A new feature of Internet Explorer 11, in Windows 8.1, is the Reading View. What does it do? Well, it's similar to services like Readability or Clearly and it regenerates web pages without ads, menus and blocks that have nothing to do with the content of the page. It's a very useful feature, especially when you want to read articles published on websites that are filled with ads & all kinds of distractions. Let's see how it works.

How to Enable or Disable the Reading View in Internet Explorer 11

First of all, start the Internet Explorer 11 app, from the Windows 8.1 Start screen.

Then, go any webpage. You can even use this article. 🙂

When a web page is loaded, in the address bar, on the bottom, you will see an icon like a book. This icon is used to activate or deactivate the Reading View. Click or tap on it.

If the address bar is hidden, right click or swipe up from the bottom of the Internet Explorer window, so that it is displayed on the screen.

When you enable the Reading View, Internet Explorer 11 reloads the web page and it removes all ads, menus and blocks that are not related to the actual content of the page.

Now you can enjoy a pleasant reading experience. In the address bar, the Reading View icon now has a blue background, signaling that this feature is enabled.

To deactivate the Reading View, click or tap its icon. Also, when accessing links included on the web page that take you to another page or site, the Reading View is automatically disabled and the new page or site is loaded normally.

When Can the Reading View be Used?

The Reading View is available only for reading web pages, not the homepage of websites. If you are on a website's homepage, the Reading View is simply not available in the address bar.

This feature is not available in the desktop version of Internet Explorer 11, only in its app for Windows 8.1. It is unfortunate that Microsoft has not implemented this feature in the desktop version. It would have been very useful and the development effort would have been small.

Conclusion

The Reading View did not exist in the test versions of Windows 8.1. It was included only the final version and I was pleasantly surprised to discover it. I hope you will enjoy using it. If you have any questions or problems with it, don't hesitate to leave a comment.