Encapsulating text within a box is a common task many writers face when creating documentation. From simple callouts to highlighting code or command line examples, wrapping text in boxes can highlight key information and add to the look and feel of your document. In this article we’ll look at two common methods (and one not so common method) for encapsulating text within a box.
Text boxes – Word features a text box object which can be embedded into your documents. The big advantage to a text box is the vast number of visual elements and the ability to wrap text around it in various ways (just like with pictures and other objects). While text boxes are a very common method for boxing text, many writers tend to choose the wrong text wrapping method because they can’t get the desired result in Word ie: they often end up choosing to place the object “in front of” text, which means the box must be manually moved if the underlying text is moved around.
Tables – Another common technique, often used by technical writers, is to create a table consisting of one cell. Once created, you can then customize the table by specifying a background color, border style and other options like alignment. One advantage of the table is that it uses Word’s standard layout tools like the ruler and margin adjusters—controls which you are already familiar with. The downside is that a table doesn’t always behave as it should such as when splitting across pages (such problems often occur when tracking changes), lacks some visual elements like rounded corners and does not have text wrapping controls.
Character styles – This method is used less frequently and involves creating a character style with borders and shading configured via the character style dialog box. The upside to this approach is that boxing text comes for free (once the style has been set up) by simply selecting the configured character style. The downside to this approach is that the box will split each time you modify the indentation settings on a new paragraph (the work around is to modify the indentation before entering multiple paragraphs). Also, if a user isn’t aware that character styles can have border definitions (and thus be used for boxing text), they may not know how to make adjustments or turn off the “box”.