Chalkboard

This page describes an education-related feature.

This feature is available only in Minecraft Education or when enabling the "Education" option in Bedrock Edition.

This article describes content that has been officially made unobtainable in Bedrock Edition.

It can still be obtained using third-party software. However, this can cause unexpected behavior such as bugs and crashes.

A chalkboard is a block that can display more text than a sign.^[1] Three sizes are available: 1×1 (slate), 2×1 (poster), and 3×2 (board).

Obtaining[]

In Education Edition, chalkboards can be obtained in the Creative inventory or through the /give command. In Bedrock Edition, chalkboards cannot be obtained by commands or the creative inventory, and can only be obtained by using glitches or inventory editors.

Usage[]

A chalkboard can be used similarly to a sign, to display text. Once placed, select the chalkboard and enter the desired text and click the "OK" button. The "×" in the upper right corner of the board closes the edit screen.

Placement[]

Chalkboards may be placed on the top or side of other blocks (including non-solid blocks like fences, glass, rails, and other chalkboards). To place a chalkboard, use a chalkboard item while pointing at the block the chalkboard should be attached to. To place a chalkboard on a block that can be interacted with by the use control (for example, chests, note blocks, etc.), sneak while placing the chalkboard.

1×1 slates placed on the top of a block stand on a short post, facing in the direction of the player who placed it, in any of 16 different directions. 2×1 posters and 2×3 boards can be placed in any of 4 different directions. Chalkboards placed on the side of a block simply float there, even if the block doesn't make contact with the chalkboards.

Text[]

When entering text, six lines of text are available for the slates and posters, while fifteen lines of text are available for the 2×3 boards. To switch between lines, the player can press Enter or the up/down arrow keys. The location of text currently selected has a flashing cursor.

While editing, typing and backspacing can occur at any point in the line by moving the cursor using the left and right arrow keys. Once the end of the line has been reached, the word is hyphenated and is continued on the next line.

After the editing window is closed, right-clicking on a chalkboard reopens the editing menu. Copy and paste can be performed, and no more than the basic/shifted keyboard characters may be entered.

Interaction[]

Chalkboards act as though they have a use action, so sneaking is required to place blocks or use items while the cursor is pointed at them.

Unlike signs, boards block a piston from moving.

Boards have no collision box (they are completely non-solid), so items and mobs can move through boards blocks. Other blocks (including other boards) can be placed on any edge of a board.

Water and lava flow around boards. Lava can create fire in air blocks next to boards as if the boards were flammable, but the boards do not burn.

Sounds[]

Source	Description	Resource location	Volume	Pitch
Blocks	Once the block has broken	`dig.stone`	1.0	0.8-1.0
Blocks	When the block is placed	`dig.stone`	1.0	0.8-1.0
Blocks	While the block is in the process of being broken	`hit.stone`	0.37	0.5
Players	Falling on the block with fall damage	`fall.stone`	0.4	1.0
Players	Walking on the block	`step.stone`	0.3	1.0
Players	Jumping from the block	`jump.stone`	0.12	1.0
Players	Falling on the block without fall damage	`land.stone`	0.22	1.0

Data values[]

ID[]

Name	Identifier	Numeric ID	Form	Item ID^{[i 1]}	Translation key
Block	`chalkboard`	`230`	Block & Ungiveable Item^{[i 2]}	Identical^{[i 3]}	`tile.chalkboard.oneByOne.name` `tile.chalkboard.twoByOne.name` `tile.chalkboard.threeByTwo.name`
Item	`board`	`454`	Item	—	`tile.chalkboard.oneByOne.name` `tile.chalkboard.twoByOne.name` `tile.chalkboard.threeByTwo.name`

↑ ID of block's direct item form, which is used in savegame files and addons.
↑ Unavailable with /give command
↑ The block's direct item form has the same id as the block.

Metadata[]

Chalkboards uses the following data values:

Slate: 1
Board: 2
Poster: 3

Block states[]

^{[more information needed]}

History[]

Pocket Edition Alpha
v0.16.0	build 1	Added chalkboards, likely as an accidental addition.
	build 1	Chalkboards can be obtained and placed using the `/give` and `/setblock` commands respectively. However, they serve no purpose.
	build 2	Chalkboards have now been removed. However, the textures still exist.
Bedrock Edition
1.11.0	beta 1.11.0.1	Re-added chalkboards. They still exist as entities, but can't be spawned. The items can't be spawned either.
1.17.30	beta 1.17.30.20	Chalkboards can now be placed consistently.
Education Edition
MinecraftEdu		MinecraftEdu, Education Edition's predecessor, had "Big Signs", 3 block wide signs that served a similar purpose.
1.0		Added chalkboards.
1.0.2		The UI of chalkboards now has a locked option.
1.0.2		Students now can place their own chalkboards even without a worldbuilder ability.