No, my fingers didn't slip on the keyboard. The paragraph above is an example of copyfitting text used for copyfitting and type specification purposes. The numbers in the text correspond to the word count. If you want to create your own copyfitting text file it is simply a series of 5-letter nonsense words. Every 25th word is numbered.
Use your copyfitting text to:
- Determine the approximate amount of copy in your chosen font that will fit in your newsletter or other publication.
- Determine the most appropriate layout and font for publication based on the article length you've been told to expect.
- Create samples in various fonts to show how much space the different typefaces (or different sizes of the same type) will occupy in a publication.
- Create samples in various layouts (column widths, etc.) to see which format best suits the amount of copy your publication will have.
If you have PageMaker 5 (I couldn't find it in v. 6.5) then you already have a version of the copyfitting text that you can use. Or, download the copyfitting text file (below) containing 1000 words, including some puncuation but no paragraph breaks. Right click (PC) or click/hold (Mac) on the link then save the plain text file to your hard drive. Or click on the link and choose "Save" in your browser.
[copyfit.txt from About Desktop Publishing]
Note: Because the copyfitting text file was saved with no paragraph or line breaks, in your browser it may appear as one long sentence scrolling off to the right forever and ever. In your text editor turn on "word wrap" to read the plain text file.
To use this copyfitting text file, cut and paste, import, or place the text in your document and apply your desired font styles and other formatting options. For templates (or sample documents to show clients), simply save the file. To use a template, replace the dummy text with your own text. For copyfitting purposes, the amount of the copyfit.txt that will fit in your publication gives you an approximation of how much text your publication will hold using the specified formatting options. Use it for planning purposes.
| Get Started: | Basic Guidelines and Requirements for Desktop Publishing |
| Choose Software: | Desktop Publishing and Design Software |
| Make Something: | Things to Make Using Desktop Publishing |
| Tips & Tutorials: | How to Do Desktop Publishing |
| Training, Education, Jobs: | Careers in Desktop Publishing |
| In the Classroom: | Back to School With Desktop Publishing |
| Use Templates: | Templates for Print and Web Publishing |
