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Box-drawing characters
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<h2 id="unicode">Unicode</h2> <h3>Box Drawing</h3> <p><a href="/facts/Unicode/DDu3MfPV">Unicode</a> includes 128 such characters in the <a href="/facts/Box_Drawing/emI9gK0G">Box Drawing</a> block.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a> In many Unicode fonts, only the subset that is also available in the <a href="/facts/IBM_PC_compatible/zGUpl7Sh">IBM PC</a> character set (see below) will exist, due to it being defined as part of the <a href="/facts/WGL4/qcjmtlWt">WGL4</a> character set. </p> <table><tbody><tr><td colspan="17"><a href="/facts/Box_Drawing/emI9gK0G">Box Drawing</a>[1]<a href="https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U2500.pdf">Official Unicode Consortium code chart</a> (PDF)</td></tr><tr><td> </td><td>0</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>5</td><td>6</td><td>7</td><td>8</td><td>9</td><td>A</td><td>B</td><td>C</td><td>D</td><td>E</td><td>F</td></tr><tr><td>U+250x</td><td>─</td><td>━</td><td>│</td><td>┃</td><td>┄</td><td>┅</td><td>┆</td><td>┇</td><td>┈</td><td>┉</td><td>┊</td><td>┋</td><td>┌</td><td>┍</td><td>┎</td><td>┏</td></tr><tr><td>U+251x</td><td>┐</td><td>┑</td><td>┒</td><td>┓</td><td>└</td><td>┕</td><td>┖</td><td>┗</td><td>┘</td><td>┙</td><td>┚</td><td>┛</td><td>├</td><td>┝</td><td>┞</td><td>┟</td></tr><tr><td>U+252x</td><td>┠</td><td>┡</td><td>┢</td><td>┣</td><td>┤</td><td>┥</td><td>┦</td><td>┧</td><td>┨</td><td>┩</td><td>┪</td><td>┫</td><td>┬</td><td>┭</td><td>┮</td><td>┯</td></tr><tr><td>U+253x</td><td>┰</td><td>┱</td><td>┲</td><td>┳</td><td>┴</td><td>┵</td><td>┶</td><td>┷</td><td>┸</td><td>┹</td><td>┺</td><td>┻</td><td>┼</td><td>┽</td><td>┾</td><td>┿</td></tr><tr><td>U+254x</td><td>╀</td><td>╁</td><td>╂</td><td>╃</td><td>╄</td><td>╅</td><td>╆</td><td>╇</td><td>╈</td><td>╉</td><td>╊</td><td>╋</td><td>╌</td><td>╍</td><td>╎</td><td>╏</td></tr><tr><td>U+255x</td><td>═</td><td>║</td><td>╒</td><td>╓</td><td>╔</td><td>╕</td><td>╖</td><td>╗</td><td>╘</td><td>╙</td><td>╚</td><td>╛</td><td>╜</td><td>╝</td><td>╞</td><td>╟</td></tr><tr><td>U+256x</td><td>╠</td><td>╡</td><td>╢</td><td>╣</td><td>╤</td><td>╥</td><td>╦</td><td>╧</td><td>╨</td><td>╩</td><td>╪</td><td>╫</td><td>╬</td><td>╭</td><td>╮</td><td>╯</td></tr><tr><td>U+257x</td><td>╰</td><td>╱</td><td>╲</td><td>╳</td><td>╴</td><td>╵</td><td>╶</td><td>╷</td><td>╸</td><td>╹</td><td>╺</td><td>╻</td><td>╼</td><td>╽</td><td>╾</td><td>╿</td></tr><tr><td colspan="17">Notes1.^ As of Unicode version 16.0</td></tr></tbody></table> <p>The image below is provided as a quick reference for these symbols on systems that are unable to display them directly: </p> <h3>Block Elements</h3> <p>The <a href="/facts/Block_Elements/yJ5E6Nyg">Block Elements</a> Unicode block includes shading characters. 32 characters are included in the block. </p> <table><tbody><tr><td colspan="17"><a href="/facts/Block_Elements/yJ5E6Nyg">Block Elements</a>[1]<a href="https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U2580.pdf">Official Unicode Consortium code chart</a> (PDF)</td></tr><tr><td> </td><td>0</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>5</td><td>6</td><td>7</td><td>8</td><td>9</td><td>A</td><td>B</td><td>C</td><td>D</td><td>E</td><td>F</td></tr><tr><td>U+258x</td><td>▀</td><td>▁</td><td>▂</td><td>▃</td><td>▄</td><td>▅</td><td>▆</td><td>▇</td><td>█</td><td>▉</td><td>▊</td><td>▋</td><td>▌</td><td>▍</td><td>▎</td><td>▏</td></tr><tr><td>U+259x</td><td>▐</td><td>░</td><td>▒</td><td>▓</td><td>▔</td><td>▕</td><td>▖</td><td>▗</td><td>▘</td><td>▙</td><td>▚</td><td>▛</td><td>▜</td><td>▝</td><td>▞</td><td>▟</td></tr><tr><td colspan="17">Notes1.^ As of Unicode version 16.0</td></tr></tbody></table> <h3>Symbols for Legacy Computing</h3> <p>In version 13.0, Unicode was extended with another block containing many graphics characters, <a href="/facts/Symbols_for_Legacy_Computing/Kw0XKdbY">Symbols for Legacy Computing</a>, which includes a few box-drawing characters and other symbols used by obsolete operating systems (mostly from the 1980s). Few fonts support these characters (one is <a href="/facts/Noto_fonts/d11sPCC2">Noto Sans Symbols 2</a>), but the table of symbols is provided here: </p> <table><tbody><tr><td colspan="17"><a href="/facts/Symbols_for_Legacy_Computing/Kw0XKdbY">Symbols for Legacy Computing</a>[1][2]<a href="https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U1FB00.pdf">Official Unicode Consortium code chart</a> (PDF)</td></tr><tr><td> </td><td>0</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>5</td><td>6</td><td>7</td><td>8</td><td>9</td><td>A</td><td>B</td><td>C</td><td>D</td><td>E</td><td>F</td></tr><tr><td>U+1FB0x</td><td>🬀</td><td>🬁</td><td>🬂</td><td>🬃</td><td>🬄</td><td>🬅</td><td>🬆</td><td>🬇</td><td>🬈</td><td>🬉</td><td>🬊</td><td>🬋</td><td>🬌</td><td>🬍</td><td>🬎</td><td>🬏</td></tr><tr><td>U+1FB1x</td><td>🬐</td><td>🬑</td><td>🬒</td><td>🬓</td><td>🬔</td><td>🬕</td><td>🬖</td><td>🬗</td><td>🬘</td><td>🬙</td><td>🬚</td><td>🬛</td><td>🬜</td><td>🬝</td><td>🬞</td><td>🬟</td></tr><tr><td>U+1FB2x</td><td>🬠</td><td>🬡</td><td>🬢</td><td>🬣</td><td>🬤</td><td>🬥</td><td>🬦</td><td>🬧</td><td>🬨</td><td>🬩</td><td>🬪</td><td>🬫</td><td>🬬</td><td>🬭</td><td>🬮</td><td>🬯</td></tr><tr><td>U+1FB3x</td><td>🬰</td><td>🬱</td><td>🬲</td><td>🬳</td><td>🬴</td><td>🬵</td><td>🬶</td><td>🬷</td><td>🬸</td><td>🬹</td><td>🬺</td><td>🬻</td><td>🬼</td><td>🬽</td><td>🬾</td><td>🬿</td></tr><tr><td>U+1FB4x</td><td>🭀</td><td>🭁</td><td>🭂</td><td>🭃</td><td>🭄</td><td>🭅</td><td>🭆</td><td>🭇</td><td>🭈</td><td>🭉</td><td>🭊</td><td>🭋</td><td>🭌</td><td>🭍</td><td>🭎</td><td>🭏</td></tr><tr><td>U+1FB5x</td><td>🭐</td><td>🭑</td><td>🭒</td><td>🭓</td><td>🭔</td><td>🭕</td><td>🭖</td><td>🭗</td><td>🭘</td><td>🭙</td><td>🭚</td><td>🭛</td><td>🭜</td><td>🭝</td><td>🭞</td><td>🭟</td></tr><tr><td>U+1FB6x</td><td>🭠</td><td>🭡</td><td>🭢</td><td>🭣</td><td>🭤</td><td>🭥</td><td>🭦</td><td>🭧</td><td>🭨</td><td>🭩</td><td>🭪</td><td>🭫</td><td>🭬</td><td>🭭</td><td>🭮</td><td>🭯</td></tr><tr><td>U+1FB7x</td><td>🭰</td><td>🭱</td><td>🭲</td><td>🭳</td><td>🭴</td><td>🭵</td><td>🭶</td><td>🭷</td><td>🭸</td><td>🭹</td><td>🭺</td><td>🭻</td><td>🭼</td><td>🭽</td><td>🭾</td><td>🭿</td></tr><tr><td>U+1FB8x</td><td>🮀</td><td>🮁</td><td>🮂</td><td>🮃</td><td>🮄</td><td>🮅</td><td>🮆</td><td>🮇</td><td>🮈</td><td>🮉</td><td>🮊</td><td>🮋</td><td>🮌</td><td>🮍</td><td>🮎</td><td>🮏</td></tr><tr><td>U+1FB9x</td><td>🮐</td><td>🮑</td><td>🮒</td><td></td><td>🮔</td><td>🮕</td><td>🮖</td><td>🮗</td><td>🮘</td><td>🮙</td><td>🮚</td><td>🮛</td><td>🮜</td><td>🮝</td><td>🮞</td><td>🮟</td></tr><tr><td>U+1FBAx</td><td>🮠</td><td>🮡</td><td>🮢</td><td>🮣</td><td>🮤</td><td>🮥</td><td>🮦</td><td>🮧</td><td>🮨</td><td>🮩</td><td>🮪</td><td>🮫</td><td>🮬</td><td>🮭</td><td>🮮</td><td>🮯</td></tr><tr><td>U+1FBBx</td><td>🮰</td><td>🮱</td><td>🮲</td><td>🮳</td><td>🮴</td><td>🮵</td><td>🮶</td><td>🮷</td><td>🮸</td><td>🮹</td><td>🮺</td><td>🮻</td><td>🮼</td><td>🮽</td><td>🮾</td><td>🮿</td></tr><tr><td>U+1FBCx</td><td>🯀</td><td>🯁</td><td>🯂</td><td>🯃</td><td>🯄</td><td>🯅</td><td>🯆</td><td>🯇</td><td>🯈</td><td>🯉</td><td>🯊</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>U+1FBDx</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>U+1FBEx</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>U+1FBFx</td><td>🯰</td><td>🯱</td><td>🯲</td><td>🯳</td><td>🯴</td><td>🯵</td><td>🯶</td><td>🯷</td><td>🯸</td><td>🯹</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td colspan="17">Notes1.^ As of Unicode version 16.02.^ Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points</td></tr></tbody></table> <p>The image below is provided as a quick reference for these symbols on systems that are unable to display them directly: </p> <h3>Symbols for Legacy Computing Supplement</h3> <p>In version 16.0 (September 2024), Unicode was extended with another block containing many graphics characters, <a href="/facts/Symbols_for_Legacy_Computing_Supplement/Fo2lDgw8">Symbols for Legacy Computing Supplement</a>, which includes a few box-drawing characters and other symbols used by obsolete operating systems (mostly from the 1970s and 1980s). </p> <table><tbody><tr><td colspan="17"><a href="/facts/Symbols_for_Legacy_Computing_Supplement/Fo2lDgw8">Symbols for Legacy Computing Supplement</a>[1][2]<a href="https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U1CC00.pdf">Official Unicode Consortium code chart</a> (PDF)</td></tr><tr><td> </td><td>0</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>3</td><td>4</td><td>5</td><td>6</td><td>7</td><td>8</td><td>9</td><td>A</td><td>B</td><td>C</td><td>D</td><td>E</td><td>F</td></tr><tr><td>U+1CC0x</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>U+1CC1x</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>U+1CC2x</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>U+1CC3x</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>U+1CC4x</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>U+1CC5x</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>U+1CC6x</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>U+1CC7x</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>U+1CC8x</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>U+1CC9x</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>U+1CCAx</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>U+1CCBx</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>U+1CCCx</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>U+1CCDx</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>U+1CCEx</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>U+1CCFx</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>U+1CD0x</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>U+1CD1x</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>U+1CD2x</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>U+1CD3x</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>U+1CD4x</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>U+1CD5x</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>U+1CD6x</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>U+1CD7x</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>U+1CD8x</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>U+1CD9x</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>U+1CDAx</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>U+1CDBx</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>U+1CDCx</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>U+1CDDx</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>U+1CDEx</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>U+1CDFx</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>U+1CE0x</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>U+1CE1x</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>U+1CE2x</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>U+1CE3x</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>U+1CE4x</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>U+1CE5x</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>U+1CE6x</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>U+1CE7x</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>U+1CE8x</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>U+1CE9x</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>U+1CEAx</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>U+1CEBx</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td colspan="17">Notes1.^ As of Unicode version 16.02.^ Grey areas indicate non-assigned code points</td></tr></tbody></table> <h2 id="platform-specific">Platform-specific</h2> <p>Various different platforms defined their own unique set of box-drawing characters. </p> <h3>DOS</h3> <p>The <a href="/facts/Hardware_code_page/MS8N6nUY">hardware code page</a> of the original IBM PC supplied the following box-drawing characters, in what <a href="/facts/DOS/sWwDXNmX">DOS</a> now calls <a href="/facts/Code_page_437/jx27vCbb">code page 437</a>. This subset of the Unicode box-drawing characters is thus included in <a href="/facts/WGL4/qcjmtlWt">WGL4</a> and is far more popular and likely to be rendered correctly: </p> <table><tbody><tr><th></th><th>0</th><th>1</th><th>2</th><th>3</th><th>4</th><th>5</th><th>6</th><th>7</th><th>8</th><th>9</th><th>A</th><th>B</th><th>C</th><th>D</th><th>E</th><th>F</th></tr><tr><th>B</th><td>░</td><td>▒</td><td>▓</td><td>│</td><td>┤</td><td>╡</td><td>╢</td><td>╖</td><td>╕</td><td>╣</td><td>║</td><td>╗</td><td>╝</td><td>╜</td><td>╛</td><td>┐</td></tr><tr><th>C</th><td>└</td><td>┴</td><td>┬</td><td>├</td><td>─</td><td>┼</td><td>╞</td><td>╟</td><td>╚</td><td>╔</td><td>╩</td><td>╦</td><td>╠</td><td>═</td><td>╬</td><td>╧</td></tr><tr><th>D</th><td>╨</td><td>╤</td><td>╥</td><td>╙</td><td>╘</td><td>╒</td><td>╓</td><td>╫</td><td>╪</td><td>┘</td><td>┌</td><td>█</td><td>▄</td><td>▌</td><td>▐</td><td>▀</td></tr></tbody></table> <p>The integral halves are also box drawing as they are used alongside 0xB3: </p> <table><tbody><tr><th></th><th>4</th><th>5</th></tr><tr><th>F</th><td>⌠</td><td>⌡</td></tr></tbody></table> <p>Their number is further limited to 28 on those code pages that replace the 18 characters that combine single and double lines, the left and right half blocks, as well as integral halves with other, usually alphabetic, characters (such as <a href="/facts/Code_page_850/D7wzDcLh">code page 850</a>): </p> <table><tbody><tr><th></th><th>0</th><th>1</th><th>2</th><th>3</th><th>4</th><th>5</th><th>6</th><th>7</th><th>8</th><th>9</th><th>A</th><th>B</th><th>C</th><th>D</th><th>E</th><th>F</th></tr><tr><th>B</th><td>░</td><td>▒</td><td>▓</td><td>│</td><td>┤</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>╣</td><td>║</td><td>╗</td><td>╝</td><td></td><td></td><td>┐</td></tr><tr><th>C</th><td>└</td><td>┴</td><td>┬</td><td>├</td><td>─</td><td>┼</td><td></td><td></td><td>╚</td><td>╔</td><td>╩</td><td>╦</td><td>╠</td><td>═</td><td>╬</td><td></td></tr><tr><th>D</th><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>┘</td><td>┌</td><td>█</td><td>▄</td><td></td><td></td><td>▀</td></tr></tbody></table> <p>Note: The non-double characters are the thin (light) characters (U+2500, U+2502), not the bold (heavy) characters (U+2501, U+2503). </p><p>Some OEM DOS computers supported other character sets, for example the <a href="/facts/Hewlett-Packard/abuNSYNu">Hewlett-Packard</a> <a href="/facts/HP_110/RXgsEkmW">HP 110</a> / <a href="/facts/HP_Portable/RXgsEkmW">HP Portable</a> and <a href="/facts/HP_110_Plus/RXgsEkmW">HP 110 Plus</a> / <a href="/facts/HP_Portable_Plus/RXgsEkmW">HP Portable Plus</a>, where in a <a href="/facts/Modified_HP_Roman-8/txpWXPBw">modified version</a> of the character set box-drawing characters were added in reserved areas of their normal <a href="/facts/HP_Roman-8/txpWXPBw">HP Roman-8</a> character set.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> </p> <table><tbody><tr><th><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a></th><th>0</th><th>1</th><th>2</th><th>3</th><th>4</th><th>5</th><th>6</th><th>7</th><th>8</th><th>9</th><th>A</th><th>B</th><th>C</th><th>D</th><th>E</th><th>F</th></tr><tr><th>8</th><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>╝</td><td>╗</td><td>╔</td><td>╚</td><td>╣</td><td>╩</td><td>╦</td><td>╠</td><td>═</td><td>║</td><td>╬</td><td></td></tr><tr><th>9</th><td></td><td>▀</td><td>▄</td><td></td><td>┘</td><td>┐</td><td>┌</td><td>└</td><td>┤</td><td>┴</td><td>┬</td><td>├</td><td>─</td><td>│</td><td>┼</td><td>█</td></tr></tbody></table> <h3>Unix, CP/M, BBS</h3> <p>On many <a href="/facts/Unix/0pNL2seI">Unix</a> systems and early dial-up <a href="/facts/Bulletin_board_system/22d9c9s2">bulletin board systems</a> the only common standard for box-drawing characters was the <a href="/facts/VT100/5bQBqBb5">VT100</a> alternate character set (see also: <a href="/facts/DEC_Special_Graphics/P3SIk8yW">DEC Special Graphics</a>). The <a href="/facts/Escape_sequence/r7lISrrw">escape sequence</a> Esc ( 0 switched the codes for lower-case ASCII letters to draw this set, and the sequence Esc ( B switched back: </p> <table><tbody><tr><th></th><th>0</th><th>1</th><th>2</th><th>3</th><th>4</th><th>5</th><th>6</th><th>7</th><th>8</th><th>9</th><th>A</th><th>B</th><th>C</th><th>D</th><th>E</th><th>F</th></tr><tr><th>6</th><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>┘</td><td>┐</td><td>┌</td><td>└</td><td>┼</td><td></td></tr><tr><th>7</th><td></td><td>─</td><td></td><td></td><td>├</td><td>┤</td><td>┴</td><td>┬</td><td>│</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr></tbody></table> <p>On some terminals, these characters are not available at all, and the complexity of the escape sequences discouraged their use, so often only <a href="/facts/ASCII/vGUI33Qu">ASCII</a> characters that approximate box-drawing characters are used, such as - (<a href="/facts/Hyphen-minus/TnWuz7hd">hyphen-minus</a>), | (<a href="/facts/Vertical_bar/Yq77nJ6f">vertical bar</a>), _ (<a href="/facts/Underscore/KJsRo3tA">underscore</a>), = (<a href="/facts/Equal_sign/AweYSg9h">equal sign</a>) and + (<a href="/facts/Plus_sign/6RJD4Xt9">plus sign</a>) in a kind of <a href="/facts/ASCII_art/TmgLtCg5">ASCII art</a> fashion. </p><p>Modern Unix <a href="/facts/Terminal_emulator/yNfevBJd">terminal emulators</a> use Unicode and thus have access to the line-drawing characters listed above. </p> <h3>Teletext</h3> <p>The <a href="/facts/World_System_Teletext/8PknDRLm">World System Teletext</a> (WST) uses pixel-drawing characters for some graphics. A character cell is divided in 2×3 regions, and 26 = 64 code positions are allocated for all possible combinations of pixels.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> These characters were added to the Unicode standard in Version 13.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> </p> <h3>Historical</h3> <p>Many <a href="/facts/Microcomputer/ETW22UTv">microcomputers</a> of the 1970s and 1980s had their own proprietary character sets, which also included box-drawing characters. Many of these were added to Unicode as <a href="/facts/Symbols_for_Legacy_Computing/Kw0XKdbY">Symbols for Legacy Computing</a>. </p> <h4>Commodore</h4> <p class="note">Main article: <a href="/facts/PETSCII/61tTmJ3l">PETSCII</a></p> <p>Commodore machines, such as the <a href="/facts/Commodore_PET/08R12Xk4">Commodore PET</a> and the <a href="/facts/Commodore_64/3TPcKDbb">Commodore 64</a>, included a set of text semigraphics with block elements and dithering patterns in the PETSCII character set. </p> <h4>Sinclair</h4> <p class="note">See also: <a href="/facts/ZX80_character_set/px8q8JSH">ZX80 character set</a>, <a href="/facts/ZX81_character_set/sQ6UuoVe">ZX81 character set</a>, and <a href="/facts/ZX_Spectrum_character_set/stNNHhVK">ZX Spectrum character set</a></p> <p>The <a href="/facts/Sinclair_ZX80/n7G0FJeW">Sinclair ZX80</a>, <a href="/facts/Sinclair_ZX81/I0uDYb3n">ZX81</a>, and <a href="/facts/ZX_Spectrum/JVbaDHrU">ZX Spectrum</a> included a set of text semigraphics with quadrant-based block elements. The ZX80 and ZX81 also included a set of text semigraphics with dithering patterns. </p> <h4>BBC and Acorn</h4> <p>The <a href="/facts/BBC_Micro/YJxxPlIl">BBC Micro</a> could utilize the <a href="/facts/Teletext/Jog0HW8t">Teletext</a> 7-bit character set, which had 128 box-drawing characters, whose code points were shared with the regular alphanumeric and punctuation characters. <a href="/facts/Control_characters/jkWgHvfC">Control characters</a> were used to switch between regular text and box drawing.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> </p> Teletext G1 Block Mosaics Set<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a><table><tbody><tr><th></th><th>0</th><th>1</th><th>2</th><th>3</th><th>4</th><th>5</th><th>6</th><th>7</th><th>8</th><th>9</th><th>A</th><th>B</th><th>C</th><th>D</th><th>E</th><th>F</th></tr><tr><th>2</th><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><th>3</th><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><th>6</th><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><th>7</th><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr></tbody></table> Braille Sextant Mosaics Set<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a><table><tbody><tr><th></th><th>0</th><th>1</th><th>2</th><th>3</th><th>4</th><th>5</th><th>6</th><th>7</th><th>8</th><th>9</th><th>A</th><th>B</th><th>C</th><th>D</th><th>E</th><th>F</th></tr><tr><th>2</th><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><th>3</th><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><th>4</th><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><th>5</th><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr></tbody></table> <p>The <a href="/facts/BBC_Master/IPkzMQDL">BBC Master</a> and later <a href="/facts/Acorn_Computers/jCddUElC">Acorn</a> computers have the soft font by default defined with line drawing characters. </p> <table><tbody><tr><th></th><th>0</th><th>1</th><th>2</th><th>3</th><th>4</th><th>5</th><th>6</th><th>7</th><th>8</th><th>9</th><th>A</th><th>B</th><th>C</th><th>D</th><th>E</th><th>F</th></tr><tr><th>A</th><td></td><td>╷</td><td>╶</td><td>┌</td><td>╴</td><td>┐</td><td>─</td><td>┬</td><td>╵</td><td>│</td><td>└</td><td>├</td><td>┘</td><td>┤</td><td>┴</td><td>┼</td></tr><tr><th>B</th><td>╭</td><td>╮</td><td>╰</td><td>╯</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr></tbody></table> <h4>Amstrad</h4> <p>The <a href="/facts/Amstrad_CPC_character_set/9cM9qnP1">Amstrad CPC character set</a> also has soft characters defined by default as block and line drawing characters. </p> <table><tbody><tr><th></th><th>0</th><th>1</th><th>2</th><th>3</th><th>4</th><th>5</th><th>6</th><th>7</th><th>8</th><th>9</th><th>A</th><th>B</th><th>C</th><th>D</th><th>E</th><th>F</th></tr><tr><th>8</th><td></td><td>▘</td><td>▝</td><td>▀</td><td>▖</td><td>▍</td><td>▞</td><td>▛</td><td>▗</td><td>▚</td><td>▐</td><td>▜</td><td>▃</td><td>▙</td><td>▟</td><td>▉</td></tr><tr><th>9</th><td></td><td>╵</td><td>╶</td><td>└</td><td>╷</td><td>│</td><td>┌</td><td>├</td><td>╴</td><td>┘</td><td>─</td><td>┴</td><td>┐</td><td>┤</td><td>┬</td><td>┼</td></tr></tbody></table> <p>The <a href="/facts/CP/M_Plus_character_set/keRDllgp">CP/M Plus character set</a> used on various <a href="/facts/Amstrad/rXhrLd2U">Amstrad</a> computers of the <a href="/facts/Amstrad_CPC/U2F6jDXY">CPC</a>, <a href="/facts/Amstrad_PCW/eUHIck5p">PCW</a> and <a href="/facts/Amstrad_ZX_Spectrum_%2B3/JVbaDHrU">Spectrum</a> families included a rich set of line-drawing characters as well:<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a> </p> <table><tbody><tr><th><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a></th><th>0</th><th>1</th><th>2</th><th>3</th><th>4</th><th>5</th><th>6</th><th>7</th><th>8</th><th>9</th><th>A</th><th>B</th><th>C</th><th>D</th><th>E</th><th>F</th></tr><tr><th>8</th><td></td><td>╧</td><td>╟</td><td>╚</td><td>╤</td><td>║</td><td>╔</td><td>╠</td><td>╢</td><td>╝</td><td>═</td><td>╩</td><td>╗</td><td>╣</td><td>╦</td><td>╬</td></tr><tr><th>9</th><td></td><td>╵</td><td>╶</td><td>└</td><td>╷</td><td>│</td><td>┌</td><td>├</td><td>╴</td><td>┘</td><td>─</td><td>┴</td><td>┐</td><td>┤</td><td>┬</td><td>┼</td></tr></tbody></table> <h4>Apple</h4> <p><a href="/facts/MouseText/5d0UTXUY">MouseText</a> is a set of display characters for the <a href="/facts/Apple_IIc/D0UdpuKo">Apple IIc</a>, <a href="/facts/Apple_IIe/3LMaIspU">IIe</a>, and <a href="/facts/Apple_IIGS/IXyL2fd4">IIGS</a> that includes box-drawing characters. </p> <h2 id="encoding">Encoding</h2> <p>On many platforms, the character shape is determined programmatically from the character code. </p> <ul><li>ZX Spectrum block characters: 0x80 + topright*1 + topleft*2 + bottomright*4 + bottomleft*8</li> <li>Amstrad CPC block characters: 0x80 + topleft*1 + topright*2 + bottomleft*4 + bottomright*8</li> <li>Amstrad CPC line characters: 0x90 + up*1 + right*2 + down*4 + left*8</li> <li>BBC Master line characters: 0xA0 + down*1 + right*2 + left*4 + up*8</li> <li>Teletext block characters: 0xA0 + topleft*1 + topright*2 + middleleft*4 + middleright*8 + bottomleft*16 + bottomright*64</li></ul> <p>However, DOS line- and box-drawing characters are not ordered in any programmatic manner, so calculating a particular character shape needs to use a look-up table. </p> <h2 id="examples">Examples</h2> <p>Sample diagrams made out of the standard box-drawing characters, using a monospaced font: </p> ┌─┬┐ ╔═╦╗ ╓─╥╖ ╒═╤╕ │ ││ ║ ║║ ║ ║║ │ ││ ├─┼┤ ╠═╬╣ ╟─╫╢ ╞═╪╡ └─┴┘ ╚═╩╝ ╙─╨╜ ╘═╧╛ ┌───────────────────┐ │ ╔═══╗ Some Text │▒ │ ╚═╦═╝ in the box │▒ ╞═╤══╩══╤═══════════╡▒ │ ├──┬──┤ │▒ │ └──┴──┘ │▒ └───────────────────┘▒ ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> Wikimedia Commons has media related to Text mode box drawing. <ul><li><a href="/facts/ASCII_art/TmgLtCg5">ASCII art</a> and <a href="/facts/ANSI_art/joDyguL0">ANSI art</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Dingbat/3cP2LIPh">Dingbat</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/MouseText/5d0UTXUY">MouseText</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Text-based_user_interface/bngNtqIY">Text-based user interface</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Semigraphics/jdlprgPW">Semigraphics</a></li> <li>Unicode blocks <ul><li><a href="/facts/Box_Drawing/emI9gK0G">Box Drawing</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Block_Elements/yJ5E6Nyg">Block Elements</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Geometric_Shapes_(Unicode_block)/PYP24njv">Geometric Shapes</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Symbols_for_Legacy_Computing/Kw0XKdbY">Symbols for Legacy Computing</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Symbols_for_Legacy_Computing_Supplement/Fo2lDgw8">Symbols for Legacy Computing Supplement</a></li></ul></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Box Drawing U+2500-U+257F, The Unicode Standard Code Charts <a href="http://unicode.org/charts/PDF/U2500.pdf" target="_blank">http://unicode.org/charts/PDF/U2500.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Hewlett-Packard - Technical Reference Manual - Portable PLUS (1 ed.). Corvallis, OR, USA: Hewlett-Packard Company, Portable Computer Division. August 1985. 45559-90001. Retrieved 2016-11-27. <a href="https://archive.org/details/bitsavers_hpportableblePLUSTechnicalReferenceManualAug1985_25919880" target="_blank">https://archive.org/details/bitsavers_hpportableblePLUSTechnicalReferenceManualAug1985_25919880</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Hewlett-Packard - Technical Reference Manual - Portable PLUS (PDF) (2 ed.). Portable Computer Division, Corvallis, OR, USA: Hewlett-Packard Company. December 1986 [August 1985]. 45559-90006. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-11-28. Retrieved 2016-11-27. <a href="http://www.jeffcalc.hp41.eu/hpplus/files/techrefman.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.jeffcalc.hp41.eu/hpplus/files/techrefman.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Hewlett-Packard - Technical Reference Manual - Portable PLUS (1 ed.). Corvallis, OR, USA: Hewlett-Packard Company, Portable Computer Division. August 1985. 45559-90001. Retrieved 2016-11-27. <a href="https://archive.org/details/bitsavers_hpportableblePLUSTechnicalReferenceManualAug1985_25919880" target="_blank">https://archive.org/details/bitsavers_hpportableblePLUSTechnicalReferenceManualAug1985_25919880</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Hewlett-Packard - Technical Reference Manual - Portable PLUS (PDF) (2 ed.). Portable Computer Division, Corvallis, OR, USA: Hewlett-Packard Company. December 1986 [August 1985]. 45559-90006. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-11-28. Retrieved 2016-11-27. <a href="http://www.jeffcalc.hp41.eu/hpplus/files/techrefman.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.jeffcalc.hp41.eu/hpplus/files/techrefman.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Wiels. "TeleText - Het Protocol" (in Dutch). Mosaic characters. Archived from the original on 2017-12-22. Retrieved 2017-12-21. <a href="https://www.wiels.nl/teletext/" target="_blank">https://www.wiels.nl/teletext/</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>"Symbols for Legacy Computing" (PDF). Unicode Consortium. Retrieved 2020-04-19. <a href="https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/Unicode-13.0/U130-1FB00.pdf" target="_blank">https://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/Unicode-13.0/U130-1FB00.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Broadcast Teletext Specification, September 1976 (as HTML or scans of original document) <a href="http://www.bighole.nl/pub/mirror/homepage.ntlworld.com/kryten_droid/teletext/spec/teletext_spec_1974.htm" target="_blank">http://www.bighole.nl/pub/mirror/homepage.ntlworld.com/kryten_droid/teletext/spec/teletext_spec_1974.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Enhanced Teletext specification (PDF), European Telecommunications Standards Institute, May 1997, p. 126 <a href="https://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_i_ets/300700_300799/300706/01_60/ets_300706e01p.pdf#page=126" target="_blank">https://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_i_ets/300700_300799/300706/01_60/ets_300706e01p.pdf#page=126</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>Enhanced Teletext specification (PDF), European Telecommunications Standards Institute, May 1997, p. 126 <a href="https://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_i_ets/300700_300799/300706/01_60/ets_300706e01p.pdf#page=126" target="_blank">https://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_i_ets/300700_300799/300706/01_60/ets_300706e01p.pdf#page=126</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>"Appendix II: CP/M Plus character sets / II.1 The complete character set (Language 0)". Spectrum +3 CP/M Plus manual (User Manual). Archived from the original on 2009-10-15. Retrieved 2017-07-10. [1] <a href="http://www.worldofspectrum.org/Plus3CPMManual/appendix2.html" target="_blank">http://www.worldofspectrum.org/Plus3CPMManual/appendix2.html</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>Elliott, John C. (2015-04-04). "Amstrad Extended BIOS Internals". Seasip.info. Archived from the original on 2017-07-15. Retrieved 2017-07-15. <a href="http://www.seasip.info/Cpm/xbiosint.html" target="_blank">http://www.seasip.info/Cpm/xbiosint.html</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>"Amstrad CP/M Plus character set". Archived from the original on 2017-07-15. Retrieved 2017-07-15. <a href="http://fileformats.archiveteam.org/wiki/Amstrad_CP/M_Plus_character_set" target="_blank">http://fileformats.archiveteam.org/wiki/Amstrad_CP/M_Plus_character_set</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>"Appendix II: CP/M Plus character sets / II.1 The complete character set (Language 0)". Spectrum +3 CP/M Plus manual (User Manual). Archived from the original on 2009-10-15. Retrieved 2017-07-10. [1] <a href="http://www.worldofspectrum.org/Plus3CPMManual/appendix2.html" target="_blank">http://www.worldofspectrum.org/Plus3CPMManual/appendix2.html</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>