3D Page Turn and 3D Depth
Turn on a three-dimensional page turn and a tilted book view, per publication.
3D Page Turn and 3D Depth
ZenFlip has two independent settings that add depth to the reading experience: Page Turn, which changes how a page moves as it turns, and 3D depth, which tilts the whole book back in perspective.
Both are set per publication, and both are off by default. Existing publications look exactly as they did until you turn one of them on.
Where to find them
Open your publication in the editor
Click the Settings tab (gear icon) in the left sidebar
3D depth is in the Viewer Controls list; Page Turn is the dropdown just below it
Both save the moment you change them — there is no separate Save button for this section. Reload the reader view to see the change.
Page Turn
Option | What it does |
|---|---|
Flat fold | The standard page turn. The page folds in two dimensions, flat against the screen. This is the default. |
Rigid 3D | The page swings out of the screen on its spine, like the board of a hardcover book, showing its reverse side as it comes over. |
Rigid 3D turns take a little longer than flat ones, because a page that swings through space needs more time to read as a movement rather than a snap.
Rigid 3D has no paper curl. The page stays perfectly flat while it swings — it behaves like a board, not like a sheet of paper bending. That suits covers, board books, brochures on heavy stock, and anything with a substantial feel. If you want the look of light paper bending as it turns, Flat fold is currently the closer match.
Rigid 3D works on desktop, tablet and phone, and in every reading mode where page turns happen.
3D depth
3D depth tilts the spread back so the book reads as an object resting on a surface, with the far edge slightly further away and the page block visible along the near edge.
It is a separate setting from Page Turn, and you can use either on its own or both together.
Two things to know:
Desktop and tablet only. On phone-width screens the tilt is not applied — a phone has no width to give away to perspective. The setting stays on; it simply has no effect at that size.
It turns off while a reader is zoomed in. Once someone zooms into a page, the book flattens so the page is square to them, and tilts back when they zoom out.
Which to use
Neither (default). The cleanest and fastest. Right for dense documents, reports, and anything where the reader is there to read rather than to browse.
3D depth alone. The book sits in space, pages turn as they always have. A good middle ground for catalogues and magazines.
Rigid 3D alone. The turn is the moment of theatre; the book stays square to the reader.
Both. The most physical. Worth checking on a real publication first — with both on, the page standing up is seen through two layers of perspective and looks narrower than you might expect.
Does this affect anything else?
No. Both settings are purely visual and change nothing else about the publication:
Text stays selectable and searchable
Screen readers, keyboard navigation and the Text view are unaffected
Links, hotspots, videos and ads work exactly as before
Analytics are unchanged
Neither setting affects publications that do not have it switched on.
Troubleshooting
I turned it on and nothing changed. Reload the reader view — the viewer reads these settings when it loads the book. If you are on a phone, check that you have not only turned on 3D depth, which does not apply at phone width.
The page looks soft while it is turning. A page rendered at an angle is drawn at a fractional scale for those few hundred milliseconds. It sharpens as soon as the page lands. This is more noticeable with Rigid 3D than with 3D depth.
Readers say it is too much movement. Both settings are per publication, so you can switch either off for a particular title without affecting the rest of your library.