mdReader: user guide

How to open, read, mark and edit documents in mdReader.

Opening documents

On the home screen, Open picks a file with the system file picker, New starts a note from a template (Blank note, Meeting notes, Journal, Checklist) and Library shows the documents in your chosen folder. You can also open a file from a file manager with "Open with", or share text or a file to mdReader. A fresh install offers a built-in sample document that tours highlights, tasks, tables, math, diagrams and smart blocks.

Recent files show your progress and a checkmark for finished documents. Continue Reading resumes a partly read file with one tap, and reading positions are saved automatically, even if the document changed since.

Reading

Tap the centre of the screen to show or hide the top bar.

  • Scroll mode scrolls vertically.
  • Book mode turns pages: tap the right side for the next page and the left side for the previous one. The bottom bar shows the page, the progress and the estimated time left.
  • Document info gives words, reading time, your reading speed, time spent reading and more.
  • Search finds text as you type, ignoring case and the marks on Latin letters ("resume" finds "résumé"). The table of contents shows the headings of the document.

Tapping a web, email or phone link first asks "Open link?" and shows the full address, so a stray tap never takes you out of the app.

Display and comfort

The Aa panel changes font size, line spacing, colour theme and dimming without leaving the page, and pinching changes the font size. Settings offers ten reading colour themes, eight fonts, left or justified text, two-page spreads on tablets and foldables, and a screen that stays on while you read.

Reading profiles bundle a whole look: nine come built in (Default, Daytime, Night, Midnight, Study, Deep Focus, Tired Eyes, Quick Scan, Focus), and you can save your own. A Day and a Night profile can switch automatically at hours you set. Eye care adds a dimming overlay, a blue-light filter, a 20-20-20 reminder and a blink reminder. The app works with TalkBack.

Reading aloud

Tap Listen and the document is read by your device's text-to-speech engine, with the spoken paragraph highlighted. Choose a speed from 0.75x to 2x, a language and an installed voice, and a sleep timer. With Background listening on, which is the default, reading continues with the screen off or in other apps, controlled from a media notification. Android asks for the notification permission the first time. Opening another document or going Home always stops it.

Highlights, notes and bookmarks

Long-press text to start a selection, then choose a colour, add a note, or Copy, Share as quote or Look up. A highlight list shows all of them in document order, and you can share them grouped by colour or export a Markdown summary of highlights and bookmarks. You can give each colour a name of your own. Bookmarks mark positions to return to; they are anchored to text, so they survive changes of font, mode and edits.

Review cards

Each highlight becomes a spaced-repetition card with its words hidden, and a :::question block becomes a question with its answer. Rate each answer Again, Hard, Good or Easy and the card returns after longer and longer gaps. Cards that are due appear on the home screen.

Editing

Only Markdown can be edited; other formats are read-only. Tap Edit to change a block in place or switch to the Raw editor for the whole source, with a formatting toolbar, an Insert menu, smart lists and find and replace. Nothing is written until you tap Save. Unsaved changes are kept as a draft if the app closes, and if another app changes the file while you edit, you can merge both versions, take the new one or keep yours. Ticking a task box in a task list (- [ ]) writes the change back to the file.

Custom blocks, the Knowledge Base and statistics

Blocks written as :::note, :::warning, :::tip, :::important, :::question and more show as callout cards. :::chart, :::metric and :::progress draw real charts, figures and bars. Link to a block by its #id, and see which blocks refer to it.

The Knowledge Base gathers blocks, pinned blocks, highlights and bookmarks from all your documents, and the Data Dashboard gathers their charts and metrics. Reading Statistics shows a daily goal, streaks, weekly and monthly charts, a calendar heatmap and your reading speed; you can share it as text or CSV.

Images, diagrams and formulas

Tap an image to open it full-screen with zoom, then save it to the gallery or share it. Remote images load only over HTTPS and only while Load remote images is on. Fenced mermaid blocks are drawn as diagrams, and TeX formulas are typeset with KaTeX; both are rendered on the device. Code blocks are coloured by language.

Supported file types

Markdown, plain text, source and configuration files, CSV and TSV tables, Jupyter notebooks, AsciiDoc, reStructuredText, Org-mode, Djot, web pages, and EPUB and FictionBook books all open in the same reader. PDF files, Kindle books, office documents and copy-protected (DRM) EPUB books are not supported. If the app guesses a format wrongly, use Open as... in Document info.

Library and sync

Choose a Library folder in Settings. The Library lists, searches (by name or contents), sorts and tags your documents, and shows NEW and UPDATED badges. While reading, Files opens the folder as a workspace with the documents that link to the current one.

When a document is changed by another app, such as a sync app, mdReader reloads it in place and marks the new and modified blocks; Compare shows the old and new text side by side.

Carry reading data in the Library folder (Settings, Backup and restore) keeps your devices at the same place in every document, with the same highlights and bookmarks, without an account.

Backup, printing and language

Settings can export an Annotations backup, a Settings backup or a Complete backup, and import them again. The Print button sends the document to the system print dialog, where you can also choose Save as PDF. The interface is available in English and Czech.