How to Use the Dyslexia Ruler on Any Website
Set up the Dyslexia ruler in Helperbird. Park a colored bar on the page or set it to follow your mouse, and change its height, width, color and opacity.
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What is the Dyslexia Ruler?
The Dyslexia Ruler is a colored bar that lies across the page, like a physical reading ruler on a book.
It stays where you put it. You choose how far down the screen it sits and how wide it is, then read past it. If you would rather it moved with you, turn on Follow cursor and it tracks your mouse down the page. Either way it never blocks clicks on the page underneath, and screen readers ignore it.
Who is This For?
This feature is helpful for:
- People with dyslexia who lose their place while reading
- Anyone who finds long lines of text hard to follow
- Readers who want a marker that holds one spot on the screen
- Students working through dense paragraphs or textbooks
Step 1: Open Helperbird
Click the Helperbird icon in your browser toolbar to open the menu. It looks like a small owl and is usually in the top-right corner.
Step 2: Open the All Features Section
Scroll to the bottom of the menu and click the arrow next to All Features. The list expands to show every feature.
Step 3: Find Dyslexia Support
Look through the list until you see Dyslexia support. It has a purple icon with a brain symbol on it.
Step 4: Open Dyslexia Support
Click on Dyslexia support to open it.
The panel has three toggles at the top: Dyslexia ruler, Focus ruler and Reading guide. Below them sits a divider and a Settings section.
Step 5: Turn on the Dyslexia Ruler
Dyslexia ruler is the first toggle. Click it to turn it on.
The bar appears on the page straight away. Click the toggle again to remove it.
Ruler Settings
Scroll to the Settings section below the divider in the same panel. The controls there change with the ruler you have on. The Dyslexia ruler has all six.
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Height | How tall the bar is. |
| Width | How far the bar stretches across the page, from a tenth of the width to the full width. |
| Color | Choose a rainbow preset or Custom for another shade. |
| Opacity | How solid the bar is. Turn it down to read the text underneath. |
| Follow cursor | Off to start with. Turn it on and the bar follows your mouse down the page. It moves up and down only, never side to side. |
| Position | How far down the screen the bar sits. It appears only while Follow cursor is off. |
View full-size image (opens in a new tab)
Tip: A soft color at a low opacity gives you a line to read against without hiding any words.
Choosing Between the Three Rulers
Only one ruler runs at a time. Turning one on turns the other two off. The Reading guide saves its width separately from the Dyslexia ruler. Height, color and opacity are shared.
| Toggle | What you get | Full guide |
|---|---|---|
| Dyslexia ruler | A bar you park in place, or set to follow your mouse down the page. You control its width and position. | This page |
| Reading guide | A bar that always follows your pointer, with adjustable height, width, color and opacity. | Reading guide |
| Focus ruler | Dims the page above and below a bright strip of text. | Focus ruler |
Turning the Ruler On Without the Popup
Two faster ways to the same toggle:
- Press Option + D on Mac, or Alt + Shift + D on Windows and Linux. Shortcuts need switching on first. See How to enable and use keyboard shortcuts.
- Press the Reading guide button on the Floating Toolbar. See How to turn on the Reading guide from the Floating Toolbar.
Both bring back whichever of the three rulers you last chose, whatever the button is called.
Video Tutorial
Need Additional Help?
If you have any questions or run into any issues, please contact the Helperbird support team. You can reach us at Helperbird support. We are happy to help you get the most out of Helperbird.
Printed from the Helperbird Help Center · Updated September 22nd, 2026
Questions? We are happy to help — helperbird.com/support