How to Use 'Lorem Ipsum' Placeholder Text

Lorem Ipsum Latin placeholder text

Blake Burkhart / CC BY 2.0 license

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.

There's no need to adjust your browser or change your eyeglasses. These Latin-esque words are a portion of a common placeholder text file familiar to most graphic artists and typesetters.

It's an example of dummy text used by graphic artists and the typesetting industry for years. The Lorem ipsum text is not gibberish; it started life as an actual translation of classical Latin literature. Since then, it has been copied over and over again, scrambled and reposted on the internet, sometimes with humorous or off-color alterations. If you use it, be sure you ​copy a version without any embarrassing additions. 

Dummy text is also referred to as placeholder text or (inaccurately) greeked text. Its purpose differs depending on how and where it is used.

  • Templates — Use placeholder text in templates if there is no placeholder text already in place.
  • Initial Layouts — Like FPO boxes, Lorem ipsum text is used during the initial page layout and font selection exercises when first starting a design project or when planning a newsletter or web page when you don't have the actual copy available.
  • Testing Type and Layout — Use the placeholder text with various fonts and layouts to get a feel for how each type choice and design will look with real text and for finding ideal line lengths. The word lengths and letters of the Lorem ipsum text are similar to the actual frequency of letters in English, which makes it good for approximating text.
  • Samples — Use the placeholder text when you create examples of document designs or web pages for clients or students.
  • Type Specimen Sheets — Use the Lorem ipsum sentences when creating type specimen sheets or examples from which you or your clients can choose the fonts for a project.

For large areas of type, you can copy the first paragraph of this article and paste it over and over again as needed or use the entire version.

To use the placeholder text, paste it in your document where the missing text will go and apply your desired font styles and other formatting options. 

When you receive the actual copy for your project, replace the placeholder text with the real text. 

Format
mla apa chicago
Your Citation
Bear, Jacci Howard. "How to Use 'Lorem Ipsum' Placeholder Text." ThoughtCo, Jul. 30, 2021, thoughtco.com/lorem-ipsum-dolor-placeholder-text-1074455. Bear, Jacci Howard. (2021, July 30). How to Use 'Lorem Ipsum' Placeholder Text. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/lorem-ipsum-dolor-placeholder-text-1074455 Bear, Jacci Howard. "How to Use 'Lorem Ipsum' Placeholder Text." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/lorem-ipsum-dolor-placeholder-text-1074455 (accessed March 28, 2024).