Focus Mode Guide

Focus Mode is the flagship close-reading experience of Torto Reader. Rather than dividing digital books into arbitrary page boxes, Focus Mode parses content into natural reading units (paragraphs, lists, quotes, code blocks, tables, images and captions), anchoring the active paragraph to a steady, comfortable reading line.

Peripheral distractions (sidebars, menus) are tucked away by default. Highlights, notes, footnotes, and AI discussions stay directly attached to the active reading passage.

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Entering & Toggling Focus Mode

• Reader Menu: Click the menu in the top-right corner and select “Focus Mode”. Click “Classic Mode” to switch to single-column, two-column, or continuous scroll layout.
• Global Preferences: Go to Settings → Reading → Reading Mode and choose “Focus”. This sets Focus Mode as the default for all opened books.
• Shortcut: Press Ctrl + , anytime to open the settings panel.

Scanned PDF Ebooks

Focus Mode requires reflowable text. For scanned PDFs, configure an OCR provider under Settings → OCR, then switch to OCR Layout in the reader to enjoy Focus Mode. Switching back to original PDF pages returns to classic view.

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Navigation & Centered Reading Line

In Focus Mode, navigation advances smoothly paragraph by paragraph:

Shortcut / Action	Description
↑ / ↓	Previous / next reading paragraph
← / →	Jump to previous / next section
Mouse Wheel	Scroll one paragraph per notch
Click any paragraph	Focus directly on that passage
Drag scrollbar	Snaps to the nearest paragraph upon release
F11	Toggle borderless fullscreen

Why Centered Reading Baseline?

Traditional readers cause eye fatigue when jumping between paragraphs of different lengths. Torto’s Focus Mode starts short units at a fixed, centered baseline and expands downward only for tall units, keeping your gaze calm and focused.

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Keyboard Close-Reading Toolkit

Focus Mode provides dedicated shortcuts for seamless keyboard-driven reading:

Shortcut	Action	Description
Space	Action Bar	Open floating action bar beside the active paragraph
Tab	Context-Bound AI Chat	Open AI chat session attached to the passage with source citations
1	Highlight	Highlight the active passage
2	Note	Add an annotation attached directly to the text
3	Sentence Splitting	Split dense paragraphs into readable sentences, preserving paired punctuation and quotes
Left Alt	Toggle Folded Footnotes	Folded footnote icons expand instantly upon pressing Left Alt, and collapse when pressed again
Ctrl + H	Hide / Show Cursor	Hide mouse cursor to eliminate screen distraction
Ctrl + F	Full-Text Search	Fast book search jumping directly to matching paragraphs
Ctrl + Q	Back to Shelf	Return to the cover shelf

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Deep Dive into Key Capabilities

1. Intelligent Sentence Splitting (3)

When reading dense academic treatises or intricate prose, press 3 to insert breathing room between individual sentences while keeping quotation marks and citations paired.

2. Context-Bound AI Chat & Rich Multimodal Rendering (Tab)

• Isolated Context: Each unit owns its own conversation session, automatically providing exact citation links back to the book.
• Clear Rendering: AI responses render math formulas, data tables, SVG graphics, and zoomable diagrams cleanly.
• Slash Commands: Use /summary to summarize the active chapter, /search to query the book, /rewrite to polish text live, and /extract to list key concepts.

3. Markdown Table Export

Complex tables in Focus Mode can be copied directly as clean, formatted Markdown tables (supporting merged cells and multi-line content) for easy pasting into Obsidian, Logseq, or Notion.

4. Zero-Distraction Atmosphere

Combining Hide Cursor (Ctrl+H) with Borderless Fullscreen (F11) leaves only the written word and your thoughts.