Using Features in Microsoft Reader
Updated: November 7,
2002
There are a variety of ways to customize your view of Microsoft Reader, including
customizing the font size and the way an eBook page appears on your computer
screen.Click on any word within the text of an eBook to get a menu of options
including Bookmark, Find, Lookup, and more. Visit the
Product
Information
section to read about features in Microsoft Reader.
Find
Lookup
Copying Text
Bookmarks
Highlights
Notes
Drawings
Viewing Annotations
Find
With Microsoft Reader's Find function, you can easily search an entire eBook
for a specific word or group of words.
-
Click anywhere in the eBook's text, or click and drag to select a group
of words. (If you are looking for another instance of text that is on the
present eBook page, select that text).
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Click Find... in the pop-up menu. The text you selected will be entered
into the text field in the Find box. You can add to or edit the search text
by typing in the text field.
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To find another instance of that text, click Find First or
Find
Next
. To find other text, enter it into the text field. You can search
for either an exact match of your text or an approximate match.
-
To search for an approximate match for your text, click Exact Match
in the Find box, then click Approximate Match. Microsoft Reader will
find the text (or similar text) and highlight it on the page.
- Click outside the menu to dismiss it.
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Lookup
Download the Encarta®
Pocket Dictionary
FREE to start using the Lookup feature in Microsoft Reader.
Once you have placed a copy of this eBook in your My Library folder, it will
be listed in your Library in Microsoft Reader, and you can read it as you would
read any other eBook.
As long as a dictionary remains loaded on your PC, the Lookup option will appear
in the text pop-up menu, allowing you to look up words from any other eBook
in Microsoft Reader.
To look up a word
- Click the word you want to look up.
-
Select Lookup in the pop-up menu. A definition box will appear over
the eBook page.
- Click outside the definition box to dismiss it.
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The dictionary definition is displayed on the page. You can also look up
words displayed in the definition.
Note: Microsoft Reader supports the use of multiple dictionaries
and reference guides. The dictionary selection occurs at Lookup time. If you
have multiple dictionaries loaded, the software will recognize this and when
you click the Lookup feature the pop up screen will show a Change Dictionary
option at the bottom of the window.
To look up another word from within the Lookup option
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Click a word in the current definition or type a new word into the text
field at the top of the Lookup page.
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Click Lookup in the upper right corner of the page to see the new
definition.
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Click outside the Lookup page to dismiss it.
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Copying Text
You can copy text from an eBook into any program that accepts text. Note:
Some eBooks have been secured by their publishers to not support text copying.
In this case, the menu option Copy Text will appear grayed out.
- Select the text you want to copy by dragging the cursor across it.
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Click Copy Text from the pop-up menu.
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The text you've copied will be stored in the Clipboard, and can be pasted
into the program of your choice. Note: You will only be able to copy
a very limited amount of text at a time.
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Bookmarks
You can bookmark a particular page in an eBook, then return to that page from
anywhere in the eBook.
To add a bookmark
- Click and drag over any text on the page you want to bookmark.
-
Click Add Bookmark in the pop-up menu. A bookmark icon will appear
in the right margin.
Each bookmark you create will appear in a different color. After twelve bookmarks,
the colors will repeat. Note: If you have already attached a bookmark
to a particular text string, you will not be able to attach another bookmark
to the same text, though you may attach another bookmark to a portion of that
text.
To go to a bookmark
From an eBook page
- Click a bookmark icon in the right margin.
From the Annotations Index
- Click a bookmark icon in the left margin.
To see a list of your bookmarks
From an eBook page
- Click the eBook's title in the Header at the top of the page.
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Click Annotations in the pop-up menu.
From an eBook's cover page
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Click Go To and select Annotations.
- Clicking on the bookmark icon will take you to the bookmarked page.
-
Bookmarks are listed in the Annotations Index by the first word or words
of text from the point at which you placed the bookmark, and accompanied by
a bookmark icon in the left margin.
To change the color of a bookmark
From the page on which you placed the bookmark
- Click the bookmark icon.
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Click Change Color in the pop-up menu.
- Click a color from the Color Selector.
To rename a bookmark
From the Annotations Index
- Right-click the bookmark icon.
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Click Rename in the pop-up menu.
- Type the new name into the name field and press Enter.
- The new name will appear in the annotations listing.
To delete a bookmark
From the eBook page on which you placed the bookmark
- Right-click the bookmark icon.
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Click Delete in the pop-up menu.
From the Annotations Index
- Right-click the bookmark icon.
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Click Delete in the pop-up menu.
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Highlights
You can call attention to a particular text passage by highlighting it, just
as you might use a highlighter pen to mark paper books.
To highlight text
- Click and drag the cursor over the text you want to highlight.
-
Click Add Highlight from the pop-up menu.
To see a list of highlighted passages
From an eBook page
- Click the eBook's title in the Header at the top of the page.
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Click Annotations in the pop-up menu.
From an eBook's Cover Page
-
Click Go To and select Annotations.
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Clicking on the highlight icon will take you to the page with the highlight.
Highlighted passages are listed by the first word or words of the highlighted
text, and accompanied by a highlight icon.
To edit or erase a highlight
From the page on which you created the highlight
-
Click and drag over the highlight or portion of a highlight you want to
change or erase.
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Click a color from the pop-up Color Selector to change the color of all
or part of the highlight.
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Click Erase Highlight in the pop-up menu to erase all or part of
the highlight.
To delete a highlight from the Annotations Index
- Right-click on the highlight entry or its icon.
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Select Delete from the pop-up menu.
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Notes
You can attach notes to specific passages of text on any eBook page.
To add a note on an eBook page
-
Click and drag the cursor over the text to which you want to attach the
note.
-
Click Add Note in the pop-up menu.
- Type your note in the note field.
- Click outside the note to close it.
-
When you have added the note, a note icon will appear in the left margin
of the page.
To see a list of your notes
From an eBook page
- Click the eBook's title in the Header at the top of the page.
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Click Annotations in the pop-up menu.
From an eBook's cover page
-
Click Go To and select Annotations.
- Click the note entry or its icon to go to that note.
To copy and paste a note to another location
From the note
- Click and drag over the text you want to copy.
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Press Ctrl+C to copy the selected text.
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Open the window or note you wish to paste the text into. Press Ctrl+V
to paste the text into the new location.
To edit or delete a note
From the page on which you created the note
-
Click the note icon for the note you want to edit or delete, in the left
margin of the eBook page.
- Click inside the note to edit or delete the text.
- Click outside the note to close it.
If you have deleted all the note text, that note's icon will no longer appear
in the margin.
From the Annotations Index
- Right-click the note's entry or icon.
-
Click Delete in the pop-up menu.
To rename a note
From the Annotations Index
- Right-click the note's icon.
-
Click Rename in the pop-up menu.
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Drawings
You can attach a freeform drawing to specific text in an eBook. The drawing
sits on the eBook page, with the text visible underneath.
To draw on an eBook page
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Click and drag across the text to which you want to attach the drawing.
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Click Add Drawing in the pop-up menu. Your cursor will now function
as a drawing tool, and some drawing options will appear at the bottom of the
eBook page.
- Click the Color Box to choose a color.
-
Click and drag the mouse to make your drawing. You can change colors at
any time, and use multiple colors in one drawing.
- Click the Undo box to undo your last drawing action.
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Click Done to add the drawing to the page and exit drawing mode.
Note: Until you click Done to exit drawing mode, you won't be
able to perform other functions in Microsoft Reader.
To hide a drawing
- Click the drawing icon in the bottom left corner of the page.
- Click the icon again to show the drawing.
If several drawings are made on the same page, Microsoft Reader will hide or
show them all at the same time.
To see a list of drawings
From an eBook page
- Click the eBook's title in the Header at the top of the page.
-
Click Annotations in the pop-up menu.
From an eBook's cover page
-
Click Go To and select Annotations.
-
Click the drawing entry or its icon to go to the page where you created
the drawing.
-
Drawings are listed by the first word or words of text from the point at
which you placed the drawing, and accompanied by a drawing icon in the left
margin.
To erase a drawing
On the page where the drawing appears
- Right-click the drawing icon in the left margin.
-
Click Delete in the pop-up menu.
From the Annotations Index
- Right-click the drawing's entry or its icon.
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Click Delete in the pop-up menu.
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If several drawings are made on the same page, Microsoft Reader will delete
them all at the same time.
Note: Although a drawing is anchored to specific text, its position on the
page is fixed. This means that if you change the font size (which affects the
position of the text on the page) the drawing may not appear to be in the same
place on the page.
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Viewing Annotations
You can see where you have put highlighting, bookmarks, notes, and/or drawings
in an eBook by going to the Annotations Index.
To view annotations
From an eBook page
- Click the eBook's title in the Header at the top of the page.
-
Click Annotations in the pop-up menu.
- Click the annotation you want to view.
From the cover page
-
Click Annotations from the Cover Page menu in the lower right area
of the page.
- Click the entry you want to view.
To return to an annotation
From the Annotations Index
-
Click the annotation's entry or icon to return to that note, drawing, bookmark,
or highlight.
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