Box Drawing & Blocks

Box Drawings Double Vertical and Horizontal ╬

U+256C Added in Unicode 1.1 (1993) Formerly “forms double vertical and horizontal”

╬ is a double-line box drawing character used to form a four-way intersection in text-based tables and borders.

Alt code Alt+206
Codes
Unicode
Unicode name
Decimal
Windows Alt code
HTML entity
HTML decimal
HTML hex
Encodings & code escapes +
UTF-8 (hex bytes)
UTF-16 (hex units)
UTF-32
URL encoded
CSS content
JavaScript / TypeScript
JSON, Java, C#, C/C++
Python
Go
Rust, Swift, PHP, Ruby
Perl

Click any value to copy it. All escapes refer to the same code point U+256C.

How to type ╬ on Windows

The fastest method on a full-size keyboard is the Alt code Alt+206.

  1. Make sure Num Lock is on.
  2. Hold down the Alt key.
  3. Type 206 on the numeric keypad (the number row will not work).
  4. Release Alt. The box drawings double vertical and horizontal symbol ╬ appears.

No numeric keypad?

Press Win+. to open the emoji panel, choose the Symbols tab (Ω) and search for "box drawings double vertical and horizontal". Or open Character Map from the Start menu, find ╬, click Select, then Copy.

How to type ╬ on a Mac

There is no direct keyboard shortcut for ╬ on a Mac.

For any symbol, the Character Viewer works: press Control+⌘+Space, type "box drawings double vertical and horizontal" in the search box and double-click the result. It will be remembered under Frequently Used.

How to type ╬ on iPhone and iPad

The iOS keyboard does not include ╬, so the reliable way is to copy it from this page, then press and hold in any text field and tap Paste.

If you use it often, create a shortcut: open Settings → General → Keyboard → Text Replacement, paste ╬ in the Phrase field and type a short code such as ;box in the Shortcut field. Typing that code will then insert ╬ anywhere.

How to type ╬ on Android

Copy the symbol from this page, then long-press in a text field and choose Paste. Gboard also keeps a clipboard history: tap the clipboard icon on the toolbar to paste it again later.

For a permanent shortcut, open Gboard settings → Dictionary → Personal dictionary, add ╬ as the word and a short code as the shortcut.

How to type ╬ in Microsoft Word

  1. Type the Unicode hex code 256C where you want the symbol.
  2. Press Alt+X. Word converts the code into ╬.

This works on Windows in Word, Outlook and OneNote and needs no numeric keypad. You can also go to Insert → Symbol → More Symbols, set the font to a Unicode font and type 256C in the Character code box. In Excel, the formula =UNICHAR(9580) returns the symbol.

How to type ╬ in Google Docs

Open Insert → Special characters, then either search for "box drawings double vertical and horizontal" or draw the symbol in the sketch box. Click the result to insert it. In Google Sheets, use =CHAR(9580).

╬ in HTML, CSS and code

FormatCode
HTML entity╬
HTML decimal╬
HTML hex╬
CSS content"\256C"
JavaScript"\u256C"
Python"\u256C"
URL encoded%E2%95%AC

Because ╬ is a standard Unicode character (U+256C), you can also paste it directly into any UTF-8 file. The escaped forms above are only needed when the file encoding is uncertain or the symbol must be entered on a keyboard without it.

Where the box drawings double vertical and horizontal symbol is used

Used in ASCII/Unicode art, terminal user interfaces, and retro DOS-style diagrams to create grid intersections, such as a table where ╬ joins rows and columns of double lines. It is often confused with the single-line cross ┼, which uses thinner strokes.

Frequently asked questions

What does ╬ mean? +

It represents a junction point where double horizontal and vertical lines cross, used purely for drawing borders and grids, not for math or text meaning.

Why do double-line box characters like ╬ exist? +

They were part of the extended character set used in old DOS and terminal systems to create bordered tables and windows with a distinct double-line style.

What is the Alt code for the box drawings double vertical and horizontal symbol? +

The Alt code for ╬ is Alt+206. Hold Alt, type 206 on the numeric keypad, then release Alt.

How do I type ╬ on a Mac? +

There is no dedicated Mac shortcut for ╬. Open the Character Viewer with Control + Command + Space, search for "box drawings double vertical and horizontal", and double-click it. Or copy it from this page.

How do I type the box drawings double vertical and horizontal symbol on iPhone or Android? +

Phone keyboards do not include ╬ by default. Copy it from this page and paste it, or add it as a text replacement shortcut in Settings so you can type it with a short abbreviation.

What is the HTML code for ╬? +

Use ╬ in HTML. The numeric form ╬ works too. In CSS use content: "\256C" and in JavaScript use "\u256C".

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