Box Drawings Light Horizontal
The light horizontal line is the base of ASCII tables and tree views. Repeat it to draw a clean rule that survives in any monospace context. ─ is the box drawings light horizontal, assigned to Unicode code point U+2500. Because it is a real text character rather than an image, it survives copy and paste into documents, chat apps, spreadsheets and source code. Copy it with one click below, or grab the exact HTML entity, CSS escape and JavaScript string for your project.
| Symbol | ─ | |
|---|---|---|
| Unicode | U+2500 | |
| Name | Box Drawings Light Horizontal | |
| HTML (decimal) | ─ | |
| HTML (hex) | ─ | |
| CSS content | \2500 | |
| JavaScript / JSON | \u2500 | |
| UTF-8 bytes | 0xE2 0x94 0x80 | |
| UTF-16 units | 0x2500 |
How do you type the box drawings light horizontal on each platform?
| Where | How to type it |
|---|---|
| Any device | Click the ─ at the top of this page. It goes straight to your clipboard, and you paste it with Ctrl+V on Windows or Cmd+V on a Mac. This is the only method that behaves identically everywhere. |
| Windows | There is no short alt code for this character. Press Win and the full stop key to open the emoji and symbol panel, then use the symbols tab and search for box drawings light horizontal. |
| macOS | Add Unicode Hex Input under Keyboard settings, switch to it, then hold Option and type 2500. Without that input source, open the Character Viewer with Control+Command+Space and search for box drawings light horizontal. |
| Linux and ChromeOS | Press Ctrl+Shift+U, type 2500, then press Enter or the space bar. This works in GTK applications and with IBus. |
| Microsoft Word | Type 2500 in the document, then press Alt and X together with the cursor immediately after the last digit. Word replaces the digits with ─. |
| Google Docs | Insert, then Special characters, then paste U+2500 or type box drawings light horizontal in the search box. You can also draw the shape in the sketch pad on the right. |
| Excel and Google Sheets | Use the formula UNICHAR(9472) in a cell. Copy the cell and paste it as a value if you want the character rather than the formula. |
| HTML | Write ─ or ─. There is no standard named entity for this character. On a page served as UTF-8 the character itself also works. |
| CSS | Use content: "\2500" inside a ::before or ::after rule. Terminate the escape with a space if the next character is also a hexadecimal digit. |
| JavaScript | The escape \u2500 produces this character inside a string literal, and the same escape is valid in JSON. |
More detail per platform: Windows alt codes, special characters on a Mac, special characters in Word and HTML entities.
Frequently asked questions
How do I copy the box drawings light horizontal symbol?
Click the ─ above or the copy button and it is placed on your clipboard. Paste it anywhere with Ctrl+V or Cmd+V. It is a real text character, so it works in documents, chats and code.
What is the Unicode code point for box drawings light horizontal?
The box drawings light horizontal has the Unicode code point U+2500. In HTML you can write it as ─ or ─.
Can I use the box drawings light horizontal symbol in HTML and CSS?
Yes. In HTML write ─, and in CSS use content: "\2500" inside a ::before or ::after rule. The code table on this page has copy buttons for both.
Related symbols
Browse the full line & box symbols hub, or return to the searchable symbol grid.