How to Insert Text Box in Google Docs: Easy Guide

Inserting a text box in Google Docs: simple instructions.

Designing attractive-looking documents does not necessarily have to be limited to traditional paragraph formatting. It is a necessary skill whether you are making a newsletter, an official report or a flyer, that you know how to add text box in Google Docs. You use text boxes to highlight important information and to create pull quotes, and to move the text around in any way you want without disturbing the main body of your document. Although Google Docs does not provide a specific button of a Text Box to simply add to the main ribbon as some other word-processors, it is nevertheless extremely easy to add one. This is a comprehensive guide that will guide you through the different ways you can add, format and manage text boxes within your documents.

The first one is through the Google Docs Drawing Tool.

The easiest and the most versatile method of adding a text box is by using the inbuilt Drawing tool. It has this characteristic of a mini-canvas on which you can design your text box and then insert it in your document. Firstly, open your Google Docs document and put your cursor at the point where you want the text box to be. Go to the top menu and choose “Insert” and hover over drawing and choose New. An checked Drawing window will appear on your screen. In this new window, look at the toolbar and then press the icon of the “Text box” that is represented as a square with capital T in the middle. After choosing, trace the box by clicking and dragging your mouse in the canvas to the size you desire. You are now able to type or paste what you want in the box. You can also format this text with the font, size and alignment option in the Drawing toolbar. Once you are pleased with its appearance, you can use the blue Save and Close button in the upper right-hand corner. The text box will be instantly added to your document.

Method 2: With a Single-Cell Table.

Provided that you desire a text box that fits well within the flow of your document and grows in size as you type, a one-cell table can be a great substitute. Writers and editors find this technique very popular because they do not have to tussle with the floating quality of the Drawing tool and instead emphasize warnings, tips or important notes. First, insert your cursor at the position where the text box will be inserted. In the upper menu, click on the insert button, move the cursor over Table and choose a grid of 1×1 (one square). Your page will have a plain rectangular box. It is now possible to type your text in this cell. The background color and the thickness of the border can be changed to give it an appearance of a customized text box. It is just a matter of clicking in the cell, clicking on Format, clicking on Table and then on Table properties. In this case, you can go to the Color category to select a cell background color and the table border width. This is a technique that will have your text box always well aligned with your document margins and page breaks.

method 3: Shapes to Creative Layouts.

A mere rectangle won’t do sometimes. In case you would like to take your document to the next level and make it look professional and attractive, it can be a good idea to take some inspiration in the design-oriented sites such as glossywise so that you could learn about the value of using creative layouts. Text boxes can be made to pop by using various shapes. To do this, go back to “Insert” > “Drawing” > “New.” Rather than clicking on the Text Box icon, click on the “Shape” icon (it resembles a circle with a square inside). Select among a great choice of shapes, including rounded rectangles, speech bubbles or starbursts. Trace the shape on the canvas and then just double-Click in the shape to begin typing. In this way, similar to an ordinary text box, you can edit the text, alter fill color of the shape, and border. Click “Save and Close” to insert your creative text box into the document.

Setting up and Positioning Your Text Box.

After adding your text box in the document, you may need to change how it relates to the rest of the text. When you used the Drawing tool method, you can (when you have clicked on the text box that you have inserted) see a small menu below the text box. This menu offers the opportunity to wrap text: “In line, wrap text and break text. When In line is selected, the text box becomes like a giant letter and is fixed linearly within the text line. Wrap text gives you the chance to have the main text of your document flow about the box, which is ideal with magazine-like layouts. The text “Break text” makes the main text remain above and below the box, leaving the sides empty. You can also make the text box larger or smaller any time by clicking the text box and dragging the blue anchor squares in the corners and sides of the text box. To edit the text within a Drawing tool text box, just simply double-click the text box within your document and the Drawing canvas will reopen, and you can make the changes.

The reason why you have to use text boxes in your documents.

Learning to use text boxes to control means that Google Docs can be used as a light desktop publishing application. They play a crucial role in establishing visual hierarchy, highlighting the reader with important information, and aiding the divide between monotonous text walls. Be it a vibrant sidebar to a school project or a smooth, minimalist quote box to a business proposal, such tools provide you with the ability to be creative and make your work stand out.

Frequently Asked Questions on how to add text box in Google Docs.

Is it possible to spin a text box in Google Docs? Yes, you can. Should you have made the text box with the Drawing tool, then by double clicking on the text box, you get into the Drawing canvas. Click on the text box and you will notice a small blue dot on a line which runs off of the top. To spin the text box to the angle that you want, click and drag this dot, and then Click “Save and close.”

How do I delete a text box? It is quite easy to delete a text box. Highlight the text box on your document by clicking on it and putting a blue outline around it and then press the Delete key or Back Space key on your keyboard.

Is it possible to insert a picture in a text box? Although you cannot simply paste an image in an ordinary text box in the document, you can do so with the Drawing tool. Create a drawing canvas by clicking on the Image icon under the Insert menu (Drawing) and choosing the New menu, then add a text box on top of or next to the image you have added. Group them together, and click “Save and Close” to insert the combined graphic into your document.

My text box is cutting off my text, why? Your text box may be of small size considering the amount of text you have typed in it in case you have used the Drawing tool. To use the text box, click it twice to get the Drawing window and move the corners of the box to enlarge it in order to see all the text. When you use the single cell table method, the box will automatically grow downwards as you type avoiding the text being cut short.