Guides / Why text turns into boxes
Why text turns into boxes
If pasted text turns into empty squares, question marks or blanks, nothing is broken. The device just has no picture for those characters.
What is going on
A font holds pictures only for the characters its designer included. When the device is asked for a character no installed font covers, it draws a placeholder: a rectangle, a diamond with a question mark, or nothing at all. Designers call the empty rectangle tofu.
Which styles break first
- Rarer characters, such as the filled squares and a few tiny letters.
- Older phones, older operating systems and apps that bring their own limited fonts.
- The mathematical styles are in the fonts of most recent devices, so bold, italic and script usually hold up.
What to try
- Switch to another style. Bold, italic and script are the best supported.
- Update the device, since newer systems add fonts for more characters.
- Try a different app or browser. Each one draws text a little differently.
- When sending it to someone, ask what they see, and use a screenshot if they cannot.
You cannot see their screen
Yours may be fine while the person you send it to sees boxes. For anything that matters, add the plain-letter version too.
Questions
Why does it work in one app and not another?
Apps draw text with different fonts. One may have a font for the character and another may not.
Is there a style that works everywhere?
No style is perfect, though bold and italic are the best supported. Plain text is the only guarantee.
What does tofu mean?
It is the designers' name for the empty rectangle shown for a missing character.