0.1.5 Listen, offline word lookup and backupsSee what’s new

simPl

A lightweight reader.
A quiet place for your books.

Read PDF, EPUB, HTML and Markdown on Windows and Android. Listen along,
look up a word, and pick up where you left off.

Download for WindowsDownload for AndroidView source on GitHub

Free for personal and professional use Terms

Windows x64 · v0.1.5 · 9.9 MB · Portable ZIP (12.4 MB)

Android 8.0+ ARM64 · v0.1.2 · 28.7 MB · Universal APK (51.5 MB)

A book open in simPl’s reading view, with Find, Listen and zoom in the toolbarA book open in simPl’s reading view, with Find, Listen and zoom in the toolbar
A quiet page, comfortable type, and your place saved for next time.
The simPl library with Continue Reading cards, shelves and sortingThe simPl library with Continue Reading cards, shelves and sorting
Continue Reading, favourites and your own shelves, all in one local library.
The Default reading themeThe Default reading theme
The Soft reading themeThe Soft reading theme
The Clear reading themeThe Clear reading theme
The Compact reading themeThe Compact reading theme
Default, Soft, Clear and Compact. Each sets its own font, spacing and colors, in light or dark.
A highlighted passage with its note in the bookmarks and notes sidebar
Highlight a passage, add a note or bookmark a page. Everything waits in the sidebar.
A PDF page shown in Document view with its original layout
Document view keeps the original page, typography and artwork.
The same PDF reflowed in Book view
Book view reflows the same PDF into simPl’s quieter reading style.

New in 0.1.5

More ways to read.
Still just as quiet.

Listening, offline word lookups and a safer home for your notes, without adding clutter to the page. Release notes

  1. Listen

    Let the book read to you.

    Press Listen and simPl reads on, page after page and chapter after chapter, with the voices already in Windows. The page follows along and a soft marker keeps your place. Pause, change the speed, or read just a selected passage.

    • Works offline
    • Ctrl+Shift+U
    Listen paused in the middle of a sentence, with the spoken word marked and the speed controls open

  2. Word translation

    Look up a word without leaving the page.

    Double-click a word to see its meaning. Download only the dictionaries you need, then every lookup happens on your computer. No document text is sent anywhere.

    • 13 language directions
    • Optional downloads
    An English → Turkish dictionary card open over the word “book” in a highlighted sentence
    Dictionary data: WikDict (Karl Bartel), Wiktionary contributors via DBnary — CC BY-SA 4.0. Normalized and excerpted by simPl. Cropped screenshot. Sources and license.

  3. Your data

    Back up your library. Keep your notes.

    Create and restore verified backups with your shelves, positions, highlights and notes, and optionally the books themselves. Export bookmarks, quotes and notes as Markdown, text or JSON.

    • ZIP backups
    • Markdown · Text · JSON
    Library & data settings with backup options and note export formats

  4. Reading comfort

    Make each book your own.

    Choose the font, text size, line spacing and side margins, and each reflowable book remembers its settings. Fit the page to the window, or go fullscreen and leave only the text.

    • F11 fullscreen
    • Ctrl+Shift+F fit width
    Per-book reading settings for font, text size, line spacing and side margins

Everything else you’d expect, and nothing you don’t.

A few useful details.

Which files can I read?

PDF, DRM-free reflowable EPUB 2/3, local HTML/XHTML, and plain text or Markdown files (.txt, .text, .md, .markdown). Add a document or drop it into the window. DRM-protected and fixed-layout EPUB books are not supported. Books shown in the previews were made for these screenshots and are not included.

How are PDFs shown?

Two ways, and you can switch without losing your page. Document view keeps the original layout, images and typography, a natural fit for papers, tables and illustrated documents. Book view brings the text and extracted illustrations into simPl’s quieter reading style.

Book view needs a PDF text layer and does not perform OCR. For scans and complex layouts, use Document view.

How does Listen work?

Select Listen in the toolbar, or press Ctrl+Shift+U. simPl reads from the current page onward, across pages and EPUB chapters, scrolls with the spoken line and marks the current word. Pause, resume and change the speed as you go; select Listen again to stop. To hear just a passage, select it and choose Read aloud.

Listen uses the voices installed in Windows, so it works offline. Voice and speed are remembered. You can add more voices in Windows Settings › Time & language › Speech.

Which languages can I translate words between?

English ↔ Turkish, Spanish, German, French, Japanese and Chinese, plus Korean → English: 13 directions in all. Double-click a word, or select it and right-click › Translate. Choose the input and output language and whether lookups open automatically in Settings.

Dictionaries are optional. Download only the directions you need, or import a dictionary ZIP; after that, lookups run entirely on your computer and no document text is sent online. These are dictionary meanings, not sentence translations, and coverage varies by language pair.

Dictionary data comes from WikDict (Wiktionary contributors, via DBnary), Kaikki / Wiktextract and CC-CEDICT, under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Can I highlight text or take notes?

Yes. Select text to choose a highlight color or add a note; right-click a saved highlight to change its color, edit the note or remove it. Right-click a page to bookmark it, and open the bookmarks and notes sidebar from the right edge or with Ctrl+B.

To take them elsewhere, export bookmarks, highlighted quotes and notes as Markdown, text or JSON from Settings › Library & data.

Can I change how the text looks?

Yes. Reading Settings offers four themes, Default, Soft, Clear and Compact, each with its own reading font, spacing, and light and dark colors. Page numbers stay the same when you switch themes.

You can also set the font, text size, line spacing and side margins for a single book; reflowable books remember their own settings. Toggle fit-width with Ctrl+Shift+F and fullscreen with F11.

How do I back up or move my library?

Open Settings › Library & data and choose Create backup. The ZIP includes settings, shelves, reading positions and annotations, and optionally imported book files and downloaded dictionaries. Restore backup shows a review first and keeps your previous profile in a recovery folder.

Do I need an account or an internet connection?

No account is needed. Once installed, simPl reads your local books offline and saves your library, preferences and reading position on your computer. The only time it goes online is when you choose to download a dictionary.

Can I use simPl at work?

Yes. Official, unmodified releases are free for personal and professional use, including use by companies and schools. See the official release terms.

The code is source-available under PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0. That separate license applies to source code and builds you make yourself.

Dictionary data and simPl’s adaptations of it remain CC BY-SA 4.0, including for commercial reuse under that license. The application’s source and binary restrictions do not limit those data rights. See dictionary credits and license.

What should I know before installing?

The download is for Windows x64 and installs for your Windows account. Installing over an earlier version keeps your library, preferences, positions, notes and dictionaries. The installer is not code-signed yet, so Windows SmartScreen may show a warning. Release details and SHA-256 checksums are in the release notes.

Prefer not to install? Download the portable ZIP, extract the whole folder and run simPl.exe. Portable and installed copies share the same library.

On Android, download the APK and allow installs from your browser when asked. simPl needs Android 8.0 or later. Most phones should use the ARM64 APK; the universal APK also supports x86_64 devices and emulators. Newer APKs install over earlier Android versions and keep your library. See the Android release notes for checksums.