Reader mode inferior to Chrome Plugin and Firefox

gbcox

The reader mode in Vivaldi is somewhat disappointing. It doesn't filter out all the extraneous stuff, which the chrome plugin "Best Reader View" does, or for that matter the built in Reader view in Fx. Can you guys fix it so it at least on feature parity with the "Best Reader View" plugin and what Fx offers. Kind of defeats the purpose of having a built in function if the performance is vastly inferior to what can be achieved with a plugin. Using the Vivaldi built in you have to scroll through a bunch of useless junk, multiple times. It comes no where near the polished version available with the Best Reader View plugin or what is offered via the Fx built-in function. If you can' t fix it, you should just remove it.

Here are examples: View using Vivaldi Reader View:

Here is the "Best Reader Version":

Here is the Fx Version:

barbudo2005

@gbcox

Said:

The reader mode in Vivaldi is somewhat disappointing.

Very simple:

Don't use built-in Reader View. Period.
Use the extension "Best Reader view" or look this post:

https://forum.vivaldi.net/topic/59347/why-vivaldi-is-using-google-pdf-viewer-instead-of-mozilla-pdf-js-library/13

Not complain. "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth"

Said:

If you can't fix it, you should just remove it.

I would like to see if on January 2, 2023, when they do not exist in Chrome web store ad blockers as uBo or ABP (for Manifiest v3), you would say the same.

gbcox

My post isn't intended for debate. I'm simply reporting an issue. Non-sequitors aren't helpful.

Ayespy

@gbcox said in Reader mode inferior to Chrome Plugin and Firefox:

Non-sequitors aren't helpful.

Neither, actually, is your post in "Support & Troubleshooting," as there is no way users can help you fix this, and developers, on the whole, don't read here.

What you have posted is a feature request that would go something like "Improved Reader View" and then in its body would lay out how you think it could be improved. At no point is a remark like "If you can' t fix it, you should just remove it" useful or helpful.

I recommend you replicate your post, without the snark, in the Feature Requests / Desktop category and see if you can recruit some upvotes. Before you do so, however, you may wish to search the category to ensure that your post is not a duplicate of one that is already there.

gbcox

@Ayespy It wasn't snark. When comparing this feature to what is offered by Fx, Brave or Edge built-ins, the Vivaldi implementation is inferior and leads one to suspect the quality of the other built-ins. Much better to not include it or label it experimental, beta quality or direct people to use an extension until it can be implemented properly. It leaves a very bad first impression. I've opened a bug report.

treego

Brave's SpeedReader only works on certain sites ... not sure when Brave's SpeedReader will render a site in Reader Mode or not from my experience with it.

I find Vivaldi's Reader Mode very pleasant on the eyes and can be enabled nicely with keyboard shortcut or mouse gesture.

Everything can be improved, I suppose, BUT I am satisfied as a Vivaldi Reader Mode user.

bravesampson

@treego Brave's SpeedReader is different from many other reader-mode implementations in that it doesn't load the entire document. Other browsers will load the page, then strip it down into something simpler. SpeedReader kicks-in during the initial request, and prevents most of the page from downloading. It won't do this for every site, as you've suggested, however.

SpeedReader will look for certain hints from the address and more. For example, if the resource is something like /article, or /2022/07/04, then Brave will have confidence the page can be processed by SpeedReader (as these URL patterns are common among blog posts, articles, etc.).

As always, our source is available (see this and this) for closer review as well. If you have any questions, I'm happy to help navigate the project as needed.