Overview

A VitalBook™ opens displaying the Table of Contents on the left and the text of the book on the right. To resize the Table of Contents pane, click and drag the gray line separating the Table of Contents pane from the text pane. To quickly hide and show the navigation, click the Show Navigation/Hide Navigation button at the top left of the window.

Page Layouts

In the Book window, the "Page Layout" button allows you to immediately change to one of three modes:

  1. The Browser view (default) presents the content in a single scrolling page.

  2. The Column View presents the content in a series of columns the height of the window, similar to a newspaper. Moving to another column is done by scrolling to the right. Column width is adjusted in the preferences.

  3. Reading View, in combination with turning off the navigation, provides the user with a realistic book-like two-page display.

Content Area Tabs

Contents Tab:
The Contents Tab displays the table of contents of the book, which allows you to move quickly around the text. Simply click on the arrow to expand a section or sub-section, as necessary. Double click a book, section, or sub-section to go directly to that location in the text.

Terms Tab:
Visible only when Terms are available
The Terms Tab displays all of the terms in the book. This allows you quick reference to defined terms.

Figures Tab:
Visible only when Figures are available
The Figures Tab displays all of the images and tables that are found in the currently open book, helping you to quickly seek out a specific figure. If you double-click a figure in the Figures list, that graphic opens in a separate window. This new window, which displays the graphic can be re-sized; you can Zoom In and Out, and display or hide the caption.

The drop-down menu above the Figure list shows each section of the open VitalBook. You can choose a different section from the drop-down menu, and the list automatically displays the graphics for that section.

Select any graphic in the list and the text automatically scrolls to that location.

Right-click (or Control-click) on a graphic in the list and a drop down menu displays from which we can choose "Copy selected figures" to copy a figure (or figures) to the clipboard.

Double-click a graphic to open it in a separate window.

Notes Tab

The Notes Tab lists your personal notes and highlights in the open book. Click on the Notes tab at the top of the Table of Contents to display any Highlights or Notes you have made in this VitalBook. You can double-click any note and go to the location of that note in the VitalBook. See Highlights and Notes for more information.

You can also Right-click (Control-click) on the list and you will see various options. You can go directly to the highlight, you can add a note or edit an existing note, you can copy the highlight/highlights for use in other programs, and you can remove the highlight and note.

Navigating

Scrolling:
Scroll through the text using whatever method is comfortable for you. You can use the arrow buttons, the page up/page down board keys, the arrow keys on the keyboard, or a scroll wheel on your mouse (if available).

Go To Page:
If you want to reference a specific paper page number, choose this and enter the page number. NOTE: if it is grayed out, then page numbers are not available for that book.

Go To Outline:
Once you have turned on the outline, choose this command to go directly to a section of the text.

Where Am I?:
Right click on a section of text and you will see Jump To level. This shows you where you are in the text and allows you to quickly navigate to another location in the book. If the Outline is turned on, there will also be a numerical representation of where you are.

View Menu:
There are additional navigation commands under the View menu that allow you to: 1) Hide or Show the Table of Contents; 2) Hide or Show the Outline; 3) Hide or Show the Outline.

Preferences:
See Bookshelf section.

Printing

Under File you will see the menu commands for printing (Page Setup, Print Preview, and Print). Printing in the VitalBook will print the entire chapter - so if you want to print smaller sections of text, it's best to select the text and figures and copy it into a word processing program. Then print from that program.

Note: If you change the font size in the preferences, it will also affect printing. If you plan to print large sections of text, then change the font size to normal.

Copy/Paste Text

Copying text for use in another program, such as a word processor, is done by selecting the text you want to copy, then either

  1. choose Copy under the Edit menu; or
  2. right-click the text and choose Copy Selection. With the other program open, choose Paste from the Edit menu.

The text and graphics (if selected) will be copied over including all text styling and formatting.