Block Elements

Last updated
Block Elements
RangeU+2580..U+259F
(32 code points)
Plane BMP
Scripts Common
Symbol setsBlock fills
Assigned32 code points
Unused0 reserved code points
Unicode version history
1.0.0 (1991)22 (+22)
3.2 (2002)32 (+10)
Unicode documentation
Code chart ∣ Web page
Note: [1] [2]

Block Elements is a Unicode block containing square block symbols of various fill and shading. Used along with block elements are box-drawing characters, shade characters, and terminal graphic characters. These can be used for filling regions of the screen and portraying drop shadows. Its block name in Unicode 1.0 was Blocks. [3]

Contents

Character table

CodeResultDescription
U+2580Upper half block
U+2581Lower one eighth block
U+2582Lower one quarter block
U+2583Lower three eighths block
U+2584Lower half block
U+2585Lower five eighths block
U+2586Lower three quarters block
U+2587Lower seven eighths block
U+2588Full block
U+2589Left seven eighths block
U+258ALeft three quarters block
U+258BLeft five eighths block
U+258CLeft half block
U+258DLeft three eighths block
U+258ELeft one quarter block
U+258FLeft one eighth block
U+2590Right half block
U+2591Light shade
U+2592Medium shade
U+2593Dark shade
U+2594Upper one eighth block
U+2595Right one eighth block
U+2596Quadrant lower left
U+2597Quadrant lower right
U+2598Quadrant upper left
U+2599Quadrant upper left and lower left and lower right
U+259AQuadrant upper left and lower right
U+259BQuadrant upper left and upper right and lower left
U+259CQuadrant upper left and upper right and lower right
U+259DQuadrant upper right
U+259EQuadrant upper right and lower left
U+259FQuadrant upper right and lower left and lower right

Font coverage

Font sets like Code2000 and the DejaVu family include coverage for each of the glyphs in the Block Elements range. [4] Unifont also contains all the glyphs. [5] Among the fonts in widespread use, [6] [7] full implementation is provided by Segoe UI Symbol. [4]

The glyphs in Block Elements each share the same character width in most supported fonts, allowing them to be used graphically in row and column arrangements. However, the block does not contain a space character of its own and ASCII space may or may not render at the same width as Block Elements glyphs, as those characters are intended to be used exclusively for monospaced fonts.

Compact table

Block Elements [1]
Official Unicode Consortium code chart (PDF)
 0123456789ABCDEF
U+258x
U+259x
Notes
1. ^ As of Unicode version 15.1

History

The following Unicode-related documents record the purpose and process of defining specific characters in the Block Elements block:

Version Final code points [lower-alpha 1] Count L2  ID WG2  IDDocument
1.0.0U+2580..259522(to be determined)
3.2U+2596..259F10 L2/00-159 da Cruz, Frank (2000-03-31), Supplemental Terminal Graphics for Unicode
L2/00-115R2 Moore, Lisa (2000-08-08), "Motion 83-M24", Minutes Of UTC Meeting #83
L2/00-329 N2265 Whistler, Ken (2000-09-19), Proposal for Terminal Graphic Symbols in the BMP
L2/01-050 N2253 Umamaheswaran, V. S. (2001-01-21), "Resolution M39.20 (Terminal Graphic Symbols)", Minutes of the SC2/WG2 meeting in Athens, September 2000
  1. Proposed code points and characters names may differ from final code points and names

See also

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References

  1. "Unicode character database". The Unicode Standard. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  2. "Enumerated Versions of The Unicode Standard". The Unicode Standard. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  3. "3.8: Block-by-Block Charts" (PDF). The Unicode Standard. version 1.0. Unicode Consortium.
  4. 1 2 "Font Support for Unicode Block 'Block Elements'" . Retrieved 2016-03-13.
  5. "GNU Unifont Glyphs". Unifoundry.com. Retrieved 2013-11-12.
  6. "Mac OS X 10.5 bundled with Arial Unicode MS". Archived from the original on 2013-01-07. Retrieved 2008-09-17.
  7. "Common fonts to all versions of Windows & Mac equivalents" . Retrieved 2008-09-17.