Section types

Hellbox documents are composed of sections. Each section has its own type, content, typography settings, and font selection.

Simple

Simple text layout. Content is rendered with the selected fonts. When more than one font is selected, choose how they lay out: one page per font (Page break), each font’s text stacked one after another in a single flow (Line break), or word-mixed in one flow (Mix). Supports multi-page overflow, word wrap, and all typography controls.

A Simple section displaying paragraph text with VC Henrietta Regular

Waterfall

Size progression display. The same text is rendered at multiple point sizes in a single view. Default sizes: 8, 12, 18, 24, 32, 48, 72, 96pt. Sizes are fully customizable. Optional size labels and fixed column width for text wrapping.

Waterfall section showing "Hamburgefonts" at sizes from 8pt to 96pt

Columns & Rows

Grid layout with up to 6+ columns and multiple rows. Two content flow modes:

  • Continuous: text flows across all cells
  • Repeated: the same text in every cell (for comparing typography settings)

Per-cell overrides. Every cell starts by inheriting the section’s settings, so a grid stays consistent until you decide otherwise. Select a cell and change any control, font size, line height, letter spacing, alignment, text direction, orientation, case, font, OpenType features, or even its content, and that change becomes the cell’s own override while every other cell keeps inheriting. A breadcrumb shows whether you are editing the Section or an Item, and a reset returns a cell to the section value at any time.

This is how you lay variations out side by side: column 1 with ss01 on and column 2 with it off, or three columns at tight, normal, and loose tracking. You can override a single cell’s content even when the section’s text is linked to a file, a deliberately blank cell is allowed, and cells can be merged for complex layouts.

Columns & Rows with per-cell letter spacing: tight, normal, and loose tracking side by side

Compare Styles

Side-by-side font and style comparison. Fonts are displayed in rows or columns. The column count is calculated dynamically from content width, and the section paginates intelligently when fonts don’t fit on a single page.

Glyph Set

Character repertoire display. Shows glyphs in a grid with metric lines, glyph names, and Unicode code points. Three “Show” modes control what appears:

  • Typed text: only the glyphs in the section’s own content
  • Every glyph: the font’s full character repertoire
  • Glyphs with alternates: every glyph that has stylistic alternates, each followed by its alternates

Each glyph can be labelled with its name and Unicode code point, and metric lines (baseline, x-height, cap-height, ascender, descender) can be shown per glyph or as continuous reference lines across the grid.

In “With alternates” layout, every glyph is followed by its stylistic alternates so you can compare them in place. When more than one font or style is selected, lay them out as Separate (one block per style) or Combined (every style stacked together for direct comparison).

Glyph Set with metric lines showing the full character set

Markup

Frozen PDF snapshot with a freehand annotation overlay. Captures a page as a static image, then lets you draw and add text annotations on top.

  • Pen tool: freehand strokes with configurable width (1 to 20pt) and color
  • Text tool: click-to-place text boxes with size, bold, italic, and alignment controls
  • Select tool: for repositioning annotations
  • Undo support (Cmd+Z)
Markup editor with freehand annotations and a text comment on a proof page

Annotate proofs with design feedback: circle problem areas, note kerning issues, and write revision comments directly on the proof.