| title | Reader Features |
|---|---|
| nav_order | 5 |
This page covers a subset of CrossInk reader features that go beyond basic page turning. It is not a complete list of every reader setting or action. For a more complete list of features as they were released, see the releases page.
The sections here focus on larger CrossInk-specific reader features. Small fixes, implementation details, and features that only arrived from upstream CrossPoint are intentionally left out.
Reader settings are available directly from the in-book menu without leaving the book.
Open the reader menu and select Reader Options to adjust settings such as:
- Font family
- Font size
- Line spacing
- Word spacing (EPUB)
- Margins
- Alignment
- Image rendering
- Publisher Page Numbers
- Stable Page Numbers, when the book includes CrossInk reference metadata
- Bionic Reading / Guide Dots
- Dark Reader Mode
Changes take effect immediately.
For books that are slow to index or fail because of complex publisher styling, see EPUB Indexing Methods and EPUB Render Modes.
Bionic Reading is a reading aid that bolds the first portion of each word, guiding your eyes to natural fixation points and helping you read faster with less effort. Some readers, particularly those with ADHD, find it helps them stay engaged with the text and reduces mind-wandering.
- Open Settings > Reader.
- Toggle Bionic Reading on.
Toggling the setting triggers a re-index of the current book, just like changing font settings. Once indexing is complete, page turns proceed as normal. No changes are made to the EPUB file.
Left: Bionic Reading off. Right: Bionic Reading on. Both using Literata.
Bionic Reading with Noto Serif font.
Bionic Reading with Merriweather font.
Bionic Reading with Atkinson Hyperlegible Next font.
Bionic Reading only applies to regular body text. Already-bold text, including headings and emphasis, is left unchanged.
CrossInk adds a wider range of reader font-sizes, including smaller and larger point sizes for users who want denser pages or much larger text.
The reader can also use SD-card font packs with selectable font-size ranges. This lets you keep the installed firmware smaller while still using extra sizes or custom fonts from the SD card.
Related docs:
Dark Reader Mode reverses the reader colors so text is shown light-on-dark.
Toggle it from Reader settings.
Dark Reader Mode can also be assigned to shortcut actions, so it can be switched without opening the full settings menu.
CrossInk supports adjustable reader line spacing from compact to wide spacing.
Use this when a book feels visually cramped, or when larger fonts need more vertical room to stay comfortable.
EPUB readers can choose from five word-spacing levels: Normal and levels 1 through 4. Higher levels add more space between words, which can make text easier to scan without changing the font size or line height.
Open the reader menu, then select Reader Options > Font Options > Word Spacing. The current EPUB is laid out again when you change this setting, so the number and positions of pages may change. Word Spacing is not available for TXT books.
Publisher Page Numbers show page labels supplied by the EPUB, such as the printed page numbers from a physical edition. When the book includes labeled page-break markers, CrossInk displays those labels in the reader margin beside the matching content.
To enable them, open the reader menu and select Reader Options > Publisher Page Numbers. If an EPUB does not contain labeled page-break markers, there are no publisher page numbers for CrossInk to display.
Publisher page markers are preserved by CrossInk Default and Balanced render modes. Light and Safe Mode omit them when simplifying a difficult book's layout.
Stable Page Numbers show a consistent reference page number in the reader's
status bar, such as 120/540. They are calculated from fixed reference-page
metadata in the EPUB instead of the current screen layout, so they remain
consistent when you change fonts, spacing, orientation, or indexing mode.
To enable them:
- Open the reader menu and select Reader Options.
- Select Customize Status Bar.
- Toggle Stable Page Numbers on.
The option appears only when the current EPUB contains valid CrossInk reference metadata. To create that metadata, optimize the EPUB in the CrossInk web interface or with Inky before uploading it to the reader. In the optimizer's settings, the Characters per Page controls the reference-page size; the default is 1,500 characters. Lower values create more reference pages, while higher values create fewer.
Stable Page Numbers are not publisher or printed-edition page numbers. Use Publisher Page Numbers when you want the page labels provided by the book itself.
Guide Dots adds small dots between words. The idea comes from speed-reading guidance where focusing on the space between words can help peripheral vision pick up more of the surrounding text.
Toggle it from Reader settings.
Some books do not define paragraph indents in a way the firmware understands, which can make the page look like one large wall of text.
Force Paragraph Indents adds an indent at each new paragraph regardless of how the book is formatted.
This works when Reader Paragraph Alignment is set to:
- Left
- Justify
- Book's Style
Toggle it from Reader settings.
Auto Page Turn can advance pages on a timer while reading.
CrossInk adds a custom interval picker, so the interval is not limited to the built-in presets. The reader can also remember a different Auto Page Turn interval per book.
Open the reader menu and select Auto Page Turn to configure it.
CrossInk can show estimated time left in the current chapter or book.
The estimate is based on your recent forward-page reading pace. Non-linear jumps such as chapter skips, bookmark jumps, and footnote navigation are handled separately so they do not immediately distort the normal reading estimate.
Use Reset Reading Pace if the estimate was trained by unusual reading behavior and you want it to learn again from fresh page turns.
CrossInk supports EPUB bookmarks from the reader.
You can:
- Add a bookmark while reading
- See bookmark indicators in the reader
- Open a bookmark list
- Jump back to saved locations
- Delete individual bookmarks
CrossInk supports EPUB text clippings from the reader. Use Create Clipping from the reader menu or a configured shortcut, select text, and save it.
On button devices, move the cursor with the direction buttons, press Select at the first word, move to the last word, then press Done. On touchscreen devices, a tap saves the single word you touch. To save a range, touch and hold the first word until range selection begins, drag to the last word, then lift your finger; CrossInk saves the clipping immediately. A touch drag does not turn pages, so use the direction buttons if a clipping must extend to another page.
A saved clipping is used in three ways:
- It appears as a highlight in the reader
- It appears in the in-app clipping list for that book
- It is appended to
/My Clippings.txton the SD card in a Kindle-style text format
The in-app clipping list is stored separately from the text export. Deleting a
clipping from CrossInk removes the saved clipping and highlight from the device
UI, but it does not rewrite old entries that were already appended to
/My Clippings.txt.
Open Clippings from the reader menu's bookmarks tab after saving a
clipping. On touchscreen devices, tap a clipping to read its full text, swipe
up or down to move through a long clipping, and tap Open to return to its
location in the book. Touch and hold a clipping in the list, or its text in
the detail view, to open the delete action. Deleting removes the in-app
clipping and its highlight, not an entry already exported to
/My Clippings.txt.
CrossInk tracks per-book reading stats automatically and aggregates them into global stats.
Tracked stats include:
- Total reading time
- Number of sessions
- Pages turned
- Average session time
- All-time reading stats, including total books read
Recent CrossInk versions expanded this into a larger stats system, including synced totals, richer X3 stats screens, reading-streak and time charts, editable stat dates, idle-time filtering, reset controls, and all-time stats backup options.
Note: Date-related stats require a device with a real-time clock (RTC) module. The X4 does not have an RTC module, therefore will not have as detailed stats as the X3.
Reading stats can also be used as a sleep screen, including the Minimal Stats sleep screen on supported builds.
For two-device syncing, see Reading Stats Sync.
CrossInk can copy the current EPUB position from one nearby CrossInk reader to another over ESP-NOW. Open the same EPUB on both readers, choose Nearby Position Sync from the in-book menu on both devices, and press Share on the reader that is already at the correct page.
The receiving reader shows the incoming position and only applies it after you confirm it.
For details and troubleshooting, see Nearby Position Sync.
You can manually mark a book as finished from the in-book menu.
At 99% book progress, CrossInk also shows a popup asking whether to mark the book as finished.
If Move finished books to Read folder is enabled, books marked as finished are moved to /Read/ on the SD card.
Marking books as finished also contributes to the total Books Read reading stat.
The file browser can also mark books as finished without opening them first.
CrossInk adds reader-focused control options beyond the default button mappings.
Examples include:
- Reader-only front-button actions
- Front and side button mappings that respect the current orientation
- X3 tilt shortcuts
- Power-button reader shortcut actions
- Quick access to Controls from the in-reader menu
- Side-button shortcuts for changing font size or font family
For the full controls reference, see Controls.