Use this to make placeholder text more fun

Technical writers often need to design documents before the content has been finalized. For example, website updates require that the web designer create new stylesheets before adding content to pages. Instruction guides may require document design before the manuals are ready for publication.

In these scenarios, technical writers need to add placeholder text. It can be tempting to add multiple instances of "add text here" but the fixed text size can create odd patterns in the placeholder text.

Add text here. This is placeholder text. Add text here. This is placeholder text. Add text here. This is placeholder text. Add text here. This is placeholder text. Add text here. This is placeholder text. Add text here. This is placeholder text. Add text here. This is placeholder text. Add text here. This is placeholder text. Add text here. This is placeholder text. Add text here. This is placeholder text. Add text here. This is placeholder text. Add text here. This is placeholder text. Add text here. This is placeholder text. Add text here. This is placeholder text. Add text here. This is placeholder text. Add text here. This is placeholder text.

Since the early days of the print industry, typesetters have used Latin-like text passages as placeholder text. This text, called "Lorem ipsum" because that's how the standard placeholder text usually starts, has the same variation as normal sentences. The finished document with "Lorem ipsum" dummy text has the look of a regular document, allowing designers to create templates without worrying about the specific text on the page.

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. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

If you want to add "Lorem ipsum" placeholder text to your next project, visit lipsum.com and select how many paragraphs, words, bytes, or lists you would like to generate. Copy the generated dummy text into your project.

But there's more to placeholder text than Latin-like "Lorem ipsum." Try these alternative options the next time you need to add filler text:

Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

For fans of the Douglas Adams book series and radio drama, try Don't Panic Ipsum. Select how many paragraphs you'd like to generate, how many quotes per paragraph, and other options to create random quotes:

He glanced around at the motley collection of record company executives that skulked on the edges of the dim pools of light with which the dark shadows of the bar’s inner recesses were pitted. He felt a spasm of excitement because he knew instinctively who it was, or at least knew who it was he wanted it to be, and once you know what it is you want to be true, instinct is a very useful device for enabling you to know that it is. She shook her head, and shook it again, as if trying to clear it, which is what she was trying to do. Only the pikka birds seemed to feel that everything was exactly normal. The recalculations showed absolutely clearly and unambiguously that he was going to have a very bad month indeed, starting with today.

Star Wars

If you like Star Wars, you'll love Forcem Ipsum. Choose your favorite episode from the movie series, and how many paragraphs to generate, and you'll get random text you can copy into your project:

Did you hear that? They've shut down the main reactor. We'll be destroyed for sure. This is madness! We're doomed! There'll be no escape for the Princess this time. What's that? Artoo! Artoo-Detoo, where are you? At last! Where have you been? They're heading in this direction.

Bacon and ham

Who doesn't like bacon? If you want something "meatier" for your placeholder text, try Bacon Ipsum. Select the number of paragraphs and what meat types to generate filler text:

Bacon ipsum dolor amet brisket boudin ball tip rump tri-tip short loin ribeye ground round biltong hotdog. Pig flank picanha ham hamburger tri-tip. Short ribs kielbasa sirloin filet mignon, boudin chislic kevin sausage hotdog shank spare ribs tail pork chop jowl capicola. Landjaeger jerky ribeye pork loin tri-tip. Frankfurter chuck pork loin, hotdog prosciutto ball tip hamburger pork chop buffalo tail boudin. Brisket boudin drumstick shankle rump.

Star Trek

Generate random Trek quotes from different series and movies with Star Trek Ipsum. Choose between lists and paragraphs, and select beginning and ending quotes:

We're acquainted with the wormhole phenomenon, but this... Is a remarkable piece of bio-electronic engineering by which I see much of the EM spectrum ranging from heat and infrared through radio waves, et cetera, and forgive me if I've said and listened to this a thousand times. This planet's interior heat provides an abundance of geothermal energy. We need to neutralize the homing signal.

Doctor Who

If your fandom lies with British science fiction, choose Doctor Ipsum to generate random citations from the classic and new series. Choose your favorite Doctor and how many paragraphs of text to "regenerate" a series of quotes:

Goodbye... Fancypants! There are worlds out there where the sky is burning, and the sea's asleep, and the rivers dream; people made of smoke and cities made of song. Somewhere there's danger, somewhere there's injustice, and somewhere else the tea's getting cold. Come on, Ace. We've got work to do. I'm the Doctor, I can save the world with a kettle and some string! And look! I'm wearing a vegetable! People who talk about infallibility are usually on very shaky ground. Come on! An unintelligent enemy is far less dangerous than an intelligent one….

And more

Make your placeholder text more interesting by using quotes and other random text. Look to The Ipsum Collection for other placeholder generation systems, including one about Pokemon and another that's all about dogs. With this many options at your fingertips, placeholder text doesn't need to be boring.