The problem of getting a global perspective when reading continuous texts from a computer screen

................................................................................................................. 2 The purpose of this paper ...................................................................................... 2 Reading from computer screen vs. paper .............................................................. 2 A review of some investigations comparing reading from computer screen and reading from paper ................................................................... 2 Is it always true that reading from a computer screen is slower? .............. 3 Global perspective ................................................................................................. 4 Background ................................................................................................ 4 A review of some investigations concerning global perspective ............... 5 Discussion .................................................................................................. 7 Using hypertext to improve the global perspective ............................................... 8 The book metaphor .................................................................................... 9 Converting linear text into hypertext ....................................................... 11 Some investigations concerning the legibility of hypertext ..................... 12 Discussion ................................................................................................ 14 Navigational aids to improve the global perspective........................................... 15 Guided tour .............................................................................................. 15 Browser .................................................................................................... 15 Map .......................................................................................................... 15 Backtracking ............................................................................................ 16 History facility ......................................................................................... 16 Index......................................................................................................... 16 Bookmarks ............................................................................................... 16 Annotations & underlinings ..................................................................... 16 Differentiation of type of material ........................................................... 17 Fish-eye .................................................................................................... 17 Conclusions.......................................................................................................... 17 References............................................................................................................ 18 2 Global perspective when reading from a computer screen