Reader mode lets you view web articles in a clean, distraction-free layout — removing ads, popups, and sidebars so you can focus on the content. This guide covers how to use reader mode in Edge and how Web Highlights takes it further with highlighting, notes, and offline access.
Edge's Built-in Reader Mode
Microsoft Edge includes Immersive Reader, a powerful reading mode with additional learning tools. Here's how to use it:
- Open Microsoft Edge and navigate to an article or webpage.
- Press F9 to toggle Immersive Reader, or click the Immersive Reader icon (a book with a speaker) in the address bar.
- If the icon is not visible, select the text you want to read, right-click, and choose Open in Immersive Reader.
- Customize your experience using the toolbar at the top: text size, spacing, fonts, and page themes (light, sepia, dark).
- Use additional features like Read Aloud to have the page read to you, or Grammar tools to highlight parts of speech.
Limitations
- Not all pages support Immersive Reader through the address bar icon.
- You cannot highlight or annotate text for later retrieval in Immersive Reader.
- Content is not saved for offline access or synced to other devices.
Go Further with Web Highlights Reader Mode
While Edge's reader mode removes distractions, it stops there. Web Highlights adds a complete research workflow on top of any reader mode:
- Highlight & annotate — Mark up important text with multiple colors and add personal notes.
- Save for offline access — Keep a permanent, reader-friendly copy of any article.
- Sync across devices — Access your saved articles, highlights, and notes from any device through the web app.
- Export your research — Send highlights to Notion, Capacities, Markdown, PDF, or HTML.
- AI-powered summaries — Generate summaries of your saved articles using Chrome's built-in AI.
- Organize with tags — Tag and group your research for easy retrieval.
Learn more about how our reader mode works in the Web Highlights Reader Mode documentation.
Edge Reader Mode vs. Web Highlights
| Feature | Edge | Web Highlights |
|---|
| Distraction-free reading | ✅ | ✅ |
| Custom themes & fonts | ✅ Basic | ✅ Full (Light, Dark, Sepia, Contrast) |
| Highlight & annotate | ❌ | ✅ |
| Save for offline access | ❌ | ✅ |
| Sync across devices | ❌ | ✅ |
| Export to Notion, Markdown, etc. | ❌ | ✅ |
| Works in multiple browsers | ❌ | ✅ Chrome, Edge, Brave, Firefox, Opera |
Try Web Highlights Reader Mode
Install Web Highlights to get a full-featured reader mode with highlighting, notes, and offline access — free, no sign-up required.
Install Web Highlights Need help with another browser? Check out our other browser tutorials.