Research papers are often designed for printing, not for reading on a phone or a narrow browser window. Paper helps with the comprehension pass while staying honest about what reflow can and cannot preserve.
A better first pass
Paste a public PDF link and Paper extracts its selectable text into a continuous reading view. Headings and paragraphs can carry the argument forward without making you pinch across every page. You can adjust the type and width to keep your attention on the paper's claim.
Follow the argument
A readable column makes it easier to move from abstract to method to conclusion without repeatedly fitting the page.
Read on a phone
Text adapts to a narrow screen instead of forcing a two-column page into miniature type.
Keep the source close
Use the original PDF for figures, tables, equations, footnotes, citations, and exact page references.
Know the boundary
Complex layouts can produce imperfect order. Paper is for understanding text, not for replacing scholarly source verification.
Two-column papers need judgment
Paper attempts to turn extracted blocks into a reading order, but a paper's columns are not always a simple story. Equations, sidebars, tables, references, and captions may not land exactly where the author placed them. If the relationship between a figure and its text is important, check the original page.
Currently supported formats
The current reader supports public HTTP(S) URLs to selectable-text PDFs up to 30 MB. It does not yet OCR scanned papers or support other research document formats.
See supported formats and future directions
Start with a paper that is already public.
Read a research paperQuestions
Can Paper preserve citations?
Paper extracts text for reading, but the original PDF remains the authority for exact citation pages and visual context.
Does Paper support academic PDFs with figures?
It can read the selectable text, but figures and complex layouts are not guaranteed to reflow faithfully. Keep the source open for that work.