New layout views

Soon after joining VitalSource, I traveled to Buffalo, New York to listen to students who were actively using VitalSource^TM Bookshelf. One of the first things I heard was the request for a “two-page” view. As computer monitors and laptop screens get larger, people want more flexible ways to utilize their screen space. This is a theme we have heard many times, and over the last two years we have finished a complete rewrite of our custom text rendering engine. In Bookshelf 4.0 this has allowed us to add two new layout views: Column View and Reading View.

Column View is a unique way to read textbooks that embraces horizontal instead of vertical scrolling. The chapter text is split into columns, and you can control the column width from the preferences window.

Reading View is the more classic “two facing pages” view. You can quickly flip through pages using the arrow keys or page up/down keys. For small laptop screens, you may find it convenient to try hiding the navigation pane (which contains the table of contents and notes list). Note that if the window is very small, the view collapsed back to a single one-page view.

To try these new views out, choose between Browser View, Column View, or Reading View from under the View menu, or click the Page Layout toolbar item with any book open.