Better "Reading Mode"

Bobby Bosler

A couple of things I'd like to see implemented to improve the pleasurability of reading on Logos desktop.

Of course, an aesthetically pleasing dark mode.
Distraction-free reading mode (no tab bar, title bar, etc). I'm very distractable. In fact, I'm writing this post when I should probably be reading. :-P
Single column width control in full-screen reading mode. Lines longer than 90 characters are difficult to read, so most typography experts recommend between 45-90 characters per line, with a sweet spot of 65 characters. I would love to be able to control how wide the single column view displays at while in reading mode, kind of like the "Page Width" option on Kindle Desktop.
The ability to use left and right arrow keys to change pages in reader mode. Currently, you can only use up and down arrow keys. Granted, it kets the job done, but it's certainly not intuitive.
Also, a simple bookmarking feature so I can turn to other places in the book and be able to get back to where I was reading easily.

I feel like if I had these things, I would make far more use of reading my library on my desktop.

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Comments

DMB

To be honest, I can't imagine reading on a desktop. And with a thin portable, usually touch, things go downhill quickly. However ...

Your list is apropo. Being curious, I checked the Logos mobile app. 3 line spacings and 2 font settings ... pretty much it (and dark mode). Kindle has a nice set of choices, plus saved combos.

app.logos.com was interesting. They have a reading view that probably is exactly not what you need (!):

NB.Mick

Distraction-free reading mode (no tab bar, title bar, etc).

Hm. I don't see how it could be more distraction free than that (the footnotes, markups and community modes can all be turned off - and also the styling of bibles with/without headers, verse numbers, paragraph or verse-by-line, as you like it.I just turned on Reading Mode in an arbitrary section of NIV, no playing around with settings)

This is all what's displayed on this monitor, I didn't crop away any title, tab or whatever bars, not even Windows taskbar shows.

Lines longer than 90 characters are difficult to read, so most typography experts recommend between 45-90 characters per line, with a sweet spot of 65 characters. I would love to be able to control how wide the single column view displays at while in reading mode

While we can't control the length of lines per character, we can control the number of columns, even in Reading Mode. "Automatic" gave me four columns which looked too crowded, so I switched to three columns. I counted approx 70 characters in one of the lines - note that this will differ anyway with non-Courier fonts.

The ability to use left and right arrow keys to change pages in reader mode. Currently, you can only use up and down arrow keys. Granted, it kets the job done, but it's certainly not intuitive.

Hm. Maybe this should be implemented, as after all the paging is shown with triangles resembling left and right arrows. Up and Down makes more sense in the usual No-column, endless scrolling view. If you only read forwards, the space bar will also work. And of course the mouse, but that might distract...

Bobby Bosler

This is all what's displayed on this monitor, I didn't crop away any title, tab or whatever bars, not even Windows taskbar shows.

Hmm, maybe it's a macOS quirk then, because when I turn on reading mode, it really doesn't look any different than a maximized single resource window. Notice the tab title and tool bar.

we can control the number of columns

I'm aware of this, but I'd still love to be able to control the width of a single column. Multiple columns are distracting to me.

NB.Mick

Notice the tab title and tool bar.

Those are available on Windows when I move the mouse pointer into that area, but move away otherwise. The Windows taskbar stays away (as your Mac controls seem to do, too). Can't comment on whether there's a way to have Macs work properly ;-)