Reading assistant in a browser environment

A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by at least one processor of a computing device, cause the at least one processor to:

• extract, by a text extraction module of a browser application executing on the computing device, text content included in browser content displayed by the browser application, the browser content including the text content and additional content, the additional content including at least one of image content, tabular content, links, input fields, or browser control devices;
• generate modified text content based on the extracted text content;
• render a reader view for display of the browser content together with the modified text content by the browser application, including:
• render a first content pane displaying the browser content including the text content and the additional content;
• and
• render a second content pane beside the first content pane, the second content pane displaying the modified text content and omitting the additional content included in the browser content;
• provide, for display on a display device of the computing device, the reader view including the first content pane and the second content pane;
• and
• synchronize a scrolling of the browser content, including the text content and the additional content in the first content pane, with a scrolling of the modified text content in the second content pane, in response to a scroll input detected at one of the first content pane or the second content pane, including:
• associate a first bounding box assigned to a text element and the additional content included in the browser content displayed in the first content pane with a second bounding box assigned to a corresponding text element in the modified text content displayed in the second content pane;
• anchor the second bounding box with the first bounding box;
• and
• synchronize the scrolling based on the anchoring of the first bounding box and the second bounding box such that the modified text content displayed in the second content pane remains anchored with the corresponding text content and additional content displayed in the first content pane during the scrolling.

A computing system, comprising:

• a processor;
• a display;
• and
• a memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause a browser application executing on the computing system to perform operations, including:
• extracting, by a text extraction module of the browser application, text content included in browser content displayed on the display, the browser content including the text content and additional content, the additional content including at least one of image content, tabular content, links, input fields, or browser control devices;
• generating modified text content based on the extracted text content;
• rendering a reader view for display of the browser content together with the modified text content, including:
• rendering a first content pane displaying the browser content;
• and
• rendering a second content pane beside the first content pane, the second content pane displaying the modified text content and omitting the additional content included in the browser content;
• providing, for display on the display, the reader view including the first content pane and the second content pane;
• and
• synchronizing a scrolling of the browser content including the text content and the additional content in the first content pane with a scrolling of the modified text content in the second content pane in response to a scroll input detected at one of the first content pane or the second content pane including:
• associating a first bounding box assigned to a text element and the additional content included in the browser content displayed in the first content pane with a second bounding box assigned to a corresponding text element in the modified text content displayed in the second content pane;
• anchoring the second bounding box with the first bounding box;
• and
• synchronizing the scrolling based on the anchoring of the second bounding box with the first bounding box such that the modified text content displayed in the second content pane remains anchored with the corresponding text content and additional content displayed in the first content pane during the scrolling.