The official Reader Mode theme component for Discourse has been released to provide a focused reading experience by fading UI elements and offering customization for fonts, text size, and background colors. Tris20 welcomed the official release but noted a limitation where the Reader Mode icon fails to appear on topics using the Discourse TOC plugin if no replies exist, a behavior confirmed by putty and resolved by switching themes. JammyDodger subsequently ensured the component was added to all themes.
Users have expressed strong interest in mobile support, with Jagster, Arnold, and hoangphuctran93 highlighting the lack of mobile functionality and guest access. Additionally, StefanoCecere reported a conflict where Reader Mode and DiscoTOC cannot function simultaneously. A request to match the platform’s font list was raised by Tris20, and a translation issue regarding the button text was addressed by Moin, who merged a pull request to make the component translatable, a fix confirmed by Rhod.
This theme component adds a “reader mode” button to the topic timeline. “Reader mode” places the emphasis on the written word and lets the other UI elements fade into the background for a more focused reading experience. Users also have the option to choose from various fonts, adjust text size and reading width, and change to their preferred background colour
Is it possible to match the fonts in reader mode to the font-list of the platform? For example, we’re using Open Sans, but that’s not an option on the font dropdown for Reader Mode. Would be a nice touch to have the same list of fonts to choose from.
Edit: I’m also noticing that topics which use Discourse TOC, but do not have a reply are not showing the Reader Mode Icon.
You can see an example here:
However as soon as there is at least one reply, the Timeline, ToC and Reader Mode seem to appear as expected.
Not sure if it was missed off some on purpose but I’ll wait for the complaints to roll in to find out. 
