Blaze Read Docs

Welcome to the official documentation for Blaze Read, a modern speed reading extension for Firefox. This guide covers every feature, setting, and workflow to help you get the most out of your reading experience.

Getting Started

Blaze Read is designed to be intuitive. There are three primary ways to start a reading session on any webpage.

1. Full Page Reading

Use Alt + W anywhere on a page. This will automatically find the main article content on the page, clean it up, and start the reader. If you have text selected, it will prioritize reading your selection.

2. Text Selection Desktop Only

Highlight any text on a webpage. After a brief moment, a small Blaze Read icon will appear near your cursor. Click this icon to instantly read only the text you've selected. This is perfect for short snippets or sections of a page.

3. Context (Right-Click) Menu Desktop Only

Right-click anywhere on a webpage to bring up the context menu. You'll see two options in two different situations:

  • Blaze Read Full Page: Extracts the main article, just like the toolbar icon. This option appears when you have no text selected.
  • Blaze Read Selected Text: Reads your current selection. This option appears when you have text highlighted.

When viewing a PDF, a special "Blaze Read Full PDF" option will appear instead (see PDF Reading section).

The Reader UI

Once a session starts, you are presented with the Blaze Read interface. It's designed to be minimal but powerful.

The Reader Box

The central element where words are displayed. The pivot letter of each word (or word chunk) is highlighted in your chosen accent color for optimal focus. Clicking outside the reader box on desktop will close it.

Progress Bar

Located at the bottom of the reader box. It shows your current position in the text. You can click and drag the progress bar to scrub through the text quickly. This will pause reading, and resume when you release the mouse button if it was playing before.

Controls Desktop

On desktop, controls are integrated into the reader box:

  • Close Button: Top-right corner. Closes the reader and saves your progress.
  • Fullscreen Button: Next to the close button. Toggles a distraction-free, full-screen reading mode.

Playback Controls Android

On Android, dedicated playback controls appear below the reader box for easy touch access:

  • Rewind: Jumps back 2 seconds.
  • Play/Pause: Toggles the reading state.
  • Forward: Jumps forward 2 seconds.

Focus Mode

When enabled in settings, the background of the entire webpage will dim and blur, putting all focus on the reader box.

Settings Deep Dive

You can access the settings by clicking the toolbar icon and opening the popup, or by navigating to the extension's options page. The interface is divided into several tabs for clarity.

Settings Tab (Basic & Advanced)

This tab contains the core functional settings of the reader. On desktop, select the Settings tab, and then click on the arrow icon that appears next to it to enter Advanced Settings

Speed

  • WPM (Words Per Minute): The base reading speed, from 1 to 2000.
  • Speed Mode:
    • Fixed: Reads at a constant WPM.
    • Accelerating: Starts at 40% of your target WPM and smoothly ramps up to 100% over the specified duration. This helps ease you into faster speeds.
  • Ramp-up Time: The duration (2-8 seconds) for the "Accelerating" mode to reach its target speed.

Display

  • Box Size: Scales the overall size of the reader box and its contents.
  • Fullscreen Zoom Desktop: A multiplier that increases the font size when you enter fullscreen mode, relative to the current non-fullscreen size.
  • Playback Controls Size Android: Scales the floating playback controls on mobile.

Behavior

  • Focus Mode: Toggles the background dim/blur effect.
  • Pause Before Start: When enabled, the reader will show the first word and wait for a moment before starting, giving you time to get ready.
  • Hide Progress Bar: Removes the progress bar from the bottom of the reader for a cleaner look.

Pacing

  • Punctuation Pause: A multiplier for the pause after sentences (ending in `.`, `!`, `?`). A value of 2 means the pause is twice as long as a normal word. This setting is only active when "Speed Variability" is on.
  • Words at a Time: Displays multiple words (1, 2, or 3) at once. The WPM is automatically adjusted to maintain the correct reading speed.

Shortcuts Advanced

  • Start Standard: Change the default Alt + W shortcut used to start/stop reading to any custom key combination you prefer.
  • Start Fullscreen: Change the default Alt + Shift + W shortcut used to start directly in fullscreen to a custom key combination.

Cadence Advanced

Fine-tune reading rhythm by adding slight pauses based on word length. These pauses are a percentage of the time it would take to read one word at your current WPM. These settings work independently of "Speed Variability".

  • Short Word Pause: Extra pause for words with 3-6 letters.
  • Long Word Pause: Extra pause for words with 7 or more letters.

Focus Tune Advanced

Customize the "Focus Mode" effect. These settings are only available when Focus Mode is enabled.

  • Focus Mode Blur: Controls the intensity of the background blur (in pixels).
  • Focus Mode Dim: Controls the opacity of the black overlay on the background (0 to 1).

Miscellaneous Advanced

  • Smart Pauses: Adds longer pauses for punctuation (commas, semicolons) and capitalized words. Turn this off for a fixed-cadence reading experience.
  • Rounded Corners: Toggles rounded corners on the reader box.
  • Blaze Icon Pop-up: Toggles the floating icon that appears when you select text.

Styling Tab

Customize the visual appearance of the reader. A live preview box shows your changes in real-time.

  • Highlight Color: Choose the color for the pivot letter and the progress bar.
  • Font Family: Select from a curated list of fonts designed for readability, including Readex Pro (default), Lexend Deca, Funnel Display, and Roboto Mono.

Stats Tab

Track your reading habits and progress over time.

  • Lifetime Stats: See your total words read, total time spent reading, and total number of sessions.
  • 7-Day Graph: A bar chart visualizing the number of words you've read each day for the past week. The graph's height scales relative to your most active day in that period.

PDF Reading

Blaze Read includes a powerful, built-in PDF reader that extracts text locally in your browser for speed reading.

Opening PDFs

There are two ways to open a PDF in Blaze Read:

  1. Web PDFs: If you are viewing a PDF file online in Firefox, right-click on the page and select Blaze Read Full PDF from the context menu.
  2. Local PDFs: Press the shortcut Alt + P on any webpage. This will open the Blaze Read PDF Viewer, where you can click to select or drag-and-drop a PDF file from your computer.

The PDF Viewer Page

When you open a PDF, Blaze Read loads it into a special viewer tab. It extracts all the text and displays it as a readable layer in the background. The Blaze reader will start automatically.

Important: On the PDF viewer page, standard keyboard shortcuts (like your custom start/stop keys) will not work due to browser security restrictions. However, all in-reader controls (like Space for play/pause and arrow keys for seeking) function normally once the reader is open.

After the text is extracted, you can:

  • Use the floating Read Full Page button to restart reading the entire document.
  • Select text on the background layer and use the floating Read Selected Text button (if enabled) or the selection icon to read just that part.

Shortcuts & Controls

Control Blaze Read without ever touching your mouse.

Global Shortcuts Desktop

These shortcuts work on any webpage to start a session. They can be customized in the Settings → Advanced → Shortcuts panel.

Default Shortcut Action
Alt + W Start reading (or stop, if already reading). Prioritizes selected text, otherwise finds the main article.
Alt + Shift + W Start reading directly in fullscreen mode.
Alt + P Open the local PDF file picker.

Custom shortcuts will not function inside text boxes or editable fields to avoid interfering with typing.

In-Reader Controls

These controls work whenever the Blaze reader UI is active and focused.

Key Action
Space Play or Pause reading. Desktop
F Toggle fullscreen mode. Desktop
← (Left Arrow) Seek backward 2 seconds.
→ (Right Arrow) Seek forward 2 seconds.
Ctrl + ← Jump to the beginning of the text. Desktop

You can close the reader by clicking on the "X" button in the top right of the reader box or by clicking anywhere outside of the reader box.

Platform Differences

Blaze Read is optimized for both desktop and Android, leading to some key differences in UI and features.

Feature Desktop Android
Activation Selection Icon, Context Menu, Shortcuts Toolbar Icon (launches reader directly)
Reader Controls Close/Fullscreen buttons in reader box Floating Rewind/Play/Forward buttons
Closing Reader Close button, Esc key, click outside reader Tap blurred background, use back gesture/button
Advanced Settings Full suite available via Advanced View Simplified for touch
PDF Reading Supported Not supported
Unique Setting Fullscreen Zoom, Custom Shortcuts, etc. Playback Controls Size

Privacy

Your privacy is paramount. Blaze Read operates entirely on your local machine.

  • All settings and your reading history are stored locally in your browser's storage.
  • No data, text, or personal information is ever collected or sent to any external server.
  • Text extraction for articles and PDFs happens entirely within your browser.

Feedback & Support

Have a suggestion, found a bug, or just want to say thanks? Your feedback is invaluable for improving Blaze Read.

You can leave a public rating and review on the official Firefox Add-ons page or submit detailed feedback and bug reports via the official feedback form.