How Page Preview and Full Screen Work
Page Preview shows your chapter as a real print-ready PDF page. Click Full Screen for a two-page spread, like an open book.
Page Preview shows the literal print-ready PDF page for your current chapter, generated the same way as the final export. Click Full Screen to see a larger two-page spread, like an open book.
What is the difference between the Visual Editor and Page Preview?
Visual Editor is where you write and format your text: bold, italic, underline, alignment, lists and indent. Page Preview shows exactly how the finished page will look in the printed book, using the real print layout (not an approximation). Write and format in the Visual Editor, and check the layout in Page Preview.
Is Page Preview a real preview?
Yes. It is built by the same print engine, and from the same request, as the real PDF export. The whole book is laid out and the preview opens at the chapter you are editing, so every chapter page looks exactly like the exported PDF. Margins, running headers, fonts and page breaks are exactly what will print.
Why are the page numbers different from my PDF?
While you are still writing, the preview leaves out only the front matter (title page, copyright, table of contents). So its page numbers are lower than the PDF's by the number of front pages. The front matter appears in the real exported PDF.
Why do my pictures look lighter in the preview?
For speed, the preview uses lighter copies of your pictures, in the same size and position. Export PDF always uses the full-quality pictures.
How do I use Full Screen?
- Switch to Page Preview.
- Click ⛶ Full Screen.
It opens a larger two-page spread view, like an open book, with page navigation. Click ✕, or click outside the window, to close it.
On a phone held upright, the preview shows one page at a time. Full Screen opens the preview over the whole screen with just the chapter title, a ⚙ button and Close along the top. Close is always at the top right. Tap ⚙ to open the format, template, pull-quote and action-box options, and tap it again to put them away. Held sideways, Full Screen can show two pages side by side when the chapter has more than one page and there is room.
Why does the first preview take longer?
A Page Preview is a real PDF built on our server (the same way the final export is built), then drawn on screen. The first preview of a chapter, format or template takes longer, most of all right after the app has been updated or has not been used for a while. After you stop typing, the preview refreshes a moment later.
Previews already shown during your visit come back instantly when you return to the same chapter, format and template. Switching between two formats and back does not rebuild them. This memory lasts only until you reload the page.
What if the preview never finishes?
If it seems stuck, see My preview keeps generating. What should I do?
Is the ePub preview the same?
No. The ePub preview is a simulation. Real e-readers such as Kindle and Apple Books choose their own page size and text size, so the page numbers in the ePub preview are not real page numbers. On a narrow screen it shows one page at a time. Tap the left or right edge to turn the page.
Not sure where to start? The Course Coach inside the app guides you through each step, so you are never stuck on a button.
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Last checked in the app: October 14, 2026.
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