PDFs on a phone mean endless pinch-and-zoom. ReflowPDF reflows the text to fit your screen, so a desktop-sized document becomes comfortable to read on mobile. Powered by k2pdfopt compiled to WebAssembly, it runs entirely in your browser — your file is never uploaded.
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Maker
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Hey hunters! Reading a normal PDF on a phone means zooming and dragging across every line. ReflowPDF re-flows the text to actually fit your screen, turning a desktop-sized document into something you can read comfortably on mobile. It's powered by k2pdfopt compiled to WebAssembly and runs fully in your browser — your file is never uploaded. Open source, would love your thoughts!
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How does it handle complex layouts with tables, images, or multi-column formats — does the reflow preserve the original reading order or does it just flatten everything into a single text stream?
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Maker
@aseldover13449 Reading order is preserved, and the default doesn't flatten. Magnify (the default) keeps the original vector — text stays text, tables/images/figures stay intact and in color — detects the columns, and enlarges each onto its own page in order, so a two-column paper stays two columns, just bigger. I actually just tested this on a real two-column paper and the columns split cleanly with the figures untouched. The only mode that collapses everything into one text stream is Reflow, which is opt-in and meant for plain prose.
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How does it handle PDFs with complex layouts, like multi-column articles or ones heavy with images and tables? Curious if the reflow still keeps things readable in those cases or if it gets messy.
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Maker
@elanur86809 For multi-column articles it stays clean. Magnify detects the columns and enlarges each one on its own page, left-to-right, keeping images and tables as intact vector blocks — nothing flattened. Reflow is the one mode that can get messy with tables (it linearizes the text), so it's opt-in for text-heavy docs. Match the mode to the file and it holds up.
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How well does it handle PDFs with lots of images, charts, or complex layouts, or is it really only meant for mostly text-based documents?
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Maker
@ferdibatszcb Not text-only. Images and charts are kept as vector blocks and simply enlarged (color intact), and multi-column pages are split region-by-region onto their own pages rather than re-typeset. The text-focused Reflow mode is just one of the options — the default keeps all the visuals.
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How does it handle PDFs that are mostly tables or have complex layouts? I read a lot of research papers with figures and equations and I'm curious if the reflow messes those up.
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Maker
@oktaydthl For papers I'd use the default Magnify — it keeps figures and equations exactly as they are (vector, untouched) and, on a two-column paper, splits each column onto its own enlarged page in reading order. I tested it on a real two-column paper and the figures/equations came through intact. Reflow does linearize text (great for prose, rough on tables), so it's opt-in. Two honest limits: it magnifies rather than rebuilding, so it won't re-lay a wide table into a portrait mobile table (that needs a cloud model; this is 100% in-browser); and if a paper is one wide single column, Magnify just fits it to width — there Reflow gives bigger text if you don't mind it rasterizing.
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Tried it on a 30-page research paper and it actually reflowed cleanly without mangling the figures. Love that nothing leaves the browser, that was the main reason I gave it a shot.
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Maker
@narinbily7re Thank you — glad the figures held up on a 30-page paper! If you want them kept as sharp vector and in color, the default Magnify is worth a try too — it enlarges each column without rasterizing. And yep, it all stays in your browser. 🙏
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Finally something that fixes mobile PDF reading. The reflow mode made a dense research paper actually readable on my phone, and I like that everything stays on-device.
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Maker
@nurullahu6yq Appreciate it! 🙏 Glad Reflow made that dense paper readable on mobile. If you ever want to keep the figures and color on a paper, give Magnify a shot too
How does it handle complex layouts with tables, images, or multi-column formats — does the reflow preserve the original reading order or does it just flatten everything into a single text stream?
@aseldover13449 Reading order is preserved, and the default doesn't flatten. Magnify (the default) keeps the original vector — text stays text, tables/images/figures stay intact and in color — detects the columns, and enlarges each onto its own page in order, so a two-column paper stays two columns, just bigger. I actually just tested this on a real two-column paper and the columns split cleanly with the figures untouched. The only mode that collapses everything into one text stream is Reflow, which is opt-in and meant for plain prose.
How does it handle PDFs with complex layouts, like multi-column articles or ones heavy with images and tables? Curious if the reflow still keeps things readable in those cases or if it gets messy.
@elanur86809 For multi-column articles it stays clean. Magnify detects the columns and enlarges each one on its own page, left-to-right, keeping images and tables as intact vector blocks — nothing flattened. Reflow is the one mode that can get messy with tables (it linearizes the text), so it's opt-in for text-heavy docs. Match the mode to the file and it holds up.
How well does it handle PDFs with lots of images, charts, or complex layouts, or is it really only meant for mostly text-based documents?
@ferdibatszcb Not text-only. Images and charts are kept as vector blocks and simply enlarged (color intact), and multi-column pages are split region-by-region onto their own pages rather than re-typeset. The text-focused Reflow mode is just one of the options — the default keeps all the visuals.
How does it handle PDFs that are mostly tables or have complex layouts? I read a lot of research papers with figures and equations and I'm curious if the reflow messes those up.
@oktaydthl For papers I'd use the default Magnify — it keeps figures and equations exactly as they are (vector, untouched) and, on a two-column paper, splits each column onto its own enlarged page in reading order. I tested it on a real two-column paper and the figures/equations came through intact. Reflow does linearize text (great for prose, rough on tables), so it's opt-in. Two honest limits: it magnifies rather than rebuilding, so it won't re-lay a wide table into a portrait mobile table (that needs a cloud model; this is 100% in-browser); and if a paper is one wide single column, Magnify just fits it to width — there Reflow gives bigger text if you don't mind it rasterizing.
Tried it on a 30-page research paper and it actually reflowed cleanly without mangling the figures. Love that nothing leaves the browser, that was the main reason I gave it a shot.
@narinbily7re Thank you — glad the figures held up on a 30-page paper! If you want them kept as sharp vector and in color, the default Magnify is worth a try too — it enlarges each column without rasterizing. And yep, it all stays in your browser. 🙏
Finally something that fixes mobile PDF reading. The reflow mode made a dense research paper actually readable on my phone, and I like that everything stays on-device.
@nurullahu6yq Appreciate it! 🙏 Glad Reflow made that dense paper readable on mobile. If you ever want to keep the figures and color on a paper, give Magnify a shot too