Adding a text box takes three clicks

Open your Google Docs document and click Insert in the menu bar at the top. A dropdown menu appears. Click Text box. Your cursor changes to a crosshair. Click and drag on the page to draw the box to the size you want — you can make it small or stretch it across most of the page.

Once you release the mouse, the text box is ready. Start typing when ready, and your words appear inside it. The box stays where you placed it until you move it.

Text boxes are useful when you want text to sit in a specific spot on the page rather than flowing with the rest of your document. They work well for callouts, sidebars, labels on diagrams, or text that needs to sit next to an image without wrapping around it.

Key Takeaways

  • Insert a text box by clicking Insert, then Text box, then dragging on the page to set its size.
  • You can type, paste, and format text inside a text box the same way you format text in the rest of your document.
  • Drag the text box to move it, or grab the corner handles to resize it without redrawing.
  • Text boxes can have colored backgrounds and borders, which you control through the border color and fill color options.
  • Text boxes do not flow with your document — they stay in one place, so moving paragraphs above or below them does not move the box itself.

Moving and resizing a text box after you create it

Once the text box exists, you can adjust it. Click anywhere on the border of the text box to select it — you should see small squares at the corners and edges. Click and drag the border itself to move the whole box to a new location on the page. Click and drag one of the corner squares to resize the box. Dragging a corner square keeps the proportions; dragging an edge square stretches the box in one direction only.

If you click inside the text box to edit the text, the selection handles disappear. Click the border again to select the box itself rather than edit the text inside.

Changing the background color and border of a text box

Select the text box by clicking its border. Right-click on the border and choose Format options, or look for a paint bucket icon in the toolbar on the right side of the screen. A panel opens with formatting choices.

Under Fill color, click the color square to choose a background color for the box, or leave it transparent (no fill). Under Border color, click to choose the color of the outline. You can also set the border width — how thick the line is — and the border dash style if you want a dotted or dashed line instead of solid.

These options let you make text boxes stand out from the rest of your document or blend them in, depending on what you need.

Typing and formatting text inside a text box

Text inside a text box works like text anywhere else in Google Docs. You can type normally, paste text from elsewhere, and use bold, italic, underline, and color. You can change the font, font size, and alignment. You can even add links.

One difference: text inside a text box does not automatically wrap to the next line the way body text does. If your text is too long for the box, it either gets cut off or you have to make the box wider. If you paste a lot of text into a small box, resize the box to fit it, or the text will disappear from view.

Text boxes do not move when you edit the document

A text box is anchored to the page, not to a paragraph. This means if you add or delete paragraphs above or below the text box, the box stays exactly where it is. This is different from an image with text wrapping, which moves along with nearby text.

This behavior is useful when you want something to stay in a fixed spot — like a label or a note in the margin. But it can be confusing if you expect the box to move with the text around it. If you need the text box to move with a specific paragraph, you may want to use a different approach, like putting the text in a table cell or using an image with text wrapping instead.

Deleting or copying a text box

To delete a text box, click its border to select it (not the text inside), then press Delete or Backspace. The entire box disappears.

To copy a text box, select it by clicking the border, then press Ctrl+C (or Cmd+C on Mac). Click where you want the copy to appear and press Ctrl+V (or Cmd+V). The copy appears in roughly the same position as the original, so you may need to drag it to a new spot.

When to use a text box instead of regular paragraphs

Use a text box when you need text in a specific location that should not move with the rest of your document. Common uses include labels next to images, highlighted tips or warnings, sidebars with extra information, or text that needs to sit in a particular spot on the page for layout reasons.

If you just want to separate text visually but still have it flow with your document, a paragraph with a background color or border might work better. If you want text to wrap around an image, use the image's text wrapping options instead of a text box. Text boxes are best when position matters more than flow.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I rotate a text box?

Google Docs does not have a built-in rotate option for text boxes. You can rotate text if you insert it as an image using a different tool, but a standard text box stays horizontal. If you need rotated text, consider creating it in a drawing tool and inserting it as an image instead.

What happens to a text box if I share my document?

Text boxes stay in place and remain editable when you share the document. Anyone with editing permission can click inside the text box and change the text, move it, or delete it, just as they can with any other content in the document.

Can I put a text box inside a table?

Yes. Click inside a table cell and use Insert > Text box. The text box appears inside that cell. You can format it the same way as any other text box, though it will be confined to the cell boundaries.

Why is my text box showing a red outline?

A red outline usually means the text box is selected. Click elsewhere on the page to deselect it, and the red outline disappears. If the outline stays red and you cannot edit the text, try clicking the border to select the box itself, then right-click and check the border color settings.

Can I make a text box transparent with no border?

Yes. Select the text box, right-click, and choose Format options. Set the fill color to transparent (the blank square) and the border color to transparent as well. The text will appear on the page with no visible box around it.