Reading View in Insider Channels

Microsoft

Microsoft Edge’s reading view experience is designed to let you read web content without any extraneous information or anything jarring that strain your eyes. Reading is

 one of the primary activities that people do on the web. In most cases, it is hindered by ads and other irrelevant content that can be distracting. Reading view solves this problem by transforming the page completely to offer an immersive reading experience to people while consuming content on the web.

 

How to enter Reading View

Reading view can be accessed for most of the websites that have a lot of content to read. Some categories of such websites are news, articles, blogs, stories etc. To enter reading view, you can go on any of the websites that fall in the above categories and check out for a book shaped icon (reading_view00.png) in the top right corner of the address bar (as seen in the screenshot below). Reading view currently works for Windows, macOS and Edge on Android.

reading_view01.png

Reading View entry point on desktop

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Reading View entry point on Android

 

Reading View experience

Once you enter Reading view, you will see the page transformed into a cleaner layout that has been optimized for efficient reading. The background theme, the fonts, line spacing, number of words per line etc. have been adjusted for a favorable reading experience. Apart from a distraction free and clean layout, research suggests that these changes help improve comprehension, concentration, and speed. See the images below on how it transforms the page.

reading_view03.pngreading_view04.png

Reading View experience on desktop

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Reading View Experience on Android

At the same time, we have changed the layout from the previous version to a vertical one on desktops since it was one of the most requested changes by the users. We are working on the reading bar that can be used for customizing the background themes and font sizes and you will be able to access those features soon.

To exit, click the same icon and seamlessly get back to the original webpage.

 

Grammar tools:

To assist users with reading comprehension, reading view offers Grammar tools built right into the experience.reading_view07.png

 

Click on the Grammar tools option on the toolbar and turn on parts of speech. This will highlight the text in reading view with colors associated with Nouns, Verbs or Adjectives.

To get assistance in pronunciations, you can turn on the " Syl•la•bles” option to see text broken down into chunks that make correct sounds for that language. 

Grammar tools may not be available in your version of Edge yet. You can either wait for the version of Edge with Grammar tools in reading view or you can enable the following flag by going to edge://flags and enabling the Grammar tools item there.reading_view08.png

Directly opening Reading View from bookmarks

You can also easily bookmark your favorite articles and open directly in reading view. As you can see, the URLs of all pages in reading view start with “read:” and hence can be uniquely identified. So, any webpage that is saved on your device or shared to friends will be automatically navigated to reading view for an engaged reading.

 

What do you think?

We’d appreciate if you can give reading view a try and let us know if you run into issues or have new ideas for the reading view functionality. Also, do comment on the layout of the experience and tell us if you want to see reading view on websites where we do not support currently. We would love to hear back from you. Click on the send feedback button and drop us a note.

91 Replies

@Elliot Kirk   I use reading view a lot, mostly on technical/legal websites were articles are long.  Your post mentions customization tools coming in future iterations. 

 

A customization tool that I would like to see is a tool giving users the option to (1) set the background color to either beige or white, (2) set the typeface to serif or sans-serif, and (3) adjust font size.  This isn't just a whim on my part.  I'm in my 70's, and and for those of us with aging eyes, these customization options would increase usability.

 

Compare/contrast the two screens below:

 

Reader_View_Suggestion.jpg

 

Yes, please re-implement Edge Classic Reading View in it's entirety.

There are a bunch of features and tools in the Edge version of RV including, ones you mention. We are all anxiously awaiting them in the Edge C version. We have been told all will be there by the time Edge C becomes our default browser.

And here is a wee tip for you. In your Win10 > Settings > Ease of access. There you find a slider which will change/ set just only the text size. Try it, you will like it :smiling_face_with_smiling_eyes:

Cheers,
Drew

@Drew1903 

 

"There are a bunch of features and tools in the Edge version of RV including, ones you mention."

 

I've set my Edge (Classic) Reading View to a white background and a slightly larger text size for years.  Edge (Classic) does not offer users the option to switch from serif to sans-serif. 

 

"We are all anxiously awaiting them in the Edge C version. We have been told all will be there by the time Edge C becomes our default browser."

 

I guess that I missed the announcement telling us that "all will be there by the time Edge C becomes our default browser".  Elliot doesn't mention it in the article, and I've not seen anything else confirming that the release version will allow users to (a) change background color, (b) adjust font size, and (c) choose between serif and sans-serif.  Can you give me a link or a quote?  I'm particularly interested in the serif/sans-serif option.

"And here is a wee tip for you. In your Win10 > Settings > Ease of access. There you find a slider which will change/ set just only the text size. Try again, you will like it."

 

The slider changes font size in Windows menus, but does not change font size in Reading View.

 

As you no doubt know, another Ease of Access setting allows users to set text size from 100% to 125% and larger, but that affects everything in Windows, including the browser, window layouts and so on. 

 

Neither fit the bill.  But thanks for the comment.

 

EDIT:  The author of the quoted comment edited the comment several hours after this comment was made, quoting the initial comment by that author.  The following line was edited by the author of that post:

 

Original:  "Try again, you will like it :smiling_face_with_smiling_eyes:"

Edited: "Try it, you will like it :smiling_face_with_smiling_eyes:"

 

 

 

@scrbl 

Supposedly, that is what we are getting by the time of release. :crossed_fingers:

Cheers,
Drew
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@tomscharbach 

Yes, you got me... I should not have implied ALL mentioned features; no, cannot pick font type.  Can pick page background shade, light to dark.

RV.jpg

It was here in this Forum not long ago that someone from Edge said the stuff everyone was saying, "Hey, where is it?!" would be in RV by release time & we'd start seeing some feature/tools as time went along.  No, link... I have a hard enough time finding exchanges in here at the best of times 🤨.

I wish you'd quoted me after the correction was made ;)  My mobile must have said something I hadn't noticed.

Yes, that's why the was a lot of happiness when only just the text size could be affected.  And not everything.

As can be seen, I have the text slightly enlarged.  Windows, et al are not.
Textsize.jpg

BTW, in case think otherwise, I am not arguing... in case the typing sounds like it.

Cheers,
Drew
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Drew. DREW! Wow. My man. Thanks!!! :grinning_face_with_sweat::rolling_on_the_floor_laughing: How did I miss that? I was able to figure out how to make my Mouse Cursor big and as Orange as the Capture One Pro UI's Orange Highlight.

Thanks also for the the extra info about Reading View coming to Edge (Chromium) (RTM?)

@Drew1903  "I wish you'd quoted me after the correction was made ;) My mobile must have said something I hadn't noticed."

 

I wish so, too.  I prefer my quotes to be entirely accurate.  However, your edits came several hours after I commented, so all I can do is correct the record in my comment. 

 

I did a line-by-line comparison of your comment as it has been edited through this morning (see attached screenshot).  In the line-by-line, "E" = Drew's edited version, "Q" = my quoted version.  I found only one difference, in the very last line of your comment:

 

E: There are a bunch of features and tools in the Edge version of RV including, ones you mention.
Q: There are a bunch of features and tools in the Edge version of RV including, ones you mention.

 

E: We are all anxiously awaiting them in the Edge C version.
Q: We are all anxiously awaiting them in the Edge C version.

 

E: We have been told all will be there by the time Edge C becomes our default browser.
Q: We have been told all will be there by the time Edge C becomes our default browser.

 

E: And here is a wee tip for you.
Q: And here is a wee tip for you.

 

E: In your Win10 > Settings > Ease of access.
Q: In your Win10 > Settings > Ease of access.

 

E: There you find a slider which will change/ set just only the text size.
Q: There you find a slider which will change/ set just only the text size.

 

E: Try it, you will like it :smiling_face_with_smiling_eyes:
Q: Try again, you will like it :smiling_face_with_smiling_eyes:

 

 I don't see that the difference is substantive, but I've changed the quote in my comment to note the edit. 

 

Thanks for pointing out the issue. I prefer to quote accurately when I quote. 

 

If you make further edits, please let my know, and I will note the changes, as appropriate, in my comment.

 

Drew Comment as Edited 6-17 0624am.jpg

@tomscharbach 

You sound like I was offended.  I wasn't.  Only said it because "try again" made no sense.

Keep smiling :smiling_face_with_smiling_eyes:

Cheers,
Drew
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@scrbl 

 

You're very welcome!  So glad I was able to help.  Yes, I, too like it that we can now colour the pointer; that is new to 1903.  As is enlarging text only.  I trust you hit "Liked"

Cheers,
Drew
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@Elliot Kirk I've been dipping in and out of the Edge Chromium Dev build, and am actually almost ready to use it as my full-time browser for personal and work (which I imagine would be helpful for collecting performance reports, bug reports, etc.?), except for one feature: Printing from Reading Mode.

 

Printing to PDF from reading mode is a big part of my daily workflow. I've been really pleased with the fact that the Edge team has been working on and steadily improving the reading mode experience (to the point that it has apparently been turned on by default now, rather than needing to go into flags to activate it). However, when I try to print anything to PDF from reading mode, it only prints a single page's worth of the page/document. 

 

I know it's not a typical use-case, but if this ends up being something you address in the near future, you'll gain at least one more full-time guinea pig.

@rjbwdc 

The "Articles" replies do name Elliot and even though I am not he I will be bold enough to offer you an answer.

Printing from RV to PDF is something oft used & very cool.   And normally, certainly prints full content.  Anyway, in the Edge C version of RV, currently the Features & Tools of RV are absent. However, the understanding is that they will be appearing.  And, we are told, they will all be there by the time Edge C is our default browser, by the time of its release (non-beta).

So, with patience, apparently, allegedly, it is all coming (soon).

Cheers,
Drew 
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@rjbwdc, I just checked and we are tracking a bug on this issue.  Thank you for taking the time to offer us this feedback, and I will keep you to your promise on the guinea pig thing when we fix this bug. Smiley Very Happy

Smileys aren't working for me. Can anyone see the smiley?
I do
Seconding this. I liked being able to force some sites into reading mode for a host of reasons.

@Elliot Kirk I'm also not able to see the smileys...

@Elliot Kirk I like it, but would be nice if it respected Windows dark mode.

@bar10dr 

It's not quite that... RV has 3 page shades available (white, grey & Dark) except...

The RV they have given in Edge C, right now, has none of its Tools & Features.  We have been told they are coming and will all be there by the time Edge C is our default browser.

Cheers,
Drew
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Hi @alex_17 

This is a good catch. We have filed a bug and will resolve it shortly.