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: continuous reading text set in VC Henrietta A Simple section: continuous reading text set in VC Henrietta

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, editable as a comma-separated list. Optional size labels and fixed column width for text wrapping.

A Waterfall section stepping the same text through the size ramp A Waterfall section stepping the same text through the size ramp

Columns & Rows

Grid layout. Columns default to 2; set column and row counts and gaps (in points) in the section controls. A full-width segmented control directly above the section text editor switches the content flow:

  • 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, inline styling, per-cell Auto (fit-to-box) size, or even its content, and that change becomes the cell’s own override while every other cell keeps inheriting. A Section/Item breadcrumb shows which scope you are editing, and a reset returns a cell to the section value at any time. Overriding only typography on a continuous-flow cell (without giving it its own content) keeps showing that cell’s slice of the shared text stream.

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, and a deliberately blank cell is allowed.

Merging cells. Shift-click to select multiple cells, then Combine Cells (Cmd+G) to merge them into one larger cell. Uncombine Cells (Shift+Cmd+G) splits them back apart.

A Columns & Rows section flowing linked text across three columns A Columns & Rows section flowing linked text across three columns

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: columns need a minimum 120pt width and cap at 6 per page. The section paginates intelligently when fonts don’t fit on a single page.

Compare Styles: the same text set side by side in every enabled style Compare Styles: the same text set side by side in every enabled style

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. Metric lines (baseline, x-height, cap-height, ascender, descender) come in two styles: Individual (per glyph) or Continuous (reference lines running across the grid).

A single Hide blank glyphs toggle hides glyphs the font doesn’t include, or that have no outlines drawn yet. It works in every Show mode and re-renders immediately.

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).

A Glyph Set section with metric lines and glyph names A Glyph Set section with metric lines and glyph names

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. Markup sections are created with Mark Up This Page on a proof page; they don’t appear in the add-section list.

  • Pen tool: freehand strokes with stroke widths in discrete steps of 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 12, or 20pt (default 3pt) and configurable color
  • Text tool: click-to-place text boxes sized 1 to 999pt, with bold, italic, and alignment controls
  • Select tool: for repositioning annotations
  • Undo support (Cmd+Z)
A Markup section: annotations over a frozen proof page A Markup section: annotations over a frozen proof page

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