Make Studio easier to read: Reading Aid, reading ruler, Focus mode and typewriter scrolling

Studio has several tools that change how the text looks on your screen while you write. This article covers Focus mode, typewriter scrolling, the Reading Aid and the reading ruler. None of them change your text or anything you export.

Focus mode

Focus mode hides everything except the page, so you can concentrate on the words.

To turn it on: click Focus in the top bar, choose View → Focus on the Page, or press Ctrl+Shift+D.
To leave it: press Esc, or click Exit focus.

Typewriter scrolling

Typewriter scrolling keeps the line you're writing in the middle of the window, so your eyes don't have to travel down the screen as the chapter grows.

To turn it on: choose View → Typewriter Scrolling.
To dim the rest of the page: with typewriter scrolling on, choose View → Dim the Other Paragraphs. Everything except the paragraph you're writing is veiled.

The Reading Aid

The Reading Aid changes the font, spacing, line width and background tint of the text on screen. It's for your own comfort. Your book and anything you export stay exactly as they are.

To set it up:

1. Click Reading Aid in the top bar, or choose View → Reading Aid….
2. Tick Enable reading aid.
3. Adjust the settings below until the text is comfortable to read.

The settings are:

Reading font: Editor default, Atkinson Hyperlegible, Lexend, OpenDyslexic or Andika.
Letter spacing, word spacing and line spacing: space out the letters, words or lines to suit you.
Line width: a narrower column is easier to follow; a wider one shows more of the text at once.
Background tint: None, Cream, Peach, Green, Blue or Grey. Tints appear only when Pendrilo is set to its light appearance.

To put every setting back the way it was when you first opened the panel, click Back to the Usual Look.

The reading ruler

The reading ruler is a clear band of text that follows your pointer, while the rest of the page dims. It helps you keep your place on a long line or a dense paragraph.

1. Open the Reading Aid panel as described above.
2. Tick Reading ruler (line focus).
3. Set Band height to make the band taller or shorter, and Dimness to control how strongly the rest of the page fades.

The ruler works whether the rest of the Reading Aid is on or off, so you can use it on its own.

Where to find these tools again

Focus mode: the Focus button in the top bar, or View → Focus on the Page.
Typewriter scrolling and dimming: the View menu.
Reading Aid and the reading ruler: the Reading Aid button in the top bar, or View → Reading Aid….

The Reading Aid is also available in Pendrilo Formatter, under View → Reading Aid…, with the same settings.