---
title: "The cBook Player — UI Overview"
url: "https://help.cbook.de/en/article/the-cbook-player-ui-overview"
language: "en"
last_updated: "2026-04-01T14:19:35.720Z"
---

# The cBook Player — UI Overview

## Introduction

The cBook Player is where learners experience your cBook content. It provides navigation, accessibility tools, search, bookmarks, printing, and bonus materials — all designed to give learners a smooth and flexible learning experience. This article walks you through every part of the player interface so you know exactly what your learners will see and how they can interact with your cBook.

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## Player Layout

The player is organized into four main areas:

-   **Header** (top) — Contains the menu button, breadcrumb navigation showing the current position in the cBook, the slide title, and the accessibility toolbar button. An optional logo can appear here as well.
-   **Content area** (center) — Displays the current slide. Navigation arrows appear on the left and right sides.
-   **Footer** (bottom) — Contains the progress indicator, page counter, navigation mode toggle, and action buttons for Favourites, Bonus Material, Notes, and Activity Center.

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## Navigation

### Menu / Chapter Overview

The menu is the main way to browse the structure of a cBook. It opens as a sidebar and shows the full table of contents — organized by chapters and slides.

**How to open it:**

-   Click the **chapter overview** button (top-left in the header)
-   Press the **Q** key

**What you see in the menu:**

-   The **cBook title** at the top
-   A **search box** to find content
-   A **chapters and slides** tree, which can be nested multiple levels deep

Each chapter shows:

-   A chapter number (e.g., "Chapter 1" or "Chapter 1.2")
-   A circular **progress indicator** showing how much of the chapter has been completed
-   A chevron arrow to expand or collapse the chapter

Each slide shows:

-   The slide title
-   A **checkmark** indicating whether the slide has been completed (unless the slide is excluded from tracking)
-   A **star icon** to mark the slide as a favourite
-   The currently active slide is highlighted

Slides that are **locked** (not yet available due to linear progression requirements) appear grayed out and cannot be clicked.

**Closing the menu:**

-   Click the **close** button inside the menu
-   Press **Escape**

### Slide Navigation

You move between slides using the **navigation arrows** on the left and right sides of the content area:

-   **Left arrow** — go to the previous slide (keyboard: **J**)
-   **Right arrow** — go to the next slide (keyboard: **K**)

If you jumped to a slide from a different location (e.g., via search or a link), a **jump back** button appears, letting you return to where you came from.

### Book Mode vs. Story Mode

The footer contains a toggle switch between two navigation modes:

-   **Book Mode** — Static text content, ideal for quickly looking up information.
-   **Story Mode** — Fully interactive content (videos, animated sequences, interactions). Ideal for viewing the content for the first time.

You can switch between modes by clicking the toggle or pressing **B**.

Note: If you switch to Book Mode before completing the cBook in Story Mode, you may see a warning that some content hasn't been completed yet.

### Quick Slide Navigation

Click on the **page counter** in the footer (e.g., "Page 5/20") to open a quick navigation slider. This lets you jump to any slide by number — either by dragging the slider or typing a slide number directly.

### Breadcrumb Navigation

The header shows a **breadcrumb trail** displaying where you are in the cBook's chapter hierarchy (e.g., cBook Name > Chapter 1 > Section 1.2). This helps you orient yourself, especially in deeply nested cBooks.

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## Progress Tracking

The player tracks your progress through the cBook in several ways:

-   **Progress circle** (footer, left side) — A circular indicator showing the percentage of slides you've completed. Click it to open the quick slide navigation.
-   **Page counter** (footer, center) — Shows your current position, e.g., "Page 5/20".
-   **Chapter progress** (in the menu) — Each chapter shows a circular progress indicator with the completion percentage.
-   **Slide checkmarks** (in the menu) — Each completed slide gets a checkmark next to it.

Some slides may be marked as "do not track" by the cBook author — these slides won't count toward your progress percentage and won't show a checkmark.

* * *

## Search

The search function helps you find content across the entire cBook.

**How to use it:**

1.  Open the **menu** (click the menu button or press **Q**).
2.  Type your search term in the **search box** at the top.
3.  Press **Enter** or click the search button.

**What gets searched:**  
Search results are organized into four sections, each showing a result count:

-   **Content** — Matching slides
-   **Notes** — Your personal notes
-   **Communities** — Posts from the Activity Center
-   **Bonus Material** — Matching bonus materials

Click on any result to navigate directly to it. Use the **X** button to clear your search and return to the normal chapter view.

### Favourites Filter

Below or next to the search box, you'll find a **Show favourites only** checkbox. When enabled, the menu shows only slides you've marked as favourites. This filter is disabled while a search is active.

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## Favourites

You can bookmark slides you want to return to later by marking them as favourites.

**How to mark a favourite:**

-   In the **menu**, click the **star icon** next to any slide. A filled star means the slide is a favourite; an outlined star means it's not.

**Viewing your favourites:**

-   Click the **Favourites** button in the footer (or press **C**) to open the Quick Favourites panel, which shows all your bookmarked slides at a glance.
-   Alternatively, use the **Show favourites only** checkbox in the menu to filter the chapter list down to just your favourites.

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## Bonus Material

Bonus Material is supplementary content that cBook authors can attach to slides — such as downloadable files (PDFs, documents) or external links.

**How to access it:**

-   Click the **Bonus Material** button in the footer (or press **U**).
-   A badge on the button shows how many materials are available.

**What you see:**  
Each bonus material item shows:

-   An **icon** (document icon for files, globe icon for links)
-   A **name** and **description**
-   A **download button** for files, or a clickable link for external content
-   A **star rating** (if ratings are enabled) — you can rate materials and see the average rating from other users

**Filtering:**  
You can toggle between:

-   **Current Slide** — shows only materials attached to the slide you're on
-   **cBook** — shows all bonus materials across the entire cBook

* * *

## Accessibility Toolbar

The player includes a built-in accessibility toolbar to help you customize the viewing experience.

**How to open it:**

-   Click the **accessibility button** in the top-right corner of the header (question mark or accessibility icon)
-   Press the **?** key

### Font

Adjust the **font size** to make text easier to read. Available sizes range from normal to extra-large.

### Graphics

**Color contrast** — Choose a high-contrast color scheme:

-   Normal (default)
-   Black on white
-   White on black
-   Yellow on blue
-   Blue on yellow
-   Red on cyan
-   Green on black

**Remove background images** — Hides decorative background images for a cleaner view.

**Hide animations** — Stops all animations for a calmer reading experience.

### Keyboard Shortcuts

The accessibility toolbar also displays a complete overview of all available keyboard shortcuts (see the reference table below).

All accessibility settings are saved automatically and persist between sessions.

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## Keyboard Shortcuts Reference

| Key | Action |
| --- | --- |
| **?** | Open accessibility toolbar / show shortcuts |
| **Q** | Open/close menu |
| **J** | Previous slide |
| **K** | Next slide |
| **B** | Toggle Book Mode / Story Mode |
| **C** | Open Favourites panel |
| **U** | Open Bonus Material |
| **I** | Open Notes |
| **O** | Open Activity Center |
| **P** | Toggle play (media) |
| **F** | Toggle fullscreen (media) |
| **M** | Toggle mute (media) |
| **Escape** | Close the currently open panel or menu |

Note: Keyboard shortcuts are disabled while you're typing in a text field or during an active exam.

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## Exam Mode

When a learner enters an exam, the player locks down most of the interface to ensure focus:

-   The **menu**, **mode toggle**, **Favourites**, **Bonus Material**, **Notes**, and **Activity Center** are all disabled.
-   Navigation is restricted to the exam's slides only.
-   A **skip** button allows learners to skip questions (if allowed by the exam settings).
-   On the last question, a confirmation dialog asks whether the learner wants to finish the exam — warning that unanswered questions will count as incorrect.

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## Quick Reference — Footer Buttons

| Button | Keyboard | Badge | Description |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Progress circle | — | Percentage | Shows overall completion; click to open quick navigation |
| Page counter | — | Page X/Y | Shows current position; click to open slide slider |
| Book Mode / Story Mode | B | — | Toggle between story and book mode |
| Favourites | C | — | Open the Quick Favourites panel |
| Bonus Material | U | Count | Open bonus materials for the current slide |
| Notes | I | Count | Open the Notes panel |
| Activity Center | O | Unread count | Open the Activity Center |