# Read links

> A saved link opens as the live page, and the reader shows the article as clean text at a size you like.

- Page: https://resurf.so/guides/reader
- Section: Browse and read
- Works on: Mac, iPhone, iPad
- Last checked against the app: 2026-10-17
- Start: Open a link, then the reader button

## Switch to the reader

On Mac:

1. Open a link capture. It shows the live page.
2. Click the reader button in the header. If there's no reader copy yet, its tooltip reads **Extract reader** and Resurf extracts the article first.
3. To go back to the page, click the same button again: **Show original**.

On iPhone and iPad:

1. Open a link capture. It shows the web page.
2. Tap the book button in the bottom capsule: **Show reader**.
3. To go back, tap the globe: **Show web page**.

Video: [A saved article switched to the reader, its font and size changed, then switched back to the original page.](https://resurf.so/guides/clips/clip-reader.mp4)

Tweets and YouTube links have their own views, so they have no reader button.

## Set the text

On Mac:

1. In the reader, use the bar at the bottom: pick **Sans** or **Serif**.
2. Click − for smaller text or + for larger text.

On iPhone and iPad:

1. In the reader, tap **More**, then **Text size**.
2. In the **Typography** sheet, pick a **Font** (Sans or Serif) and a **Size**.

The Mac keeps your choice for every link. iPhone and iPad reset it the next time you open a link.

## Open in your browser

Click **Open in browser** in the header to open the page in your default browser. On iPhone and iPad, it's under **More**. Links inside the reader open in your browser too.

On Mac, to open links from the library straight in your browser, go to **Settings → General → Links** and set **Open links in** to **Browser**. Peek still shows the page inside Resurf.

## Questions

### The reader says Reader view unavailable.

The article hasn't been extracted yet. On Mac, click the reader button (Extract reader), or right-click the card and choose Refresh link.

### Can I highlight text in the reader?

No. Highlights work in notes and PDFs only. You can still leave a comment on the link in the Info pane.

## More guides

- Previous: [Move between captures and zoom](https://resurf.so/guides/next-and-previous.md)
- Next: [PDFs and highlights](https://resurf.so/guides/pdfs.md)
- [Layouts and sorting](https://resurf.so/guides/layouts.md): Choose how the library shows your captures, how big the tiles are, and what order they come in.
- [Covers and appearance](https://resurf.so/guides/appearance.md): Set the theme, the window color and how cards look, and choose what a link's cover shows.
- [Open and peek](https://resurf.so/guides/peek.md): Open a capture to read it, open it beside the library, or peek at it without leaving the grid.
- [Move between captures and zoom](https://resurf.so/guides/next-and-previous.md): Step to the next or previous capture without going back to the library, and zoom the whole window on Mac.
- [PDFs and highlights](https://resurf.so/guides/pdfs.md): Read PDFs on every device, and on Mac, find words, highlight passages and comment on them.
- [Write notes](https://resurf.so/guides/notes-and-highlights.md): Write and format notes in a markdown editor, and on Mac, highlight passages and comment on them.
- [Video and audio](https://resurf.so/guides/video-and-audio.md): Play videos, audio files, voice notes and YouTube links right inside the capture.
- [Comments](https://resurf.so/guides/comments.md): Every capture has a comment thread in Info, and your highlights from notes and PDFs land there too.
- [Command bar](https://resurf.so/guides/command-bar.md): Search your library and run commands from the keyboard: go somewhere, add a filter, switch the theme or open a setting.
- [Every guide](https://resurf.so/llms.txt)