Dark mode for Apple Books on iPad Pro

Question

Level 1

50 points

Dark mode for Apple Books on iPad Pro

The reader guide does not comport with what is on my screen. In reading a PDF, I can change vertical scrolling, plus the pencil editor but no "themes and settings" type ability to change the background shows up. The below is what I’ve been advised but no "change background color" appears as an option.

Turn on vertical scrolling: Tap to scroll continuously through a book.
- For PDFs, tap , at the top of the screen then turn on Vertical Scrolling.
- Adjust the display brightness: Tap , then choose an option.
- Change the page background color: Tap a page theme such as Quiet or Bold.
- Make the font bold: Tap Options, then turn on Bold Text (green is on).
- Customize spacing and justification: Tap Options, turn on Customize (green is on), then drag the sliders left or right to adjust line spacing, character spacing, and word spacing. You can also turn Full Justification and Allow Multiple Columns off or on (green is on).

2. Tap Done to apply your changes."

iPad Pro (6th generation)

Posted on Oct 7, 2024 4:20 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Oct 7, 2024 4:45 AM in response to greg spahn

Just to be sure that you are following the required steps...

1) Open the document in the Apple Books App. With the document open, simply tap the screen in a clear whitespace-area to expose the options button at bottom-right of the document window:

Tap the icon to expose the menu:

Select Themes & Settings - and then tap:

From the menu, select Light, Dark or other option as required.

Reply

Answer 2

greg spahn Author

Level 1

50 points

Oct 7, 2024 5:03 PM in response to LotusPilot

Yes, that works fine with documents with the .epub application, but no such icon appears when I am reading .pdf documents. In that case, there is nothing but the pages that cross the bottom of the screen (when in activated mode) and the only options at the top are pencil edit / the vertical scrolling aA button / search / bookmark. None of those allow for themes or settings.

It seems that Apple Books is limited for PDFs, whereas Adobe is able to read them and edit them (though at a price for full functionality).

Reply

Answer 3

Oct 8, 2024 2:03 AM in response to greg spahn

Indeed, for basic PDF documents, Dark Mode is not available. ePub and other Books, where Dark Mode is supported are an entirely different type - rendered differently to PDF.

PDF rendering for a "flattened" document doesn't appear to allow different elements (text vs background) to be isolated and individually manipulated.

Reply