Reading and reader settings

Open a book from Files, Library, Home, or Settings → History. The book details screen shows its description, chapters, and buttons to start or resume reading.

Start or resume a chapter

1. Tap Read to start a book, or Continue to pick up where you left off.
2. To choose a specific chapter, open one of the book’s chapter groups and tap a chapter.
3. Tap the sort button to reverse the chapter order.

The chapter groups and information shown depend on the book and its source.

Unavailable chapters

Locked or unavailable chapters cannot be opened in the reader.

Choose a chapter

Screenshot device — Choose a chapter

iPhoneiPad

A volume's expanded chapter list over book details on iPhone.

Book details with an expanded volume and chapter list on iPad.

Move through the book

1. Swipe to turn pages in Paged mode, or scroll through pages in Continuous mode.
2. Tap near the center of a page to show or hide the controls.
3. Drag the page slider at the bottom to move to another page.
4. Use the previous and next chapter buttons beside the slider to move between available chapters.

The swipe direction and tap behavior depend on your reader preferences.

Retry a chapter

If a chapter fails to load, use the reader’s retry action after checking your connection.

Reader controls

Screenshot device — Reader controls

iPhoneiPad

Continuous reading with chapter controls and reading progress on iPhone.

Paged reading with paired pages, chapter controls, and reading progress on iPad.

Choose a comfortable layout

Tap the settings button in the reader to adjust the reading layout and controls.

Setting	Use it to
Reader Type	Switch between Paged and Continuous
Reverse Reading Direction	Switch between left-to-right and right-to-left reading
Tap Navigation	Turn pages by tapping page regions
Image Layout	Choose Auto, One Per Row, or Two Per Row
Smart Grouping	Automatically group pages based on similarities in their content

Paged mode also offers horizontal or vertical navigation and page transition options.

Settings availability

Some settings appear only when they apply to the selected mode or book. If the reader follows the book’s specified direction, its direction control may be disabled.

Choose your reading layout

Screenshot device — Choose your reading layout

iPhoneiPad

Continuous reader settings with direction, tap navigation, and image layout on iPhone.

Paged reader settings with navigation orientation, page transitions, and image layout on iPad.

To set your default preferences, open Settings → Reader. You can set the default reader type, decide whether to respect a book’s reading direction, and adjust each reading mode. On iPad, try Two Per Row when you want paired pages. On iPhone, One Per Row gives each page more space.

Pick up where you left off

Return to the book’s details and use Continue. You can also find recently read books under Settings → History. Add a bookmark to keep a title on Home even when it is no longer near the top of your history.

See Collections and downloads to prepare for offline reading.

To upscale pages, reduce memory usage, or adjust page colors, see Image processing.