Good Read Loader & Metadata Engine — Developer & Usage Guide

The Story Loader is a dynamic content delivery system designed to load, interpret and display stories, books, articles and written works directly from plain text files.

Unlike traditional document readers, the Story Loader supports embedded metadata instructions that can automatically control language settings, narration options, content notices, AI disclosures and custom actions when a work is selected.

Overview

The system consists of three major components:

• Story Search Engine — Allows users to search works by title, subject, author or tags.
• Story Loader — Loads and displays content dynamically without page refreshes.
• Metadata Engine — Reads instructions embedded directly inside story files.

This allows each story to carry its own configuration and behaviour without requiring database fields or application-level programming.

How Users Access Content

Users may access works in several ways:

• Search by title
• Search by subject
• Search by author
• Search by tags
• Direct URL loading
• Selection from search results

The system automatically loads the selected work into the reading area.

URL Based Loading

The Story Loader supports direct linking to individual works.

Example:

https://notepad.mydigitalbook.com/?story=A_New_Earth

When the page loads, the system checks for a story parameter in the URL.

If a matching title exists within the story index, the work is automatically loaded.

This allows:

• Bookmarkable stories
• Direct sharing of works
• External linking
• Search engine indexing
• Collection pages and recommendations

Story File Format

Stories are stored as plain text documents.

Metadata instructions appear at the top of the file using hash-prefixed directives.

Example:

#AI:true
#CHILDREN:true
#LANG:en-AU

Once upon a time...

Any line beginning with # is treated as an instruction.

All remaining lines become story content.

Supported Metadata Instructions

Language Handling

The Story Loader can automatically detect language directives contained within the story file.

Example:

#LANG:en-AU

When loaded, the language setting is passed to the application's language handler.

This enables:

• Text-to-speech configuration
• Language-specific processing
• International content support
• Accessibility enhancements

Speech Configuration

Stories may define preferred narration settings.

Example:

#VOICE:David
#RATE:1
#PITCH:1
#VOLUME:1

When narration systems are available, these settings can be applied automatically.

Content Classification

The Story Loader supports embedded content notices.

Adult Content

#ADULTS:true

Displays a prominent warning before the story content.

Children's Content

#CHILDREN:true

Displays a general audience notice.

AI Assisted Content

#AI:true

Displays an AI-assisted content notice before the story text.

Automatic Character Separation

The Story Loader includes support for East Asian languages.

When a language begins with:

• zh
• ja
• ko

The system automatically applies character separation to improve readability and processing.

This behaviour is automatic and requires no additional configuration.

Custom Actions

Stories may define actions that occur immediately after loading.

Example:

#ONSELECT:play();

This allows content creators to trigger supported functions when a work is selected.

Typical uses include:

• Start narration automatically
• Open companion content
• Launch interactive story functions
• Trigger custom reader actions

Story Search Engine

The integrated search engine provides real-time filtering as the user types.

Searches are performed against:

• Title
• Subject
• Author
• Tags

Results are updated instantly without reloading the page.

Story Index System

The Story Loader retrieves available works from a central index.

The index contains metadata describing available stories, including:

• Title
• Author
• Subject
• Tags
• File location

This architecture separates content discovery from content delivery while maintaining a lightweight implementation.

Developer Benefits

• No database required for story content
• Works with plain text files
• Metadata stored directly inside stories
• Supports deep linking through URLs
• Compatible with narration systems
• Easy content creation workflow
• Supports AI disclosure labels
• Supports audience classification
• Real-time search capability
• International language support

Example Story

#AI:true
#CHILDREN:true
#LANG:en-AU
#VOICE:David
#RATE:1
#PITCH:1
#VOLUME:1
#ONSELECT:play();

Once upon a time there was a small dragon
who dreamed of exploring the world...

When selected, the Story Loader automatically:

1. Loads the story file.
2. Processes metadata instructions.
3. Displays audience notices.
4. Configures language preferences.
5. Applies narration settings.
6. Displays the story content.
7. Executes supported on-load actions.

Summary

The Story Loader combines content discovery, metadata interpretation and dynamic document delivery into a single lightweight system. By embedding instructions directly within story files, authors can control behaviour, accessibility settings, content classification and reader interaction without requiring additional programming.

The result is a flexible platform capable of supporting books, stories, articles, educational material and AI-assisted content while remaining simple enough to operate entirely from plain text documents.