The release of Internet Explorer 11 for Windows 8.1 included an all new feature called Reading View, which was designed to make the content on a web page easier to read. In a new blog post today, the IE team talks about how Reading View was created.
The blog post states that when an IE11 user switches to Reading View on a certain web page, the browser also transforms the text to an all new font made just for Windows 8.1 called Sitka. Microsoft says it is the first typeface family that was designed with the input of "scientific legibility studies". Sitka uses different styles made for specific sizes and uses. When Reading View is enabled, Sitka Small is used for image captions on a web site, while Sitka Text takes over for the main body and Sitka Heading is used for article titles.
The IE team also gave some consideration to page layouts to make it easier on a user's eyes while in Reading View. Finally, if an article stretches across multiple pages on a website, Reading View does away with that setup (and those "Next" button links) to present the article's content in one page.
Microsoft has set up a Reading View Test Drive demo page to show the specific code that can be used by web site designers to make their pages look the best when Reading View is activated in IE11.
Source: Microsoft | Image via Microsoft
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