diff --git a/src/components/DocumentSettings.tsx b/src/components/DocumentSettings.tsx
index 72ac593..49d1d42 100644
--- a/src/components/DocumentSettings.tsx
+++ b/src/components/DocumentSettings.tsx
@@ -32,7 +32,8 @@ export function DocumentSettings({ isOpen, setIsOpen, epub, html }: {
     footerMargin,
     leftMargin,
     rightMargin,
-    updateConfigKey
+    updateConfigKey,
+    pdfHighlightEnabled,
   } = useConfig();
   const { createFullAudioBook: createEPUBAudioBook, regenerateChapter: regenerateEPUBChapter } = useEPUB();
   const { createFullAudioBook: createPDFAudioBook, regenerateChapter: regeneratePDFChapter } = usePDF();
@@ -327,6 +328,22 @@ export function DocumentSettings({ isOpen, setIsOpen, epub, html }: {
                         </p>
                       </div>
                     )}
+                    {!epub && !html && (
+                      <div className="space-y-1">
+                        <label className="flex items-center space-x-2">
+                          <input
+                            type="checkbox"
+                            checked={pdfHighlightEnabled}
+                            onChange={(e) => updateConfigKey('pdfHighlightEnabled', e.target.checked)}
+                            className="form-checkbox h-4 w-4 text-accent rounded border-muted"
+                          />
+                          <span className="text-sm font-medium text-foreground">Highlight text during playback</span>
+                        </label>
+                        <p className="text-sm text-muted pl-6">
+                          Show visual highlighting in the PDF viewer while TTS is reading.
+                        </p>
+                      </div>
+                    )}
                     {epub && (
                       <div className="space-y-1">
                         <label className="flex items-center space-x-2">
diff --git a/src/components/PDFViewer.tsx b/src/components/PDFViewer.tsx
index d8f9d66..c95a6de 100644
--- a/src/components/PDFViewer.tsx
+++ b/src/components/PDFViewer.tsx
@@ -25,13 +25,11 @@ export function PDFViewer({ zoomLevel }: PDFViewerProps) {
   const { containerWidth } = usePDFResize(containerRef);
 
   // Config context
-  const { viewType } = useConfig();
+  const { viewType, pdfHighlightEnabled } = useConfig();
 
   // TTS context
   const {
     currentSentence,
-    stopAndPlayFromIndex,
-    isProcessing,
     skipToLocation,
   } = useTTS();
 
@@ -39,7 +37,6 @@ export function PDFViewer({ zoomLevel }: PDFViewerProps) {
   const {
     highlightPattern,
     clearHighlights,
-    handleTextClick,
     onDocumentLoadSuccess,
     currDocData,
     currDocPages,
@@ -47,51 +44,6 @@ export function PDFViewer({ zoomLevel }: PDFViewerProps) {
     currDocPage,
   } = usePDF();
 
-  // Add static styles once during component mount
-  useEffect(() => {
-    const styleElement = document.createElement('style');
-    styleElement.textContent = `
-      .react-pdf__Page__textContent span {
-        cursor: pointer;
-        transition: background-color 0.2s ease;
-      }
-      .react-pdf__Page__textContent span:hover {
-        background-color: rgba(255, 255, 0, 0.2) !important;
-      }
-    `;
-    document.head.appendChild(styleElement);
-    return () => {
-      styleElement.remove();
-    };
-  }, []);
-
-  useEffect(() => {
-    /*
-     * Sets up click event listeners for text selection in the PDF.
-     * Cleans up by removing the event listener when component unmounts.
-     * 
-     * Dependencies:
-     * - pdfText: Re-run when the extracted text content changes
-     * - handleTextClick: Function from context that could change
-     * - stopAndPlayFromIndex: Function from context that could change
-     */
-    const container = containerRef.current;
-    if (!container) return;
-    if (!currDocText) return;
-
-    const handleClick = (event: MouseEvent) => handleTextClick(
-      event,
-      currDocText,
-      containerRef as RefObject<HTMLDivElement>,
-      stopAndPlayFromIndex,
-      isProcessing
-    );
-    container.addEventListener('click', handleClick);
-    return () => {
-      container.removeEventListener('click', handleClick);
-    };
-  }, [currDocText, handleTextClick, stopAndPlayFromIndex, isProcessing]);
-
   useEffect(() => {
     /*
      * Handles highlighting the current sentence being read by TTS.
@@ -103,7 +55,11 @@ export function PDFViewer({ zoomLevel }: PDFViewerProps) {
      * - highlightPattern: Function from context that could change
      * - clearHighlights: Function from context that could change
      */
-    if (!currDocText) return;
+
+    if (!currDocText || !pdfHighlightEnabled) {
+      clearHighlights();
+      return;
+    }
 
     const highlightTimeout = setTimeout(() => {
       if (containerRef.current) {
@@ -115,7 +71,7 @@ export function PDFViewer({ zoomLevel }: PDFViewerProps) {
       clearTimeout(highlightTimeout);
       clearHighlights();
     };
-  }, [currDocText, currentSentence, highlightPattern, clearHighlights]);
+  }, [currDocText, currentSentence, highlightPattern, clearHighlights, pdfHighlightEnabled]);
 
   // Add page dimensions state
   const [pageWidth, setPageWidth] = useState<number>(595); // default A4 width
diff --git a/src/contexts/ConfigContext.tsx b/src/contexts/ConfigContext.tsx
index 8b6f3c3..cb427c6 100644
--- a/src/contexts/ConfigContext.tsx
+++ b/src/contexts/ConfigContext.tsx
@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ type ConfigValues = {
   ttsInstructions: string;
   savedVoices: SavedVoices;
   smartSentenceSplitting: boolean;
+  pdfHighlightEnabled: boolean;
 };
 
 /** Interface defining the configuration context shape and functionality */
@@ -55,6 +56,7 @@ interface ConfigContextType {
   updateConfigKey: <K extends keyof ConfigValues>(key: K, value: ConfigValues[K]) => Promise<void>;
   isLoading: boolean;
   isDBReady: boolean;
+  pdfHighlightEnabled: boolean;
 }
 
 const ConfigContext = createContext<ConfigContextType | undefined>(undefined);
@@ -76,14 +78,15 @@ export function ConfigProvider({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) {
   const [skipBlank, setSkipBlank] = useState<boolean>(true);
   const [epubTheme, setEpubTheme] = useState<boolean>(false);
   const [smartSentenceSplitting, setSmartSentenceSplitting] = useState<boolean>(true);
-  const [headerMargin, setHeaderMargin] = useState<number>(0.07);
-  const [footerMargin, setFooterMargin] = useState<number>(0.07);
-  const [leftMargin, setLeftMargin] = useState<number>(0.07);
-  const [rightMargin, setRightMargin] = useState<number>(0.07);
+  const [headerMargin, setHeaderMargin] = useState<number>(0.0);
+  const [footerMargin, setFooterMargin] = useState<number>(0.0);
+  const [leftMargin, setLeftMargin] = useState<number>(0.0);
+  const [rightMargin, setRightMargin] = useState<number>(0.0);
   const [ttsProvider, setTTSProvider] = useState<string>('custom-openai');
   const [ttsModel, setTTSModel] = useState<string>('kokoro');
   const [ttsInstructions, setTTSInstructions] = useState<string>('');
   const [savedVoices, setSavedVoices] = useState<SavedVoices>({});
+  const [pdfHighlightEnabled, setPdfHighlightEnabled] = useState<boolean>(true);
 
   const [isLoading, setIsLoading] = useState(true);
   const [isDBReady, setIsDBReady] = useState(false);
@@ -115,6 +118,7 @@ export function ConfigProvider({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) {
         const cachedTTSModel = await getItem('ttsModel');
         const cachedTTSInstructions = await getItem('ttsInstructions');
         const cachedSavedVoices = await getItem('savedVoices');
+        const cachedPdfHighlightEnabled = await getItem('pdfHighlightEnabled');
 
         // Migration logic: infer provider and baseUrl for returning users
         let inferredProvider = cachedTTSProvider || '';
@@ -200,6 +204,7 @@ export function ConfigProvider({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) {
         const finalModel = cachedTTSModel || (inferredProvider === 'openai' ? 'tts-1' : inferredProvider === 'deepinfra' ? 'hexgrad/Kokoro-82M' : 'kokoro');
         setTTSModel(finalModel);
         setTTSInstructions(cachedTTSInstructions || '');
+        setPdfHighlightEnabled(cachedPdfHighlightEnabled === 'false' ? false : true);
 
         // Restore voice for current provider-model if available in savedVoices
         const voiceKey = getVoiceKey(inferredProvider || 'custom-openai', finalModel);
@@ -219,8 +224,8 @@ export function ConfigProvider({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) {
         if (cachedSmartSentenceSplitting === null) {
           await setItem('smartSentenceSplitting', 'true');
         }
-        if (cachedHeaderMargin === null) await setItem('headerMargin', '0.07');
-        if (cachedFooterMargin === null) await setItem('footerMargin', '0.07');
+        if (cachedHeaderMargin === null) await setItem('headerMargin', '0.0');
+        if (cachedFooterMargin === null) await setItem('footerMargin', '0.0');
         if (cachedLeftMargin === null) await setItem('leftMargin', '0.0');
         if (cachedRightMargin === null) await setItem('rightMargin', '0.0');
         if (cachedTTSProvider === null && inferredProvider) {
@@ -247,6 +252,10 @@ export function ConfigProvider({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) {
         // Always ensure voice is not stored standalone - only in savedVoices
         await removeItem('voice');
         
+        if (cachedPdfHighlightEnabled === null) {
+          await setItem('pdfHighlightEnabled', 'true');
+        }
+        
       } catch (error) {
         console.error('Error initializing:', error);
       } finally {
@@ -379,6 +388,9 @@ export function ConfigProvider({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) {
           case 'ttsInstructions':
             setTTSInstructions(value as string);
             break;
+          case 'pdfHighlightEnabled':
+            setPdfHighlightEnabled(value as boolean);
+            break;
         }
       }
     } catch (error) {
@@ -411,7 +423,8 @@ export function ConfigProvider({ children }: { children: ReactNode }) {
       updateConfig,
       updateConfigKey,
       isLoading,
-      isDBReady
+      isDBReady,
+      pdfHighlightEnabled
     }}>
       {children}
     </ConfigContext.Provider>
diff --git a/src/contexts/PDFContext.tsx b/src/contexts/PDFContext.tsx
index b54bd43..6a53b8f 100644
--- a/src/contexts/PDFContext.tsx
+++ b/src/contexts/PDFContext.tsx
@@ -62,7 +62,8 @@ interface PDFContextType {
     pdfText: string,
     containerRef: RefObject<HTMLDivElement>,
     stopAndPlayFromIndex: (index: number) => void,
-    isProcessing: boolean
+    isProcessing: boolean,
+    enableHighlight?: boolean
   ) => void;
   createFullAudioBook: (onProgress: (progress: number) => void, signal?: AbortSignal, onChapterComplete?: (chapter: { index: number; title: string; duration?: number; status: 'pending' | 'generating' | 'completed' | 'error'; bookId?: string; format?: 'mp3' | 'm4b' }) => void, bookId?: string, format?: 'mp3' | 'm4b') => Promise<string>;
   regenerateChapter: (chapterIndex: number, bookId: string, format: 'mp3' | 'm4b', onProgress: (progress: number) => void, signal: AbortSignal) => Promise<{ index: number; title: string; duration?: number; status: 'pending' | 'generating' | 'completed' | 'error'; bookId?: string; format?: 'mp3' | 'm4b' }>;
diff --git a/src/utils/nlp.ts b/src/utils/nlp.ts
index 3727820..13f0167 100644
--- a/src/utils/nlp.ts
+++ b/src/utils/nlp.ts
@@ -7,7 +7,7 @@
 
 import nlp from 'compromise';
 
-const MAX_BLOCK_LENGTH = 300;
+const MAX_BLOCK_LENGTH = 450;
 
 /**
  * Preprocesses text for audio generation by cleaning up various text artifacts
@@ -79,13 +79,8 @@ export const processTextToSentences = (text: string): string[] => {
     return [];
   }
 
-  if (text.length <= MAX_BLOCK_LENGTH) {
-    // Single sentence preprocessing
-    const cleanedText = preprocessSentenceForAudio(text);
-    return [cleanedText];
-  }
-
-  // Full text splitting into sentences
+  // Always use the full splitting logic so we consistently respect
+  // sentence boundaries and quoted dialogue, even for shorter texts.
   return splitIntoSentences(text);
 };
 
@@ -160,20 +155,18 @@ const countDoubleQuotes = (s: string): number => {
   return matches ? matches.length : 0;
 };
 
-const countCurlySingleQuotes = (s: string): number => {
-  const matches = s.match(/[‘’]/g);
-  return matches ? matches.length : 0;
-};
-
-const countStandaloneStraightSingles = (s: string): number => {
+// Replace the old curly single-quote counter and standalone-straight counter with a unified, context-aware counter
+const countNonApostropheSingleQuotes = (s: string): number => {
   let count = 0;
   for (let i = 0; i < s.length; i++) {
-    if (s[i] === "'") {
+    const ch = s[i];
+    if (ch === "'" || ch === '‘' || ch === '’') {
       const prev = i > 0 ? s[i - 1] : '';
       const next = i + 1 < s.length ? s[i + 1] : '';
       const isPrevAlphaNum = /[A-Za-z0-9]/.test(prev);
       const isNextAlphaNum = /[A-Za-z0-9]/.test(next);
-      // Count only when not clearly an apostrophe inside a word (e.g., don't)
+      // Treat as a real quote mark only when it's not clearly an apostrophe
+      // between two alphanumeric characters (e.g., don't, WizardLM’s).
       if (!(isPrevAlphaNum && isNextAlphaNum)) {
         count++;
       }
@@ -191,7 +184,10 @@ const mergeQuotedDialogue = (rawSentences: string[]): string[] => {
   for (const s of rawSentences) {
     const t = s.trim();
     const dblCount = countDoubleQuotes(t);
-    const singleCount = countCurlySingleQuotes(t) + countStandaloneStraightSingles(t);
+    // Use the new context-aware single-quote counter so curly apostrophes
+    // inside words don't incorrectly toggle quote state and merge large
+    // regions of plain prose into one block.
+    const singleCount = countNonApostropheSingleQuotes(t);
 
     if (insideDouble || insideSingle) {
       buffer = buffer ? `${buffer} ${t}` : t;
diff --git a/src/utils/pdf.ts b/src/utils/pdf.ts
index 9f717ae..3ae3a88 100644
--- a/src/utils/pdf.ts
+++ b/src/utils/pdf.ts
@@ -5,7 +5,76 @@ import "core-js/proposals/promise-with-resolvers";
 import { processTextToSentences } from '@/utils/nlp';
 import { CmpStr } from 'cmpstr';
 
-const cmp = CmpStr.create().setMetric( 'levenshtein' ).setFlags( 'i' );
+const cmp = CmpStr.create().setMetric( 'dice' ).setFlags( 'itw' );
+
+// Worker coordination for offloading highlight token matching
+interface HighlightTokenMatchRequest {
+  id: string;
+  type: 'tokenMatch';
+  pattern: string;
+  tokenTexts: string[];
+}
+
+interface HighlightTokenMatchResponse {
+  id: string;
+  type: 'tokenMatchResult';
+  bestStart: number;
+  bestEnd: number;
+  rating: number;
+  lengthDiff: number;
+}
+
+let highlightWorker: Worker | null = null;
+
+function getHighlightWorker(): Worker | null {
+  if (typeof window === 'undefined') return null;
+  if (highlightWorker) return highlightWorker;
+
+  try {
+    highlightWorker = new Worker(
+      new URL('pdfHighlightWorker.ts', import.meta.url),
+      { type: 'module' }
+    );
+    return highlightWorker;
+  } catch (e) {
+    console.error('Failed to initialize PDF highlight worker:', e);
+    highlightWorker = null;
+    return null;
+  }
+}
+
+function runHighlightTokenMatch(
+  pattern: string,
+  tokenTexts: string[]
+): Promise<HighlightTokenMatchResponse | null> {
+  const worker = getHighlightWorker();
+  if (!worker) {
+    return Promise.resolve(null);
+  }
+
+  const id = `${Date.now()}-${Math.random().toString(36).slice(2)}`;
+
+  return new Promise((resolve) => {
+    const handleMessage = (event: MessageEvent) => {
+      const data = event.data as HighlightTokenMatchResponse;
+      if (!data || data.id !== id || data.type !== 'tokenMatchResult') {
+        return;
+      }
+      worker.removeEventListener('message', handleMessage as EventListener);
+      resolve(data);
+    };
+
+    worker.addEventListener('message', handleMessage as EventListener);
+
+    const message: HighlightTokenMatchRequest = {
+      id,
+      type: 'tokenMatch',
+      pattern,
+      tokenTexts,
+    };
+    worker.postMessage(message);
+  });
+}
 
 // Function to detect if we need to use legacy build
 function shouldUseLegacyBuild() {
@@ -202,6 +271,14 @@ export function clearHighlights() {
     element.style.backgroundColor = '';
     element.style.opacity = '1';
   });
+
+  const overlays = document.querySelectorAll('.pdf-text-highlight-overlay');
+  overlays.forEach((node) => {
+    const element = node as HTMLElement;
+    if (element.parentElement) {
+      element.parentElement.removeChild(element);
+    }
+  });
 }
 
 export function findBestTextMatch(
@@ -256,55 +333,268 @@ export function highlightPattern(
   clearHighlights();
 
   if (!pattern?.trim()) return;
-
-  const cleanPattern = pattern.trim().replace(/\s+/g, ' ');
   const container = containerRef.current;
   if (!container) return;
 
-  const textNodes = container.querySelectorAll('.react-pdf__Page__textContent span');
-  const allText = Array.from(textNodes).map((node) => ({
-    element: node as HTMLElement,
-    text: (node.textContent || '').trim(),
-  })).filter((node) => node.text.length > 0);
+  const cleanPattern = pattern.trim().replace(/\s+/g, ' ');
+  if (!cleanPattern) return;
 
-  const containerRect = container.getBoundingClientRect();
-  const visibleTop = container.scrollTop;
-  const visibleBottom = visibleTop + containerRect.height;
-  const bufferSize = containerRect.height;
+  const spanNodes = Array.from(
+    container.querySelectorAll('.react-pdf__Page__textContent span')
+  ) as HTMLElement[];
 
-  const visibleNodes = allText.filter(({ element }) => {
-    const rect = element.getBoundingClientRect();
-    const elementTop = rect.top - containerRect.top + container.scrollTop;
-    return elementTop >= (visibleTop - bufferSize) && elementTop <= (visibleBottom + bufferSize);
+  if (!spanNodes.length) return;
+
+  type Token = {
+    spanIndex: number;
+    textNode: Text;
+    text: string;
+    startOffset: number;
+    endOffset: number;
+  };
+
+  const tokens: Token[] = [];
+
+  spanNodes.forEach((span, spanIndex) => {
+    const node = span.firstChild;
+    if (!node || node.nodeType !== Node.TEXT_NODE) return;
+
+    const textNode = node as Text;
+    const textContent = textNode.textContent || '';
+    const wordRegex = /\S+/g;
+    let match: RegExpExecArray | null;
+
+    while ((match = wordRegex.exec(textContent)) !== null) {
+      const word = match[0];
+      tokens.push({
+        spanIndex,
+        textNode,
+        text: word,
+        startOffset: match.index,
+        endOffset: match.index + word.length,
+      });
+    }
   });
 
-  let bestMatch = findBestTextMatch(visibleNodes, cleanPattern, cleanPattern.length * 2);
+  if (!tokens.length) return;
 
-  if (bestMatch.rating < 0.3) {
-    bestMatch = findBestTextMatch(allText, cleanPattern, cleanPattern.length * 2);
-  }
+  const patternLen = cleanPattern.length;
 
-  const similarityThreshold = bestMatch.lengthDiff < cleanPattern.length * 0.3 ? 0.3 : 0.5;
+  // Core application of highlight logic once we know the best token window (if any)
+  const applyHighlightFromTokens = (
+    tokenMatch:
+      | {
+          bestStart: number;
+          bestEnd: number;
+          rating: number;
+          lengthDiff: number;
+        }
+      | null
+  ) => {
+    const highlightRanges: Array<{
+      textNode: Text;
+      startOffset: number;
+      endOffset: number;
+      span: HTMLElement;
+    }> = [];
 
-  if (bestMatch.rating >= similarityThreshold) {
-    bestMatch.elements.forEach((element) => {
-      element.style.backgroundColor = 'grey';
-      element.style.opacity = '0.4';
-    });
+    let bestStart = -1;
+    let bestEnd = -1;
+    let bestRating = 0;
+    let bestLengthDiff = Infinity;
 
-    if (bestMatch.elements.length > 0) {
-      const element = bestMatch.elements[0];
-      const elementRect = element.getBoundingClientRect();
-      const elementTop = elementRect.top - containerRect.top + container.scrollTop;
+    if (tokenMatch) {
+      bestStart = tokenMatch.bestStart;
+      bestEnd = tokenMatch.bestEnd;
+      bestRating = tokenMatch.rating;
+      bestLengthDiff = tokenMatch.lengthDiff;
+    }
 
-      if (elementTop < visibleTop || elementTop > visibleBottom) {
-        container.scrollTo({
-          top: elementTop - containerRect.height / 3,
-          behavior: 'smooth',
+    const hasTokenMatch = bestStart !== -1;
+    const similarityThreshold =
+      bestLengthDiff < patternLen * 0.3 ? 0.3 : 0.5;
+
+    if (hasTokenMatch && bestRating >= similarityThreshold) {
+      const rangesBySpan = new Map<
+        number,
+        { startOffset: number; endOffset: number }
+      >();
+
+      for (let i = bestStart; i <= bestEnd; i++) {
+        const token = tokens[i];
+        const existing = rangesBySpan.get(token.spanIndex);
+        if (!existing) {
+          rangesBySpan.set(token.spanIndex, {
+            startOffset: token.startOffset,
+            endOffset: token.endOffset,
+          });
+        } else {
+          existing.startOffset = Math.min(
+            existing.startOffset,
+            token.startOffset
+          );
+          existing.endOffset = Math.max(
+            existing.endOffset,
+            token.endOffset
+          );
+        }
+      }
+
+      rangesBySpan.forEach(({ startOffset, endOffset }, spanIndex) => {
+        const span = spanNodes[spanIndex];
+        const node = span.firstChild;
+        if (!node || node.nodeType !== Node.TEXT_NODE) return;
+
+        highlightRanges.push({
+          textNode: node as Text,
+          startOffset,
+          endOffset,
+          span,
+        });
+      });
+    }
+
+    // Fallback: if token-level matching failed, use span-based fuzzy matching
+    if (!highlightRanges.length) {
+      const spanEntries = spanNodes
+        .map((node) => ({
+          element: node as HTMLElement,
+          text: (node.textContent || '').trim(),
+        }))
+        .filter((entry) => entry.text.length > 0);
+
+      const containerRect = container.getBoundingClientRect();
+      const visibleTop = container.scrollTop;
+      const visibleBottom = visibleTop + containerRect.height;
+      const bufferSize = containerRect.height;
+
+      const visibleNodes = spanEntries.filter(({ element }) => {
+        const rect = element.getBoundingClientRect();
+        const elementTop =
+          rect.top - containerRect.top + container.scrollTop;
+        return (
+          elementTop >= visibleTop - bufferSize &&
+          elementTop <= visibleBottom + bufferSize
+        );
+      });
+
+      let bestMatch = findBestTextMatch(
+        visibleNodes,
+        cleanPattern,
+        cleanPattern.length * 2
+      );
+
+      if (bestMatch.rating < 0.3) {
+        bestMatch = findBestTextMatch(
+          spanEntries,
+          cleanPattern,
+          cleanPattern.length * 2
+        );
+      }
+
+      const spanSimilarityThreshold =
+        bestMatch.lengthDiff < cleanPattern.length * 0.3 ? 0.3 : 0.5;
+
+      if (bestMatch.rating >= spanSimilarityThreshold) {
+        bestMatch.elements.forEach((element) => {
+          const node = element.firstChild;
+          if (!node || node.nodeType !== Node.TEXT_NODE) return;
+          const textNode = node as Text;
+          const content = textNode.textContent || '';
+          if (!content) return;
+
+          highlightRanges.push({
+            textNode,
+            startOffset: 0,
+            endOffset: content.length,
+            span: element,
+          });
         });
       }
     }
-  }
+
+    if (!highlightRanges.length) return;
+
+    // Create overlay rectangles for each range, relative to its page text layer
+    const scrollIntoViewRects: DOMRect[] = [];
+
+    highlightRanges.forEach(({ textNode, startOffset, endOffset, span }) => {
+      try {
+        const range = document.createRange();
+        range.setStart(textNode, startOffset);
+        range.setEnd(textNode, endOffset);
+
+        const pageLayer = span.closest(
+          '.react-pdf__Page__textContent'
+        ) as HTMLElement | null;
+        if (!pageLayer) return;
+
+        const pageRect = pageLayer.getBoundingClientRect();
+        const rects = Array.from(range.getClientRects());
+
+        rects.forEach((rect) => {
+          const highlight = document.createElement('div');
+          highlight.className = 'pdf-text-highlight-overlay';
+          highlight.style.position = 'absolute';
+          highlight.style.backgroundColor = 'grey';
+          highlight.style.opacity = '0.4';
+          highlight.style.pointerEvents = 'none';
+          highlight.style.left = `${rect.left - pageRect.left}px`;
+          highlight.style.top = `${rect.top - pageRect.top}px`;
+          highlight.style.width = `${rect.width}px`;
+          highlight.style.height = `${rect.height}px`;
+          pageLayer.appendChild(highlight);
+
+          scrollIntoViewRects.push(rect);
+        });
+      } catch {
+        // If range creation fails for any reason, skip this segment
+      }
+    });
+
+    if (!scrollIntoViewRects.length) return;
+
+    // Scroll the first highlighted rect into view if needed
+    const containerRect = container.getBoundingClientRect();
+    const visibleTop = container.scrollTop;
+    const visibleBottom = visibleTop + containerRect.height;
+
+    const firstRect = scrollIntoViewRects[0];
+    const elementTop =
+      firstRect.top - containerRect.top + container.scrollTop;
+
+    if (elementTop < visibleTop || elementTop > visibleBottom) {
+      container.scrollTo({
+        top: elementTop - containerRect.height / 3,
+        behavior: 'smooth',
+      });
+    }
+  };
+
+  const tokenTexts = tokens.map((t) => t.text);
+
+  // Fire-and-forget async worker call; UI thread returns immediately
+  runHighlightTokenMatch(cleanPattern, tokenTexts)
+    .then((result) => {
+      if (!result || result.bestStart === -1) {
+        // No worker result or no good match; rely on span-level fallback
+        applyHighlightFromTokens(null);
+      } else {
+        applyHighlightFromTokens({
+          bestStart: result.bestStart,
+          bestEnd: result.bestEnd,
+          rating: result.rating,
+          lengthDiff: result.lengthDiff,
+        });
+      }
+    })
+    .catch((error) => {
+      console.error(
+        'Error in PDF highlight worker, falling back to span-based matching:',
+        error
+      );
+      applyHighlightFromTokens(null);
+    });
 }
 
 // Text Click Handler
@@ -313,7 +603,8 @@ export function handleTextClick(
   pdfText: string,
   containerRef: React.RefObject<HTMLDivElement>,
   stopAndPlayFromIndex: (index: number) => void,
-  isProcessing: boolean
+  isProcessing: boolean,
+  enableHighlight = true
 ) {
   if (isProcessing) return;
 
@@ -337,6 +628,26 @@ export function handleTextClick(
   if (!contextText?.trim()) return;
 
   const cleanContext = contextText.trim().replace(/\s+/g, ' ');
+
+  // Fast path when highlight overlays are disabled:
+  // avoid expensive span-level fuzzy matching and just map
+  // the clicked context to a sentence using cheap string checks.
+  if (!enableHighlight) {
+    const sentences = processTextToSentences(pdfText);
+    const idx = sentences.findIndex((sentence) => {
+      const cleanSentence = sentence.trim().replace(/\s+/g, ' ');
+      return (
+        cleanSentence.includes(cleanContext) ||
+        cleanContext.includes(cleanSentence)
+      );
+    });
+
+    if (idx !== -1) {
+      stopAndPlayFromIndex(idx);
+    }
+    return;
+  }
+
   const allText = Array.from(parentElement.querySelectorAll('span')).map((node) => ({
     element: node as HTMLElement,
     text: (node.textContent || '').trim(),
@@ -363,7 +674,9 @@ export function handleTextClick(
       const sentenceIndex = sentences.findIndex((sentence) => sentence === bestSentenceMatch.sentence);
       if (sentenceIndex !== -1) {
         stopAndPlayFromIndex(sentenceIndex);
-        highlightPattern(pdfText, bestSentenceMatch.sentence, containerRef);
+        if (enableHighlight) {
+          highlightPattern(pdfText, bestSentenceMatch.sentence, containerRef);
+        }
       }
     }
   }
diff --git a/src/utils/pdfHighlightWorker.ts b/src/utils/pdfHighlightWorker.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ac00223
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/utils/pdfHighlightWorker.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,135 @@
+/// <reference lib="webworker" />
+
+import { CmpStr } from 'cmpstr';
+
+const cmp = CmpStr.create().setMetric('dice').setFlags('itw');
+
+interface TokenMatchRequest {
+  id: string;
+  type: 'tokenMatch';
+  pattern: string;
+  tokenTexts: string[];
+}
+
+interface TokenMatchResponse {
+  id: string;
+  type: 'tokenMatchResult';
+  bestStart: number;
+  bestEnd: number;
+  rating: number;
+  lengthDiff: number;
+}
+
+self.onmessage = (event: MessageEvent<TokenMatchRequest>) => {
+  const data = event.data;
+  if (!data || data.type !== 'tokenMatch') return;
+
+  const { id, pattern, tokenTexts } = data;
+
+  const cleanPattern = pattern.trim().replace(/\s+/g, ' ');
+  const patternLen = cleanPattern.length;
+
+  const responseBase: TokenMatchResponse = {
+    id,
+    type: 'tokenMatchResult',
+    bestStart: -1,
+    bestEnd: -1,
+    rating: 0,
+    lengthDiff: Number.POSITIVE_INFINITY,
+  };
+
+  if (!patternLen || !tokenTexts.length) {
+    (self as unknown as DedicatedWorkerGlobalScope).postMessage(responseBase);
+    return;
+  }
+
+  const patternTokens = cleanPattern.split(' ').filter(Boolean);
+  const patternTokenCount = patternTokens.length || 1;
+
+  const minWindowTokens = Math.max(1, Math.floor(patternTokenCount * 0.6));
+  const maxWindowTokens = Math.max(
+    minWindowTokens,
+    Math.ceil(patternTokenCount * 1.4)
+  );
+
+  let bestStart = -1;
+  let bestEnd = -1;
+  let bestRating = 0;
+  let bestLengthDiff = Number.POSITIVE_INFINITY;
+
+  for (let start = 0; start < tokenTexts.length; start++) {
+    let combined = '';
+
+    for (
+      let offset = 0;
+      offset < maxWindowTokens && start + offset < tokenTexts.length;
+      offset++
+    ) {
+      const token = tokenTexts[start + offset];
+      combined = combined ? `${combined} ${token}` : token;
+
+      const windowSize = offset + 1;
+      if (windowSize < minWindowTokens) continue;
+      if (combined.length > patternLen * 2) break;
+
+      const similarity = cmp.compare(combined, cleanPattern);
+      const lengthDiff = Math.abs(combined.length - patternLen);
+      const lengthPenalty = lengthDiff / patternLen;
+      const adjustedRating = similarity * (1 - lengthPenalty * 0.3);
+
+      // Prefix-alignment boost:
+      // Favour windows whose first few tokens closely match the beginning
+      // of the pattern, so we are less likely to cut off the first 1–2 words.
+      let boostedRating = adjustedRating;
+      if (patternTokens.length > 0) {
+        const windowTokens = tokenTexts.slice(start, start + windowSize);
+        const maxPrefixCheck = Math.min(
+          windowTokens.length,
+          patternTokens.length,
+          5
+        );
+
+        let prefixMatches = 0;
+        for (let i = 0; i < maxPrefixCheck; i++) {
+          const tokenText = windowTokens[i];
+          const patternToken = patternTokens[i];
+          // Require reasonably strong similarity for a prefix match
+          const tokenSim = cmp.compare(tokenText, patternToken);
+          if (tokenSim >= 0.8) {
+            prefixMatches++;
+          } else {
+            // Stop at the first non-matching leading token
+            break;
+          }
+        }
+
+        if (prefixMatches > 0) {
+          const prefixRatio = prefixMatches / maxPrefixCheck;
+          const PREFIX_BOOST_FACTOR = 0.25; // up to +25% boost
+          boostedRating = adjustedRating * (1 + prefixRatio * PREFIX_BOOST_FACTOR);
+        }
+      }
+
+      if (
+        boostedRating > bestRating ||
+        (Math.abs(boostedRating - bestRating) < 1e-3 &&
+          lengthDiff < bestLengthDiff)
+      ) {
+        bestRating = boostedRating;
+        bestLengthDiff = lengthDiff;
+        bestStart = start;
+        bestEnd = start + offset;
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  const response: TokenMatchResponse = {
+    ...responseBase,
+    bestStart,
+    bestEnd,
+    rating: bestRating,
+    lengthDiff: bestLengthDiff,
+  };
+
+  (self as unknown as DedicatedWorkerGlobalScope).postMessage(response);
+};
\ No newline at end of file