# How does Java show the left border of a text block?

**URL:** https://platform.jetbrains.com/t/how-does-java-show-the-left-border-of-a-text-block/4502
**Category:** IntelliJ Platform
**Created:** [June 19, 2026, 11:19pm UTC](https://platform.jetbrains.com/t/how-does-java-show-the-left-border-of-a-text-block/4502 "2026-06-19T23:19:51Z")
**Posts on this page:** 2
**Page:** 1

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### Author: ![illuminatedcloud](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/platform.jetbrains.com/illuminatedcloud/32/55_2.png) [@illuminatedcloud](https://platform.jetbrains.com/u/illuminatedcloud)
#### Post date: [June 19, 2026, 11:19pm UTC](https://platform.jetbrains.com/t/how-does-java-show-the-left-border-of-a-text-block/4502/1 "2026-06-19T23:19:51Z")

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I’m having trouble finding this one, so I figured I’d ask and hopefully save myself some time. Text blocks in Java look like this:

 ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/uploads/jetbrains_platform/original/2X/d/d1662374f4a24550ce31ee31558fef8de217d556.png)

Notice the left border of the text block showing which portions of the literal are padding and which are contents, and more importantly, notice that in the blank lines, I’ve removed all whitespace, yet the left border is still present.

What’s drawing that? I’d like to do the same in my plugin, but I’m having trouble figuring out the EP/API. Does anyone know? Thanks in advance for any tips!

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<div class="post-metadata">

### Author: ![illuminatedcloud](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/flex001/user_avatar/platform.jetbrains.com/illuminatedcloud/32/55_2.png) [@illuminatedcloud](https://platform.jetbrains.com/u/illuminatedcloud)
#### Post date: [June 22, 2026, 8:52pm UTC](https://platform.jetbrains.com/t/how-does-java-show-the-left-border-of-a-text-block/4502/3 "2026-06-22T20:52:15Z")

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If anyone is curious, in Java this is implemented as `com.intellij.codeInsight.daemon.impl.JavaTextBlockIndentPass`.