Lesson 21: Text Boxes
/en/word2016/shapes/content/
Introduction
Text boxes can be useful for drawing attention to specific text. They can also be helpful when you need to move text around in your document. Word allows you to format text boxes and the text within them with a variety of styles and effects.
Optional: Download our practice document.
Watch the video below to learn more about text boxes in Word.
To insert a text box:
- Select the Insert tab, then click the Text Box command in the Text group.
- A drop-down menu will appear. Select Draw Text Box.
- Click and drag anywhere on the document to create the text box.
- The insertion point will appear inside the text box. You can now type to create text inside the text box.
- If you want, you can select the text and then change the font, color, and size by using the commands on the Format and Home tabs. To learn more about using these formatting commands, see our Formatting Text lesson.
- Click anywhere outside the text box to return to your document.
You can also select one of the built-in text boxes that have predefined colors, fonts, positions, and sizes. If you choose this option, the text box will appear automatically, so you will not need to draw it.
To move a text box:
- Click the text box you want to move.
- Hover the mouse over one of the edges of the text box. The mouse will change into a cross with arrows.
- Click and drag the text box to the desired location.
To resize a text box:
- Click the text box you want to resize.
- Click and drag any of the sizing handles on the corners or sides of the text box until it is the desired size.
Modifying text boxes
Word offers several options for changing the way text boxes appear in your document. You can change the shape, style, and color of text boxes or add various effects.
To change the shape style:
Choosing a shape style allows you to apply preset colors and effects to quickly change the appearance of your text box.
- Select the text box you want to change.
- On the Format tab, click the More drop-down arrow in the Shape Styles group.
- A drop-down menu of styles will appear. Select the style you want to use.
- The text box will appear in the selected style.
If you want to have more control over text box formatting, you can use any of the shape formatting options such as Shape Fill and Shape Outline. To learn more, see our Shapes lesson.
To change the text box shape:
Changing the shape of a text box can be a useful option for creating an interesting look in your document.
- Select the text box you want to change. The Format tab will appear.
- From the Format tab, click the Edit Shape command.
- Hover the mouse over Change Shape, then select the desired shape from the menu that appears.
- The text box will appear formatted as the shape.
Challenge!
- Open our practice document.
- Insert a Simple Text Box.
- In the text box, type Get an additional 25% off when you mention this ad!
- Change the font to Gadugi, 20 pt, Center Align.
- Change the shape of the text box to Double Wave from the Stars and Banners group.
- Change the text box style by selecting any style in the Intense Effect row.
- Drag the text box to the space below Buy 1, Get 1 Free* and Formalwear.
- When you’re finished, your document should look something like this:
/en/word2016/aligning-ordering-and-grouping-objects/content/
You can use a frame object. It’s a bit fiddly, and personally I’d prefer the ‘two box’ solution you mention, but here’s an alternative for you.
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Enable the ‘Developer’ tab in the ribbon. If you’re not sure how to do this, read the Microsoft how-to guide.
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On the Ribbon, select Developer, then the Legacy Tools icon (in the ‘Controls’ area), then the More Controls button in the bottom right of the ActiveX Controls section.
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Scroll down and select Microsoft Forms 2.0 Frame.
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You’ll get a blank frame like this with a Properties menu. You’ll need to customise the Properties box to achieve the format you want.
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Edit properties as follows:
- Back Colour: White
- Border Colour: Red (whichever colour red you want)
- Special Effect: 0 — fmSpecialEffectFlat
- Border Style: 1 — fmBorderStyleSingle
- Caption: Core Capabilities
- Font: Georgia (or whatever font you want)
- Fore Colour: Red (as before)
answered Jul 27, 2017 at 9:02
Andi MohrAndi Mohr
4,1704 gold badges31 silver badges46 bronze badges
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.
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On the ribbon, select Insert.
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In the Text group, select Text Box, then choose a text box template.
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The new text box appears in the middle of the text, and the Shape Format tab is automatically selected.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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).
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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.
Thanks for letting us know!
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03-10-2015, 05:04 PM |
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Text box title on top border effect What would be the most efficient and easiest way in Microsoft Word 2013 to achieve this effect:
I would have more than one of these text boxes in my document, each with different titles and text.
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Windows 7 64bit 
Office 2013
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03-10-2015, 09:14 PM |
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You will need two text boxes. The red lined box will contain the ‘text here’ content and have the text box margin at the top set a little larger to get the first paragraph to sit lower. You will probably find that putting both into a drawing canvas will reduce the likelihood of relative positioning issues.
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03-10-2015, 11:31 PM |
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If you use the draw textbox function to create the two text boxes, the drawing canvas should not be necessary, however for ease of re-insertion, remove the text, select the two inserted boxes press ALT+F3 and save as an autotext entry in either the document template or the normal template.
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03-11-2015, 12:18 AM |
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Gosh – that’s the :lblbox element from IBM BookMaster, alive and well decades later :-} Interesting to read this Word workaround.
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03-11-2015, 04:28 AM |
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Once you have the positioning down, consider «grouping» the two text boxes. You may have to ungroup to resize, though.
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02-24-2021, 06:17 AM |
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This is quite an old thread now, but I recently wanted to achieve this same effect. I used a table (3 rows and 5 columns), some merged cells, and then coloured the borders. I also found it helpful to fix the width of columns 2 and 4.
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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
- Click the Insert tab.
- Expand the Text group, if necessary.
- Click the Text Box button.
- Select the text box you’d like to use.
- Click the text box and type to replace the placeholder text.
A gallery of text box styles appears. The styles range from simple text boxes to stylized sidebars.
The text box is automatically inserted.
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.
- From the Insert tab, expand the Text group, if necessary.
- Click the Text Box button.
- Select Draw Text Box.
- Click and drag in your document to create the text box.
The pointer changes to a crosshair, indicating that you can draw 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.
- After you have created two or more text boxes, select the first one.
- Click the Format tab in the Drawing Tools ribbon group.
- Click Create Link from the Text group.
- Click the second text box with the new cursor.
- Switch back to the first text box and type into it.
The second text box must be empty, so make sure to remove any text in it before proceeding.
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.
The two text boxes are linked. Now, once enough text is entered into the first text box, it will automatically overflow into the second.
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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Reading
a lengthy text document can make anyone bored in minutes. However, there are
few simple ways to make your documents more attractive and appealing to the
reader. One such option is to add colorful text boxes in-between paragraphs.
This is a useful way to show important action points on full text based
documents. In this article, let us explore how to create text box in Word
document.
Related: How to quickly add dividers in Word?
We
will discuss the following options based on Word 2016 or later version.
- Create text box from existing text
- Creating empty text box
- Changing text box size and position
- Changing text direction
- Deleting borders
Creating
Text Box from Existing Text
You can convert any of the existing text paragraph and list to a text box in Word. Let’s see how to do that.
- First open your document and select the paragraph you want to convert to a text box.
- Switch to the “Insert” tab from the ribbon menu.
- Open the “Text Box” menu.
- Word offers a selection of predefined text boxes, for example for creating sidebars with quotes.
- However, for converting the existing text, select the entry “Draw Text Box” in the lower pane.
This will instantly add a bordered text box around
the selected text. Word treats text boxes as a drawing and you can design the
box as per your need using the “Drawing Tools” menu. You can move the text
boxes anywhere in the document, depending on the layout. This can be useful for
the design of flyers and brochure.
Creating
Empty Text Box
Of course, you do not necessarily need existing text to
create a new text box. Alternatively, you can also create empty text boxes and
enter the text into them later.
- Place the cursor where you want to insert a text box.
- Reopen the “Insert” menu and select “Text Box” option.
- Click the “Draw Text Box” menu item. You will see the cursor now changed to cross hair shape.
- Draw out the text box while holding down the left mouse button.
- Then enter the text into the text box.
- You can look at the various options in the context menu of your text box for designing your text box.
Changing
Text Box Size and Position
When
you have created a text box out, you have various options for editing. You can
design it, change the size and place it anywhere in your document.
- You can change the size of the box using the handles on the edges of it. Word will automatically adjust the text content inside the box.
- It is also possible to freely move the box using the mouse. You can hover over the mouse to change the cursor into a star shape, allowing you to drag the box.
- Formatting is also possible as usual, for example, right-click on the selected text to use the Mini toolbar and format the text in bold or change the alignment.
- You can click on the “Layout Options” button on the side of the text box to wrap text box with the content on your document.
Changing
Text Direction
Within
a text box, you can also influence the text direction. Besides the default
horizontal alignment the text can also run vertically.
- What about if you want to rotate the text inside text box? This is also
very easy. Open the “Text Direction”. - Double click on the text box to open “Drawing Tools” menu. Click on the
“Text Direction” menu and select the entry, “Rotate all text 270°”. - The text is now set vertically in the text box and you can adjust the
format and position of the box.
- You can move the text box between paragraphs or columns by dragging the
box while keeping the left mouse button pressed.
Related: How to embed Excel table in Word document?
Deleting
Borders and Content
By
default, text boxes are displayed with borders, but you do not have to keep
them. You can easily remove the borders.
- Click on the text box to open the “Drawing Tools” and select “Shape Outline”
button under “Format” menu. - Now, select the entry “No Outline” to remove the borders from the box.
- You can also apply different colors, weight and styles to the border if
you want. - In order to delete a text box content, simply click inside the box and
edit or delete the content. Alternatively, select the text box by clicking on
the border and press delete to completely delete the box. - In this respect, text boxes behave in the same way as other drawing
objects.
Using Text Box Templates
The best and easy way to use text box in Word is to
select one of the predefined text box template. You can select from one of the good-looking
templates from the “Text Box” menu dropdown.
For example, you can use text box in a sidebar
format or choose one of the colorful formats. You can adjust the layout
positions to align the content beside the box.
You can also customize the text box and create a
custom template as a Quick Parts.
- First, select the box you want to use as templates.
- Go to “Insert > Text Box” and choose “Save Selection to Text Box Gallery” option.
- Fill up the details to create a new building block.
- You can view the saved template under “Text Box” menu dropdown from next time onwards.
Other Formatting Options
The “Formatting Tools” menu offers various
additional options for customizing your text box content. You can double click
on any text box to view the menus applicable for drawing object. Below are some
of the activities you can do with the formatting tools:
- Apply shape styles like fill, effects and borders.
- Create WordArt inside text box.
- Change text direction.
- Position and wrap the content around the text box.
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1
Click the Insert tab.
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On the right side of all of the things you can insert, look for ‘Text Box.’
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Select the text box that you want to use and double click on it.
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4
Cut and paste the text into the text box.
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To change the size of the text box, click on it once, and drag one of the 8 circles.
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You can change the design of the text box you have selected by going into the format tab.
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If you want to get creative with your text or simply have more flexibility, consider adding a customizing a text box in Word.
If you want more flexibility with certain text in your Word document, why not use a text box? Since a text box is considered an object, you can move it wherever you like in your document. This is handy for placing text in areas you normally wouldn’t.
You can use a text box to call attention to something in your document, rotate snippets of text, or create a unique appearance. Microsoft Word also provides formatting options for text boxes that give them their own nifty style or useful function.
Here, we’ll show you how to add or draw a text box and then format it to your liking in Microsoft Word.
With Word on Windows, you can either insert a preformatted text box or draw one of your own. Either way, you can customize it afterward, so choose the best option for you.
Go to the spot in your document where you want the text box and select the Insert tab. Click the Text Box drop-down arrow and pick a Built-In style or Draw a Text Box.
If you’re using Word on Mac, go to the Insert tab, click the Text drop-down arrow, and then the Text Box arrow. You can then choose to draw a simple text box or one where the text inside is vertical.
To draw your text box on either platform, drag the crosshairs to create the size you want. You can resize the text box any time after you draw it too.
When your text box appears, click inside to add your own words.
Format and Customize a Text Box in Word
Once you insert or draw your text box, select it and go to the Shape Format tab to view all of your formatting options. You’ll find the following features in Word on Windows, which may differ slightly in Word on Mac.
Shape Styles
Choose a theme or preset style for your text box. These options include filling colors and various effects.
Or you can use the Shape Fill, Outline, and Effects options to create your own distinctive style. From gradients and patterns to dashed lines and scribbles, you have many terrific options for customizing the appearance of your text box.
Note: Some options in the Shape Styles section may not be available if you select a preset text box.
WordArt Styles
Along with making the text box itself look snazzy, you can do the same with the text inside of it. Check out the Quick Styles in the WordArt Styles for premade options.
Or use the Text Fill, Outline, and Effects to make the text really pop. You can do things like add a shadow and glow or warp the text, so it’s curvy and cool.
Text, Accessibility, Arrange, and Size
The remaining sections of the ribbon allow you to change the direction of the text inside the box, use text wrapping with other elements in your document, rotate the text box, and adjust its exact size. You can also use the Alt Text Accessibility option to describe the text box.
Edit Your Text Box
After you customize your text box, you can still edit it anytime. Just note that when you select the text box to make changes, it may appear without some of the elements or effects you’ve applied. This is to make text editing simpler.
Once you complete your edits and deselect the text box, it will return to normal with your customizations.
Add Text Anywhere, Any Way in Word
Text boxes in Microsoft Word let you place text anywhere in your document without worries of margins or other normal text limitations. And because you can completely format the text box almost any way you want, it can be both a fun and useful addition to your document.
If you use Google Docs and Microsoft Word, take a look at how to work with text boxes in Docs too!
