Firefox Browser Add-ons
  • Extensions
  • Themes
    • for Firefox
    • Dictionaries & Language Packs
    • Other Browser Sites
    • Add-ons for Android
Log in
Preview of Activate Reader View

Activate Reader View by fkohrt

This add-on adds a button to the toolbar. Clicking on it activates the Reader View even if the icon in the address bar is not present.

4.2 (76 reviews)4.2 (76 reviews)
7,559 Users7,559 Users
You'll need Firefox to use this extension
Download Firefox and get the extension
Download file

Extension Metadata

Screenshots
No address bar icon visible? Just use the toolbar button!
About this extension
Remark (2019-11-11)
As a user pointed out, setting “reader.parse-on-load.force-enabled” to “true” using the configuration editor will force the icon to be visible as well, without the need to install this add-on.

Remark (2019-06-08)
I employed a different way to toggle the Reader View, version 0.1.1 of this add-on now works as intended.

Remark (2018-06-09)
As the WebExtension API change is still not implemented, this add-on cannot force the Reader View to open. As an alternative, I created a bookmark version of this add-on. One can also manually activate the Reader View by prepending “about:reader?url=” to the current tab’s address.

Remark (2017-11-21)
Starting with Firefox 58 and version 0.1.0 of this add-on, the new WebExtension APIs are being used, making the add-on work in Firefox “Quantum”.
However, right now the new API forbids “forcing” the Reader View to open. See https://bugzil.la/1419520
Users of Firefox 57 Nightly and Developer Edition may set “extensions.legacy.enabled” to true using the configuration editor. Users of Firefox 56 and below may use version 0.0.7 of this add-on.

Remark (2017-09-07)
As Mozilla discontinues its support for all Firefox add-ons except those using the WebExtensions APIs, this add-on in its current version 0.0.7 will become unusable with Firefox 57 (“Quantum”). This widely criticized measure, although regarded as necessary by Mozilla, will lead to many broken add-ons. They may remain unfixed because the required features are not possible with the new APIs or because the developers decide to not fix them (see this statement by Luís Miguel, this note by Paolo “Kaosmos” or the documentation of the now discontinued “Mozilla Archive Format” (alternative: WebScrapBook or SingleFile)—originally developed for long-time archiving purposes (!)—for example). Other developers may not be aware of the changes and some add-ons have been abandoned a long time ago.
The migration of this add-on currently fails due to a lack of required APIs. That could change over time, the corresponding bug can be found here: http://bugzil.la/1286387

Description
The Reader View is a feature that strips away clutter like buttons, ads and background images, and changes the page’s text size, contrast and layout for better readability. However it can not always be activated by a click on the address bar icon as not all sites are considered reader-able by Firefox. This add-on adds a button to the toolbar. Clicking on it activates the Reader View even if the icon in the address bar is not present. The ability of the Reader View to make sites readable is not affected by this add-on, some pages might still not work. The button does not toggle the Reader View state. To exit the Reader View use the address bar icon.

TL;DR
Force the Firefox Reader View to open.

Source Code
gitlab.com/fkohrt/activate-reader-view

Similar add-ons
  • Activate Reader View – Bookmark Version
  • Activate Reader Android
  • Open in Reader View
  • Automatic Reader View
  • Auto Reader View
  • AutoReaderView
  • Always Reader

What’s more?
Also have a look at my add-on collection “Private and Secure Firefox”.
Developer comments
Future Feature Possibilities:
  • Ability to choose whether to open the Reader View in the current tab or in a new tab.
  • Add a ‘toggle’-functionality to the button (currently always opens Reader View).
  • Internationalization
  • Hide button if address bar icon is present.

Known issues:
  • Reader view doesn’t work with local content (file:///...) [Submitted via Add-ons Manager]. See https://bugzil.la/1166829

Resolved issues:
  • It currently looks like this add-on will become unusable with Firefox 57. See https://bugzil.la/1286387 [resolved with version 0.1.0 from Firefox 58 on]
  • This add-on currently only works on desktop firefox and not on mobile firefox. [resolved with version 0.1.0 from Firefox 58 on]

Source code: gitlab.com/fkohrt/activate-reader-view

Reader View icons:
  • old
  • new
Rated 4.2 by 76 reviewers
Log in to rate this extension
There are no ratings yet

Star rating saved

5
53
4
9
3
1
2
4
1
9
Read all 76 reviews
Permissions and dataLearn more

Required permissions:

  • Access browser tabs
More information
Version
0.1.2
Size
23.46 KB
Last updated
5 years ago (Apr 27, 2020)
Related Categories
  • Appearance
License
Apache License 2.0
Version History
  • See all versions
Add to collection
Report this add-on
Release notes for 0.1.2
Added white background to icons as per a user's suggestion.
More extensions by fkohrt
  • There are no ratings yet

  • There are no ratings yet

  • There are no ratings yet

  • There are no ratings yet

  • There are no ratings yet

  • There are no ratings yet

Go to Mozilla's homepage

Add-ons

  • About
  • Firefox Add-ons Blog
  • Extension Workshop
  • Developer Hub
  • Developer Policies
  • Community Blog
  • Forum
  • Report a bug
  • Review Guide

Browsers

  • Desktop
  • Mobile
  • Enterprise

Products

  • Browsers
  • VPN
  • Relay
  • Monitor
  • Pocket
  • Bluesky (@firefox.com)
  • Instagram (Firefox)
  • YouTube (firefoxchannel)
  • Privacy
  • Cookies
  • Legal

Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike License v3.0 or any later version.