How Flow Templates Create Custom Reading Paths

How Flow Templates Create Custom Reading Paths

Flow Templates let you choose the parts of a web page that should be read aloud, then reuse that choice later as a custom reading path. Earlier materials called these Flow Bookmarks; the product name in the extension is now Flow Templates. Instead of asking a text-to-speech tool to read everything it can extract from a page, you can save the article body, a recurring update section, a list of cards, or specific page elements. That makes Flow TTS more useful on pages where the important text appears in a predictable layout.

What are Flow Templates?

Flow Templates are saved reading plans inside Flow TTS. A reading target is a part of the current web page, such as a paragraph block, article section, card, headline, or repeated item in a layout. When you use Flow mode, Flow TTS reads the targets from the active Flow Template instead of relying only on Auto mode.

The point is control. Many web pages contain navigation, sidebars, related links, comments, ads, and footers. Auto mode can work well for clean articles, but repeated layouts often need a more intentional reading path. Flow Templates give you a way to say, "Read this part of this kind of page."

Why custom reading paths matter

A custom reading path is useful when the page has more text than you actually want to hear. For example:

• A documentation page where you only want the main guide, not the left navigation.
• A news page where each story appears as a repeated card.
• A dashboard or report where one section changes daily.
• A long article where you want the body text but not comments or related posts.
• A research page where headings, abstracts, and key sections matter more than every surrounding element.

Listening is easier when the audio queue matches your intent. If the tool reads unrelated page chrome, you spend attention skipping, stopping, or mentally filtering noise. A saved reading path reduces that friction.

How Flow Templates work in Flow TTS

Flow TTS supports two broad ways to read page content: Auto mode and Flow mode. Auto mode reads readable page content collected from the current page. Flow mode reads the Flow Template targets you have saved for that page or site, with fallback behavior when no plan matches.

Flow Templates are managed with a visual element picker and a short setup wizard: pick targets, name the plan, then save. You select parts of the live page, review what should be included, and reuse that plan when you return to the same kind of page.

Flow TTS supports several controls for making a plan more precise:

• Read, Skip, and Repeat: mark a pick as something to hear, something to ignore, or a pattern that should match similar elements.
• Read methods: Normal, Dynamic extract (re-scan a region each run), or Read everything inside.
• Live-root pick: select a parent region and optionally scan inside it to create child targets.
• Custom selectors: edit generated selectors when you need more precision.
• Per-domain grouping: keep Flow Templates organized by website.
• URL scoping: apply a plan to a whole domain, this page only, or URLs that contain a specific substring.
• Ordering controls: move targets up or down, or read them in page order.
• Enable/disable toggles: turn an entire Flow Template or an individual target off without deleting it.
• Also apply in Auto mode: skipped items can be removed from Auto, and picked items can be added if Auto missed them.

These controls are useful because web pages are not all structured the same way. A simple article might only need one saved body section. A repeated list of items may work better with Repeat plus Dynamic extract. A site with multiple page types may need URL scoping so the right plan applies in the right context.

How do you create a custom reading path?

Start with a page where you know what you want to hear. If you are on an article, that may be the headline and body. If you are on a list page, that may be every item card. If you are on documentation, it may be the main content region without navigation.

Open Flow Templates from the side panel or the right-click menu (Open Flow Templates, or New flow for this site). Use the picker to select the relevant parts of the page beside the panel. For a one-off structure, choose the exact elements you want. For a changing region, pick a live root and choose Dynamic extract or Read everything inside. Then review the selected targets before saving.

Once the Flow Template is saved, switch the player to Flow mode when you want Flow TTS to read that custom path. If the page layout matches your saved plan, the player can read the selected targets in the order you configured.

When should you pick individual elements?

Use individual Read picks when you know the specific parts of the page you want to hear. This is best for stable pages with a small number of important sections: the title, summary, main article body, or a recurring block on a site you visit often.

Those picks can still use Repeat. If several elements share a useful selector, such as the same class or the same repeated structure, you can enable Repeat so Flow TTS reads every matching readable element instead of only the one you clicked.

When should you use a live root?

Use a live-root pick when you want to cover an article, section, or repeated content area without clicking every readable node. Pick the parent region, then choose a method:

• Normal reads that element's visible text.
• Dynamic extract re-scans readable content inside the region each time the flow runs — useful for comments, feeds, or article updates.
• Read everything inside reads all text in the selection, not just the main semantic blocks.

You can still review or adjust the generated targets before saving.

Where Flow TTS fits

Flow TTS is a text-to-speech Chrome extension for listening to web pages with local, browser-based speech synthesis for supported models. Flow Templates add a layer of control on top of that reading experience: they help you decide which page elements become the audio queue.

This is especially helpful when paired with related Flow TTS controls. The in-page player can read in Flow mode, the node scrubber can help move between readable targets when enabled, and playback settings such as voice, speed, volume, and sample rate help tune the listening session.

For broader reading workflows, see the guides on how to listen to web pages in Chrome and how to listen to long articles. If privacy is part of your evaluation, the local vs cloud text-to-speech guide and Flow TTS privacy page explain the boundary between local synthesis and network-backed account, usage, license, and model-download features.

Limits and tradeoffs

Flow Templates depend on the structure of the page. If a website redesigns its markup, changes class names, moves content into a different layout, or hides text behind interactions, a saved plan may need adjustment. Custom selectors can help, but no saved selector is guaranteed to survive every site change.

Flow mode is also browser-dependent because Flow TTS runs as a Chrome extension and uses extension APIs, content scripts, and an in-page player. Playback can depend on account setup and usage state. Free usage is subject to a daily character limit (10,000 characters per day by default), and premium status is checked through backend services.

Privacy language should be precise: Flow TTS runs speech synthesis locally for supported models, while account, license, usage, model-download, and some status features may use network services. That means Flow Templates can help control what text enters the reading queue, but they are not the same thing as a promise that every product feature is fully offline.

FAQ

Can Flow Templates read only part of a page?

Yes. Flow Templates are designed to save selected page elements so Flow mode can read those targets instead of reading everything Auto mode finds. They are useful when you want the article body, a repeated list, or a specific recurring section without surrounding page noise.

Are Flow Templates saved per website?

Flow TTS groups Flow Templates by domain. Plans can also be scoped by domain, exact path, or URL substring, which helps keep a saved reading path attached to the page types where it makes sense. You cannot add new spots while you are on a different website.

What happens if a website changes its layout?

A saved plan may need to be updated if the site's page structure changes. Flow Templates use page elements and selectors, so major layout changes can affect what gets matched. If that happens, edit the Flow Template, adjust the selector, or recreate the targets.

Are Flow Templates the same as browser bookmarks?

No. Browser bookmarks save page URLs. Flow Templates save readable parts of a page so Flow TTS can build a custom text-to-speech reading path.

Do Flow Templates make Flow TTS fully offline?

No. Flow Templates help control what gets read, but they do not make every part of Flow TTS offline. Speech synthesis runs locally for supported models, while account, license, usage, model-download, and some status features may use network services.