Copy corner and edge characters like ╔ ═ ╗ ║ to frame your text, or grab a ready-made top and bottom border. Paste the top line, then your text, then the matching bottom line.
Click to copy it, then paste with Ctrl + V (⌘ + V on a Mac) or a long press on phones.
Windows
Hold Alt and type 201 on the number pad (Num Lock on), then let go of Alt.
In Microsoft Word, type 2554 and press Alt + X.
Mac
Press Control + ⌘ + Space to open the Character Viewer, then search for “box drawings double down and right”.
iPhone and Android
Copy it here and paste it. To type it again later, save it as a text replacement (iPhone: Settings › General › Keyboard › Text Replacement; Gboard: Settings › Dictionary › Personal dictionary).
A text frame is built line by line. Paste a top border like ╔═══════╗, then start and end each line of your text with ║, and finish with a bottom border like ╚═══════╝. Corners must match the line style: ╔ ╗ ╚ ╝ go with double ═ ║, ┏ ┓ ┗ ┛ with heavy ━ ┃, and ╭ ╮ ╰ ╯ with thin ─ │ for rounded corners.
Side bars only line up when every character has the same width, which means a monospace font. On Discord, wrap the whole frame in a code block (three backticks before and after) and it will look perfect. On Instagram, TikTok and most social apps, fonts are proportional, so use just a top and bottom border and skip the side bars.
Box-drawing characters explained
These characters come from the Box Drawing block of Unicode (U+2500 to U+257F). They go back to the text-mode screens of DOS computers, where code page 437 included lines and corners for drawing windows and menus, which is why many of them still have Windows Alt codes: Alt + 201 ╔, Alt + 187 ╗, Alt + 200 ╚, Alt + 188 ╝, Alt + 205 ═ and Alt + 186 ║.
Besides corners, the block has T-junctions (╠ ╣ ╦ ╩ and ├ ┤ ┬ ┴) and crosses (╬ ┼) for dividing a frame into sections or drawing tables. The block elements ▛ ▜ ▙ ▟ make chunky pixel-style frames.
Border ideas
For a soft, aesthetic look, use the scallop ︶︶︶ or lace ꒷꒦︶ borders above and below a short quote. For a bold announcement in a Discord server, try a heavy ┏━━┓ frame. Matching top and bottom pieces always look more polished than mixing styles.
For single lines between sections, see the divider symbols, for small boxes and checkboxes, the box symbol page, and for vertical and horizontal lines on their own, the line symbols.
Frequently asked questions
How do I put a border around text on Instagram?
Paste a top border on the line above your text and a matching bottom border on the line below. Skip the side bars, because Instagram's font will not line them up.
Why don't my border lines line up?
Box lines only align in a monospace font, where every character is the same width. Use a code block on Discord, or stick to top and bottom borders elsewhere.
What is the Alt code for ╔?
Hold Alt and type 201 on the number pad for ╔. The other double-line corners are Alt + 187 ╗, Alt + 200 ╚ and Alt + 188 ╝.