How to Insert Text Box in Google Docs

Do you want to highlight important information, create sidebars, or organize content visually in your document? Knowing how to insert text box in Google Docs is one of the most useful formatting skills you can have.

The fastest way: go to Insert → Drawing → + New, click the text box icon, draw your box, type your text, and hit Save and Close. That’s it. Your text box appears in the document, ready to drag anywhere on the page.

Below you’ll find every method explained clearly — including how to use shapes as styled text boxes, how to move and resize them, and how to delete them when you’re done.

How to Insert Text Box in Google Docs (Drawing Method)

This is the standard method and works on any desktop browser. It creates a floating text box you can drag anywhere on the page, independent of the surrounding text.

1. Open your Google Docs document and click roughly where you want the text box to appear.
2. Click “Insert” in the top menu bar, hover over “Drawing,” then click “+ New.”
3. The Drawing Panel opens. In the toolbar at the top of the panel, click the text box icon — it looks like a “T” inside a small rectangle.
4. Click and drag on the white canvas to draw your text box to the size you want.
5. Type your text directly inside the box. Use the toolbar to adjust font, size, color, bold, italic, or alignment.
6. Click “Save and Close” in the top-right corner of the Drawing Panel. Your text box drops into the document.

Important: To edit the text box later, double-click it — not single-click. A single click selects the drawing object. Double-clicking opens the Drawing Panel where the text actually lives.

How to Customize a Text Box in Google Docs

Once you’ve created your text box, you have full control over how it looks. Double-click the text box to reopen the Drawing Panel, then use the toolbar options to customize:

• Background color: Click the fill color bucket icon to add a colored background to the box — useful for callouts, warnings, or highlighted notes.
• Border color and weight: Click the border color icon to change the outline color, or set it to transparent if you want floating text with no visible box.
• Font style and size: Select your text inside the box and use the font dropdown and size field in the toolbar, just like you would in the main document.
• Text alignment: Use the alignment buttons (left, center, right) in the Drawing Panel toolbar to control how text sits inside the box.
• More options: Click the three vertical dots in the toolbar to access additional formatting like line spacing and text padding.

When you’re happy with the styling, click Save and Close to apply the changes back to your document.

How to Move, Resize, and Wrap Text Around a Text Box in Google Docs

After the text box is in your document, resizing and repositioning it takes just a few seconds.

• To move the text box: Click it once to select it (you’ll see a blue border appear), then click and drag it to any position on the page.
• To resize it: Click once to select, then drag any of the blue square handles on the corners or edges. Drag a corner handle to resize proportionally.
• To control how text flows around it: Click the text box once, then look for the wrap options that appear just below it — In line, Wrap text, or Break text. “Wrap text” lets your document body text flow around the box like a sidebar.

Watch out: If your text box keeps jumping around when you add text elsewhere in the document, change the wrap setting from “In line” to “Wrap text” or “Break text.” That stabilizes the box position.

How to Insert a Text Box Using Shapes in Google Docs

Want a text box that’s more than a plain rectangle? Google Docs lets you use any shape — oval, rounded rectangle, callout bubble, star — as a text container. Here’s how:

1. Go to Insert → Drawing → + New to open the Drawing Panel (same as above).
2. Click the “Shape” icon in the Drawing Panel toolbar — it looks like a circle overlapping a square.
3. Choose a category: Shapes, Arrows, Callouts, or Equation. For most text box use cases, go to Shapes and pick your preferred shape — rectangle, rounded rectangle, oval, and so on.
4. Click and drag on the canvas to draw the shape at the size you want.
5. Double-click inside the shape to activate the text cursor, then type your content.
6. Style the shape using the fill color, border color, and font options in the toolbar.
7. Click “Save and Close” to insert the shaped text box into your document.

How to Insert a Text Box in Google Docs on Mobile

The Google Docs mobile app (iOS and Android) does not support the Drawing tool. If you try to find it, it won’t be there. For a true floating text box, you’ll need to switch to a desktop browser.

However, there is a workaround that gets close: insert a single-cell table. It looks like a bordered box, flows with your document, and works perfectly on mobile.

1. Tap the + (Insert) button in the top toolbar.
2. Tap Table, then set it to 1 column × 1 row.
3. Tap Insert Table. A single bordered cell appears in your document.
4. Tap inside the cell and start typing. It behaves exactly like a text box for most practical purposes.

This same table method also works on desktop and is actually the better choice if your document will be downloaded as a Word (.docx) file — drawing objects don’t always convert cleanly, but table cells do.

How to Remove or Delete a Text Box in Google Docs

Deleting a text box is straightforward. Click the text box once to select it — you’ll see the blue border and handles appear around it. Then press Delete or Backspace on your keyboard. The box and all its content are removed instantly.

If you accidentally delete it, press Ctrl + Z (Windows) or Cmd + Z (Mac) immediately to undo.

Quick Summary: Text Box Methods at a Glance

• How to insert a text box over an image in Google Docs
• How to insert shapes in Google Docs
• How to insert a rectangle in Google Docs
• How to rotate text in Google Docs
• How to insert an arrow in Google Docs