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Lorem Ipsum: Usage, Common examples, Translation, Variants and technical information
Essay: Lorem Ipsum--when, and when not to use it
Plugins:
Content management systems (CMS): Joomla, Wordpress, Magento, Google Docs, Drupal
Editors: Notepad++, Sublime Text, Office suites
Lorem Ipsum: usage
diagonal layout based on Lorem IpsumLorem ipsum is a pseudo-Latin text used in web design,
typography, layout, and printing in place of English to emphasise design elements over content.
It's also called placeholder (or filler) text. It's a convenient tool for mock-ups. It helps to outline
the visual elements of a document or presentation, eg typography, font, or layout. Lorem ipsum
is mostly a part of a Latin text by the classical author and philosopher Cicero. Its words and
letters have been changed by addition or removal, so to deliberately render its content
nonsensical; it's not genuine, correct, or comprehensible Latin anymore. While lorem ipsum's
still resembles classical Latin, it actually has no meaning whatsoever. As Cicero's text doesn't
contain the letters K, W, or Z, alien to latin, these, and others are often inserted randomly to
mimic the typographic appearence of European languages, as are digraphs not to be found in
the original.

In a professional context it often happens that private or corporate clients corder a publication to
be made and presented with the actual content still not being ready. Think of a news blog that's
filled with content hourly on the day of going live. However, reviewers tend to be distracted by
comprehensible content, say, a random text copied from a newspaper or the internet. The are
likely to focus on the text, disregarding the layout and its elements. Besides, random text risks
to be unintendedly humorous or offensive, an unacceptable risk in corporate environments.
Lorem ipsum and its many variants have been employed since the early 1960ies, and quite
likely since the sixteenth century.

Lorem Ipsum: common examples

layout based on Lorem Ipsum Most of its text is made up from sections 1.10.32–3 of Cicero's De
finibus bonorum et malorum (On the Boundaries of Goods and Evils; finibus may also be
translated as purposes). Neque porro quisquam est qui dolorem ipsum quia dolor sit amet,
consectetur, adipisci velit is the first known version ("Neither is there anyone who loves grief
itself since it is grief and thus wants to obtain it"). It was found by Richard McClintock, a
philologist, director of publications at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia; he searched for
citings of consectetur in classical Latin literature, a term of remarkably low frequency in that
literary corpus.

Cicero famously orated against his political opponent Lucius Sergius Catilina. Occasionally the
first Oration against Catiline is taken for type specimens: Quo usque tandem abutere, Catilina,
patientia nostra? Quam diu etiam furor iste tuus nos eludet? (How long, O Catiline, will you
abuse our patience? And for how long will that madness of yours mock us?)
Cicero's version of Liber Primus (first Book), sections 1.10.32–3 (fragments included in most
Lorem Ipsum variants in red):

Cicero writing letters; from an early edition by Hieronymus Scotus Sed ut perspiciatis, unde
omnis iste natus error sit voluptatem accusantium doloremque laudantium, totam rem aperiam
eaque ipsa, quae ab illo inventore veritatis et quasi architecto beatae vitae dicta sunt, explicabo.
Nemo enim ipsam voluptatem, quia voluptas sit, aspernatur aut odit aut fugit, sed quia
consequuntur magni dolores eos, qui ratione voluptatem sequi nesciunt, neque porro quisquam
est, qui dolorem ipsum, quia dolor sit amet, consectetur, adipisci[ng] velit, sed quia non
numquam [do] eius modi tempora inci[di]dunt, ut labore et dolore magnam aliquam quaerat
voluptatem. Ut enim ad minima veniam, quis nostrum exercitationem ullam corporis suscipit
laboriosam, nisi ut aliquid ex ea commodi consequatur? Quis autem vel eum iure reprehenderit,
qui in ea voluptate velit esse, quam nihil molestiae consequatur, vel illum, qui dolorem eum
fugiat, quo voluptas nulla pariatur?

Lorem Ipsum: translation

The Latin scholar H. Rackham translated the above in 1914:

De Finibus Bonorum Et Malorum But I must explain to you how all this mistaken idea of
denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you a complete account of the
system, and expound the actual teachings of the great explorer of the truth, the master-builder
of human happiness. No one rejects, dislikes, or avoids pleasure itself, because it is pleasure,
but because those who do not know how to pursue pleasure rationally encounter consequences
that are extremely painful. Nor again is there anyone who loves or pursues or desires to obtain
pain of itself, because it is pain, but occasionally circumstances occur in which toil and pain can
procure him some great pleasure. To take a trivial example, which of us ever undertakes
laborious physical exercise, except to obtain some advantage from it? But who has any right to
find fault with a man who chooses to enjoy a pleasure that has no annoying consequences, or
one who avoids a pain that produces no resultant pleasure?

On the other hand, we denounce with righteous indignation and dislike men who are so
beguiled and demoralized by the charms of pleasure of the moment, so blinded by desire, that
they cannot foresee the pain and trouble that are bound to ensue; and equal blame belongs to
those who fail in their duty through weakness of will, which is the same as saying through
shrinking from toil and pain. These cases are perfectly simple and easy to distinguish. In a free
hour, when our power of choice is untrammelled and when nothing prevents our being able to
do what we like best, every pleasure is to be welcomed and every pain avoided. But in certain
circumstances and owing to the claims of duty or the obligations of business it will frequently
occur that pleasures have to be repudiated and annoyances accepted. The wise man therefore
always holds in these matters to this principle of selection: he rejects pleasures to secure other
greater pleasures, or else he endures pains to avoid worse pains.

Lorem Ipsum: variants and technical information

Adobe Fireworks Lorem Ipsum plugin In 1985 Aldus Corporation launched its first desktop
publishing program Aldus PageMaker for Apple Macintosh computers, released in 1987 for PCs
running Windows 1.0. Both contained the variant lorem ipsum most common today. Laura
Perry, then art director with Aldus, modified prior versions of Lorem Ipsum text from
typographical specimens; in the 1960s and 1970s it appeared often in lettering catalogs by
Letraset. Anecdotal evidence has it that Letraset used Lorem ipsum already from 1970
onwards, eg. for grids (page layouts) for ad agencies. Many early desktop publishing programs,
eg. Adobe PageMaker, used it to create template.

Most text editors like MS Word or Lotus Notes generate random lorem text when needed, either
as pre-installed module or plug-in to be added. Word selection or sequence don't necessarily
match the original, which is intended to add variety. Presentation software like Keynote or
Pages use it as a samples for screenplay layout. Content management software as Joomla,
Drupal, Mambo, PHP-Nuke, WordPress, or Movable Type offer Lorem Ipsum plug-ins with the
same functionality.

Contact
diagonal layout lorem ipsumKorean: 국민경제의 발전을 위한 중요정책의 수립에 관하여
대통령의 자문에 응하기 위하여 국민경제자문회의를 둘 수 있다. Greek: Λορεμ ιπσθμ δολορ σιτ
αμετ, μει ιδ νοvθμ φαβελλασ πετεντιθμ vελ νε, ατ νισλ σονετ οπορτερε εθμ. Αλιι δοcτθσ μει ιδ,
νο αθτεμ αθδιρε ιντερεσσετ μελ, δοcενδι cομμθνε οπορτεατ τε cθμ. Japanese Lorem Ipsum: 旅
ロ京青利セムレ弱改フヨス波府かばぼ意送でぼ調掲察たス日西重ケアナ住橋ユムミク順待ふか
んぼ人奨貯鏡すびそ。

Contact
facebook
Russian Lorem Ipsum: Лорем ипсум долор сит амет, пер цлита поссит ех, ат мунере
фабулас петентиум сит. Иус цу цибо саперет сцрипсерит, нец виси муциус лабитур ид. Ет
хис нонумес нолуиссе дигниссим. Chinese Lorem Ipsum: 側経意責家方家閉討店暖育田庁載社
転線宇。得君新術治温抗添代話考振投員殴大闘北裁。品間識部案代学凰処済準世一戸刻法分。
悼測済諏計飯利安凶断理資沢同岩面文認革。内警格化再薬方久化体教御決数詭芸得筆代。
Indian Lorem Ipsum: पढाए हंद रहा प अनव
ु ाद कायलय मु य सं था सोफ़तवेर नरपे उनका आपके बाटते
आशाआपस मु यतह उशक करता। शु आत सं था कुशलता मभटृ अनव ु ाद गएआप वशेष सकते प रभा षत
लाभाि वत त दे कर समजते दशामे ा त जैसे वणन सं थान नमाता ु त भा त चन ु ने उपल ध बगलरू
अथपण ु Armeninian Lorem Ipsum: լոռեմ իպսում դոլոռ սիթ աﬔթ, լաբոռե մոդեռաթիուս եթ հաս,
պեռ ոմնիս լաթինե դիսպութաթիոնի աթ, վիս ֆեուգաիթ ծիվիբուս եխ. վիվենդում լաբոռամուս
ելաբոռառեթ նամ ին.

Arab Lorem Ipsum: ‫ ﻣﻊ واﯾﺮﻟﻨﺪا‬.‫ اﻟﺜﻘﯿﻠﺔ ﺑﺎل‬،‫ ﻫﻮ اﻟﻌﺎﻟﻢ‬,،‫ وﺑﺎءت اﻷﻣﺮﯾﻜﻲ اﻷورﺑﯿﯿﻦ ﻫﻮ ﺑﻪ‬.‫ﻏﯿﻨﯿﺎ واﺳﺘﻤﺮ اﻟﻌﺼﺒﺔ ﺿﺮب ﻗﺪ‬
‫ اﻧﻪ ﻛﻞ وإﻗﺎﻣﺔ اﻟﻤﻮاد‬.‫ ﻗﺪ ﺑﺤﻖ أﺳﺎﺑﯿﻊ اﻟﻌﻈﻤﻰ واﻋﺘﻼء‬,‫اﻷوروﺑﯿّﻮن ﻛﺎن‬. Hebrew Lorem Ipsum: ‫כדי יסוד מונחים מועמדים‬
.‫ או ניווט פולנית לחיבור ארץ‬,‫ גם אחר ליום בשפות‬,‫ אתה דת שונה כלשהו‬.‫ דת דפים מאמרשיחהצפה זאת‬,‫של‬
‫ אל אינו כלכלה שתי‬,‫ויש בקלות ואמנות אירועים או‬.
Lorem Ipsum: when, and when not to use it
Do you like Cheese Whiz? Spray tan? Fake eyelashes? That's what is Lorem Ipsum to many—it
rubs them the wrong way, all the way. It's unreal, uncanny, makes you wonder if something is
wrong, it seems to seek your attention for all the wrong reasons. Usually, we prefer the real
thing, wine without sulfur based preservatives, real butter, not margarine, and so we'd like our
layouts and designs to be filled with real words, with thoughts that count, information that has
value.
The toppings you may chose for that TV dinner pizza slice when you forgot to shop for foods,
the paint you may slap on your face to impress the new boss is your business. But what about
your daily bread? Design comps, layouts, wireframes—will your clients accept that you go about
things the facile way? Authorities in our business will tell in no uncertain terms that Lorem Ipsum
is that huge, huge no no to forswear forever. Not so fast, I'd say, there are some redeeming
factors in favor of greeking text, as its use is merely the symptom of a worse problem to take
into consideration.

You begin with a text, you sculpt information, you chisel away what's not needed, you come to
the point, make things clear, add value, you're a content person, you like words. Design is no
afterthought, far from it, but it comes in a deserved second. Anyway, you still use Lorem Ipsum
and rightly so, as it will always have a place in the web workers toolbox, as things happen, not
always the way you like it, not always in the preferred order. Even if your less into design and
more into content strategy you may find some redeeming value with, wait for it, dummy copy, no
less.

Consider this: You made all the required mock ups for commissioned layout, got all the
approvals, built a tested code base or had them built, you decided on a content management
system, got a license for it or adapted open source software for your client's needs. Then the
question arises: where's the content? Not there yet? That's not so bad, there's dummy copy to
the rescue. But worse, what if the fish doesn't fit in the can, the foot's to big for the boot? Or to
small? To short sentences, to many headings, images too large for the proposed design, or too
small, or they fit in but it looks iffy for reasons the folks in the meeting can't quite tell right now,
but they're unhappy, somehow. A client that's unhappy for a reason is a problem, a client that's
unhappy though he or her can't quite put a finger on it is worse.

But. A big but: Lorem Ipsum is not t the root of the problem, it just shows what's going wrong.
Chances are there wasn't collaboration, communication, and checkpoints, there wasn't a
process agreed upon or specified with the granularity required. It's content strategy gone awry
right from the start. Forswearing the use of Lorem Ipsum wouldn't have helped, won't help now.
It's like saying you're a bad designer, use less bold text, don't use italics in every other
paragraph. True enough, but that's not all that it takes to get things back on track.

So Lorem Ipsum is bad (not necessarily)

There's lot of hate out there for a text that amounts to little more than garbled words in an old
language. The villagers are out there with a vengeance to get that Frankenstein, wielding
torches and pitchforks, wanting to tar and feather it at the least, running it out of town in shame.

One of the villagers, Kristina Halvorson from Adaptive Path, holds steadfastly to the notion that
design can’t be tested without real content:

I’ve heard the argument that “lorem ipsum” is effective in wireframing or design because it helps
people focus on the actual layout, or color scheme, or whatever. What kills me here is that we’re
talking about creating a user experience that will (whether we like it or not) be DRIVEN by
words. The entire structure of the page or app flow is FOR THE WORDS.
If that's what you think how bout the other way around? How can you evaluate content without
design? No typography, no colors, no layout, no styles, all those things that convey the
important signals that go beyond the mere textual, hierarchies of information, weight, emphasis,
oblique stresses, priorities, all those subtle cues that also have visual and emotional appeal to
the reader. Rigid proponents of content strategy may shun the use of dummy copy but then
designers might want to ask them to provide style sheets with the copy decks they supply that
are in tune with the design direction they require.

Or else, an alternative route: set checkpoints, networks, processes, junctions between content
and layout. Depending on the state of affairs it may be fine to concentrate either on design or
content, reversing gears when needed.

Or maybe not. How about this: build in appropriate intersections and checkpoints between
design and content. Accept that it’s sometimes okay to focus just on the content or just on the
design.

Luke Wroblewski, currently a Product Director at Google, holds that fake data can break down
in real life:

Using dummy content or fake information in the Web design process can result in products with
unrealistic assumptions and potentially serious design flaws. A seemingly elegant design can
quickly begin to bloat with unexpected content or break under the weight of actual activity. Fake
data can ensure a nice looking layout but it doesn’t reflect what a living, breathing application
must endure. Real data does.
Websites in professional use templating systems. Commercial publishing platforms and content
management systems ensure that you can show different text, different data using the same
template. When it's about controlling hundreds of articles, product pages for web shops, or user
profiles in social networks, all of them potentially with different sizes, formats, rules for differing
elements things can break, designs agreed upon can have unintended consequences and look
much different than expected.

This is quite a problem to solve, but just doing without greeking text won't fix it. Using test items
of real content and data in designs will help, but there's no guarantee that every oddity will be
found and corrected. Do you want to be sure? Then a prototype or beta site with real content
published from the real CMS is needed—but you’re not going that far until you go through an
initial design cycle.

Lorem Ipsum actually is usefull in the design stage as it focuses our attention on places where
the content is a dynamic block coming from the CMS (unlike static content elements that will
always stay the same.) Blocks of Lorem Ipsum with a character count range provide a obvious
reminder to check and re-check that the design and the content model match up.

Kyle Fiedler from the Design Informer feels that distracting copy is your fault:

If the copy becomes distracting in the design then you are doing something wrong or they are
discussing copy changes. It might be a bit annoying but you could tell them that that discussion
would be best suited for another time. At worst the discussion is at least working towards the
final goal of your site where questions about lorem ipsum don’t.
Summing up, if the copy is diverting attention from the design it’s because it’s not up to task.

Typographers of yore didn't come up with the concept of dummy copy because people thought
that content is inconsequential window dressing, only there to be used by designers who can’t
be bothered to read. Lorem Ipsum is needed because words matter, a lot. Just fill up a page
with draft copy about the client’s business and they will actually read it and comment on it. They
will be drawn to it, fiercely. Do it the wrong way and draft copy can derail your design review.

Asking the client to pay no attention Lorem Ipsum isn't hard as it doesn’t make sense in the first
place, that will limit any initial interest soon enough. Try telling a client to ignore draft copy
however, and you're up to something you can't win. Whenever draft copy comes up in a meeting
confused questions about it ensue.

Summing up, really:

Lorem Ipsum is a tool that can be useful, used intentionally it may help solve some problems. If
you go about content strategy the wrong way, fix that problem.

Lorem Ipsum plugins

Office suites
MS Word: From 2007 onwards typing =lorem(i) or =lorem(i, j) in MS Word creates greeking
text--don't forget to hit the enter key; i and j need to be integers, where i stands for the amount
of desired paragraphs and j numbers the sentences per paragraph. j has a default value of 3
and a maximum set to 6665. >> screenshots
Open Office: An extension named Magenta Lorem ipsum generator is available at
services.openoffice.org. Once installed, an icon will be shown in a toolbar below the menu bar,
with the option to insert a number of paragraphs, the maximum is set to 25. >> screenshots
Libre Office: Magenta Lorem Ipsum Generator 2.0.2, available for LibreOffice 3.3, LibreOffice
3.4, and LibreOffice 3.5.
Lorem Ipsum plugins: content management systems (CMS)
Joomla
Dummy Content: an editor button and system plugin (Joomla extension) that sets random
dummy copy in articles or in other content item that have editors like custom HTML modules,
category descriptions, or third party content.

Folcomedia - Button Lorem Ipsum: creates a button in the editor to insert a paragraph of "Lorem
Ipsum" greeking text.

Content Fake: a component that allows for easy creation of menu items, quickly creating
paragraphs of "Lorem Ipsum" and pictures with custom sizes.

Overview of all Joomla plugins for Lorem Ipsum generation.

Wordpress
Lorem Ipsum Generator: Creates a button on wysiwyg toolbars to add a configurable amount of
Lorem Ipsum text to a post, page or any other custom post type.

lorem shortcode: This plugin contains two shortcodes, lorem and loremimage, the loremimage
shortcode can be nested in the lorem shortcode.

WP Dummy Content: Easy generation and deletion of blog posts, pages, and sub pages for
developers. Full site structure in one click.

WP Dummy Post Generator: A plugin that generates dummy posts and dummy categories. It
also allows to set names for blogs or taglines.

Bulk Page Maker: Creates up to 20 pages or posts at a time. You can choose title, slug, parent,
template, status, format, and content via the default WordPress Editor.

Lorem ipsum dummy article shortcode: A seeded dummy article generator. This doesn't only
generates 'Lorem Ipsum' shortcode but also full HTML articles.

DNS Ipsum - Due North Studios Lorem Ipsum Generator: Adds Lorem Ipsum text using
[dns-ipsum] shortcode and a TinyMCE button.

Lorem Ipsum and Place Holder Image Generator: A simple to use Lorem Ipsum generator.

Lorem Ipsum Replace Content: Replaces content with Lorem Ipsum, substitutes word for word.

Data Generator: Makes example posts, pages, custom terms, helps to style and develop new
and current themes. It's based on the Lolita framework.
Overview of all Wordpress plugins for Lorem Ipsum generation.

Magento
Hatimeria Landing Pages: Creates landing pages with products using all combinations based on
categories, attributes and their values. Description is supplied in the ackend ("lorem ipsum...").
Supports all features like CMS-Block, injecting widgets, blocks, or variables.

Google Docs
Lorem Generator: A plugin for Chrome browsers that allows designers and webmaster to
generate Lorem Ipsum text from the sidebar without leaving Google Docs.

Drupal
Drupal Ipsum: A helper module for generating dummy filler text. Presently it defines a new
ipsum provider plugin manager service that allows for pluggable ipsum provider classes, making
it easy to change existing implementations and also to add new ones.

Lorem ipsum: A simple filler text generator generator. Use your custom sentences and create
some original Lorem ipsum.

Adobe Dreamweaver, a web development environment, has a plugin in form of a Dreamweaver

object named Dreamweaver Text. It can be accessed both from the Objects menu via Common
> Lorem Ipsum palette or using the Lorem Ipsum entry in the Insert > Technocurve Menu.

An alternative, possibly more versatile, is Lorem and More. It inserts dummy copy as
paragraphs, lists, and regular text. Optionally available are extracts from a speech by Cicero,
corporate nonsense, and a randomised sonnet by Shakespeare. Text may be inserted in code
view and design view. The tool can be accessed via the Lorem and More icon on the Common
tab of the Insert bar (MX) or the Common objects panel (DW4). Else, it's accessible using the
menu: Insert > Lorem and More.

It's easy to insert dummy copy with the Scribus text editor. Select a text frame, then chose
"Sample Text" from the context menu after right-clicking. Predefined dummy copy in any
languages can be set by configuring an XML file and storing it in a subdirectory "/loremipsum" of
your Scribus installation. >> screenshots
Lorem Ipsum plugins: editors
Notepad++
For notepad++, a Windows text editor, the InsertLoremIpsumNppPlugin can be downloaded at
twenfour.com. It generates and inserts Lorem Ipsum, either as words, sentences, or
paragraphs. The installation requires to copy the file InsertLoremIpsumNppPlugin.dll and the
Config directory (both are contained in the zip file) to the "plugins" subdirectory of the
Notepad++ installation directory. Afterwards, a new option "InsertLoremIpsum" will show in the
"plugin" menu entry. A restart may be required. >> screenshots
ToolBucket: This plugin allows for base 64 encoding, it has a change indentation dialog, it
generates Lorem Ipsum and has many more features.

Sublime Text
Insert lorem and press the tab key, this will insert a Lorem Ipsum paragraph. lorem200 + tab will
add 200 words.

Lorem Ipsum generator: A plugin by Emmet, an toolkit for web-developers. After installation type
lorem or lipsum, this will generate a 30-words dummy text, splitted into a few sentences. You
can also use it inside repeated elements to create tags filled with completely random sentences.
For example, p*4>lorem would generate 4 paragraphs with greeking text.
ul.generic-list>lorem10.item*4 will generate an unordered list with the class name "generic-list"
that contains 4 list items with ten words of Lorem Ipsum each.

LoremIpsum: A plugin for Sublime Editor 2 and 3 from billymoon hosted at github.​com. It allows
to insert Lorem Ipsum in the editor via menu items or keyboard shortcuts. Select how much text
you want from the menu item in Edit->Text->Lorem Ipsum or in the right click menu in Lorem
Ipsum. Press the shortcut key (Alt+Shift+L) to add Lorem Ipsum text. Keep pressing to add
more.

Geany: GeanyLipsum is a plugin for Windows and Linux. It inserts Lorem Ipsum copy with a
length of 1 to 5,000 chars and provides a keyboard shortcut.
Do you know of other plugins? Please tell us.