How to Use the Reading Guide on Any Website

Learn how to use Helperbird's use the reading guide. Complete guide for improving web accessibility and reading support.

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What is the Reading Guide?

The Reading Guide is a solid colored bar that appears on screen to show you exactly where you are reading. It acts like a ruler that you would place under a line of text in a book.

The guide follows your mouse cursor as you move down the page. This helps you keep track of which line you are on.


Who is This For?

This feature is helpful for:

  • People with dyslexia who skip lines while reading
  • Anyone who loses their place on the page
  • People with visual tracking difficulties
  • Students reading long documents
  • Anyone who finds a visual guide helpful when reading

Step 1: Open Helperbird

Click the Helperbird icon in your browser toolbar. It looks like a small owl and is usually in the top-right corner of your browser.

This will open the Helperbird menu.


Step 2: Open the All Features Section

Scroll down to the bottom of the Helperbird menu. You will see a section called All Features.

Click the arrow next to All Features to expand it and show all available features.


Step 3: Find Dyslexia Support

Look through the list of features until you see Dyslexia support.

It has a purple icon with a brain symbol on it.


Step 4: Open Dyslexia Support

Click on Dyslexia support to open it.

A panel will appear with three toggles: Dyslexia ruler, Focus ruler, and Reading guide. Below the toggles, under a divider, is a Settings section.


Step 5: Turn on Reading Guide

At the top of the panel, look for Reading guide.

Click the toggle switch next to it to turn it on.

A solid colored bar will appear on the screen to guide your reading.


Step 6: Customize the Guide

To adjust how the reading guide looks, scroll down to the Settings section below the divider in the same panel.

Here you can change the height and color of the guide.


Guide Settings

When the Reading guide is turned on, the Settings section shows the following:

  • Height – Adjust how tall the guide bar is. A thinner bar points to a specific line, while a thicker bar is easier to see.

  • Color – Choose a color for the guide. Pick a color that stands out against the website background.

Other settings in this section, such as Width, Follow, and Position, apply to the Dyslexia ruler rather than the Reading guide.

Tip: Choose a bright color like yellow or orange. This makes the guide easy to see, and it will automatically follow your cursor as you read down the page.


Video Tutorial


Need Additional Help?

If you have any questions or run into any issues, please contact the Helperbird support team. You can reach us at Helperbird support. We are happy to help you get the most out of Helperbird.

What People Are Saying

Join over 1,000,000 people who use Helperbird every day.

Huge fan of the zoom feature. It trumps the native zoom in your browser since the zoom level you set actually stays with you no matter what page you go to, which is very helpful and meshes well with the other features the app offers.

Taylor Kirkpatrick

Taylor Kirkpatrick

Helperbird user

This works and it makes everything so much easier to read! Thank you so much and i will keep posted if i do run into any issues!

Jay O'Bell

Jay O'Bell

Helperbird user

Amazing in eliminating embarrassing mistakes. Am one happy kid here!

Brian Borland

Brian Borland

Helperbird user

omg i can actually read now

Spin F.

Spin F.

Helperbird user

So far ive got nothing but amazing things to say about this extension. It helps everyday life so much!

Michael Thompson

Michael Thompson

Helperbird user

Making such an useful tool, replying to every single comment or review and giving support to people's issues as soon as possible?? Carefully, he is a hero.

Martin Bui

Martin Bui

Helperbird user

Helperbird logo: Stylized owl with large yellow eyes and a beige face, against a green background.

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