Distraction-free writing tools transform your cluttered browser in such a fashion that you can focus on writing – everything else on the desktop screen stays hidden so you have nothing else to do but write.
Now something that applies the same concept to reading websites – it removes the clutter from web pages so it becomes easy to focus on reading.
This is possible through Readability – a brilliant browser bookmarklet that can format any web page on the fly without reloading the page.
Readability removes all the distracting elements (like sidebars, graphics, navigation, etc) from a web page and makes reading more enjoyable by changing the background colors, font styles and page margins to match that of an eBook, Novel or a newspaper – these are all documents that are designed for reading purpose only.
Technically, this is like switching the stylesheet of a site but without installing extensions or using any geeky hacks. And while the converted format may sometime resemble a printable version of that page, Readability isn’t using the default print stylesheet as it did turn up a few unexpected results at certain times.
Here are some sample reading layouts as rendered by Readability – it’s a bookmarklet and not an add-on so should work in all browsers including the latest Google Chrome and Safari. Don’t miss it.
Also see: Get Web Pages by Email
Find this article at: http://www.labnol.org/internet/read-web-articles-distraction-free/7812/
Tags: Archives, bookmarklet, convert, format, useful, web pages, Internet
Reader Comments
This is a useful bookmarklet, especially for the visually impaired. Thank you for writing about it.
Written by Richard on 03.06.09
Interestingly, it doesn’t work with your web site very well. Great tip however.
Written by Mike on 03.06.09
Very nice! I have been looking for an untility like this and you made my search easy. It is funny to see how your site as well as mine look through this :)
Written by Mohan on 03.06.09
Genius, I love this hack. Many times I’m trying to read something and there’s a flashy stupid ad flashing and distracting me. I love it.
Written by Luis on 03.06.09
Well, I just use AdBlock Plus Plugin for firefox. Clears up all the junk and automatically creates some space for the original article!
Go check it out guys! –> link
Written by Adam on 03.07.09
This is a wonderful app I am looking forward to exploring further. One note I would make for visually impaired people who use it — it won’t simplify a complex front page, like the index page of the New York Times online — but if you click to individual articles, it works like a breeze.
Written by Michael Rosenthal on 03.08.09