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Publica Reader Desktop App

caution

WIP

Overview​

Publica Reader is a desktop application that allows users to read content previously acquired from the Publica.la store. The app supports reading ebooks and listening to audiobooks, both online and offline (provided the content has been downloaded beforehand).

Operating Systems​

  • Windows 10 and 11.
note

The Desktop App will be available in macOS soon.

Minimum System Requirements​

  • Windows: Version 10 or later

Features​

General Features​

  • Auto Installable and Updatable: The application automatically installs and updates itself.
  • Home Screen: Browse the latest acquired content and access all other content available to the user.
  • Download Section: Manage downloaded content easily.
  • Search Section: Quickly find specific content within the library.
  • Feedback Section: Provide feedback on app performance or other issues; messages are sent directly to Publica.la.
  • Publication Details: View detailed information about content with options to download it for offline use.
  • Profile Section:
    • FAQs
    • Privacy Policy
    • Settings:
      • Toggle automatic content downloads on or off.
      • View storage usage and remove all downloaded content if needed.
      • Delete the user account.
      • View the app version.
      • Logout.
      • Contact support.
note

Offline statistics are not available yet.

note

The use of this app to read content doesn't count towards the device limitation set for the tenant. This feature will be available soon.

Reader Features​

The app features an exclusive reader with the following capabilities:

  • Navigation: Read content horizontally (one or two pages) or vertically.
  • Horizontal Navigation Options: Turn pages using animations, direction buttons on the keyboard, mouse dragging, or finger swipes on touch screens.
  • Page FIT (for PDF only): Fit the page width to the screen
  • Zoom: Zoom in and out of the content.
  • Text-to-Speech: Listen to the content of the current pages displayed.
  • Theme Options: Switch between dark and light themes (PDFs remain unaffected).
  • Table of Contents: Access the book's table of contents (if available).
  • In-Book Search: Search for specific terms within the book and view results in context.
  • Page Thumbnails: Navigate using page thumbnails (for PDFs).

Text Selection and Toolbar Options​

Selecting content brings up a toolbar with the following options:

  • Highlight: Mark parts of the text.
  • Notes: Add notes associated with selected text.
  • AI Assistant: Summarize, extend, or explain selected content.
  • Citation: Generate citations in various formats (APA, ISO 690, Vancouver, IEEE, MLA) or copy plain text.
  • Dictionary: Look up definitions of specific words.
  • Translate: Translate selected text into multiple languages.
  • Text-to-Speech: Listen to selected text.
  • Share: Share content via social media or other channels.

Offline Limitations​

Some features are unavailable when content is accessed offline, including:

  • Highlighting
  • Notes
  • AI Assistant
  • Dictionary
  • Translation
  • Text-to-Speech
  • Sharing
note

Highlights and notes will be available offline soon.

Player Features​

The app also includes an audiobook player with the following features:

  • Track Navigation: Move between audiobook tracks.
  • Seek Functionality: Jump to specific times within a track.
  • Rewind/Forward: Rewind or fast forward by 30 seconds.
  • Playback Speed: Adjust playback speed to the listener's preference.
  • Favorites: Add tracks to a favorites list.
  • Share: Share audiobooks via social media or other channels.

Security Features​

  • Screen Capture Disabled: The screen capture function is blocked to protect content.
  • Configurable Text Copy Limit: The amount of text that can be selected for citation or translation is configurable.
  • Encrypted Offline Downloads: EPUBs are fully encrypted
note

We are currently working on implementing encryption for PDFs. Audiobooks have a preliminary encryption implementation, but it's not yet ready for release.

  • Per-Issue Encryption: Each piece of content is encrypted individually, ensuring that a single key cannot unlock multiple items.
  • Encryption Versioning: We utilize versioned encryption, allowing us to update encryption methods in the future while maintaining backward compatibility. This system also enables us to force updates and deprecate older versions when necessary.
  • Expiration of Downloaded Content: Downloaded content has an expiration date to prevent indefinite access, ensuring that files are automatically deleted after the set period.
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