Link from the Text group.

The cursor changes into a tiny pitcher full of letters. Moving the cursor over the second text box reveals that you can “pour” additional text into it.

4. Click the second text box with the new cursor.

   

The two text boxes are linked. Now, once enough text is entered into the first text box, it will automatically overflow into the second.

5. Switch back to the first text box and type into it.

   

You can format the text in a text box just as you would any other text by using the Font and Paragraph groups on the Home tab.

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