You should be using ComicsViewer!
So if you're anything like me, you (used to) read manga in Windows Photo Viewer a lot.
Like so.
(If you're not like me and read your manga off online scanlation viewer sites, tbh you're kind of missing out -- the graphical quality is usually much better if you download, and frankly you're supporting unethical people making money off scanlations... :|a but that's neither here nor there.)
However, there are lots of applications out there that make comic reading much more easy and pleasant -- MangaMeeya, CDisplay, Hamana, etc etc etc. Today I'd like to introduce my absolute favorite reader software, ComicsViewer.
The developer of the software is Chinese and his homepage is Chinese-language only, but the ComicsViewer software itself comes in both Chinese and English versions. (Over at the homepage, if you click the one spot where it says "English" the English version will start downloading.) If you'd like to read an explanation of the software, the site does reasonably well in Google Translate.
Basic Features
- Two-page spread lets you read manga with 2 pages on the screen at once, the way it's meant to be read.
- Zoom, slide show mode, full screen view
- You can flip and rotate pages, or rotate the whole screen (for example if you wanted to hold your laptop/netbook like a notebook while reading, read while lying down/at odd angles, etc)
- Bookmark pages to save your place
- Built-in folder view with thumbnails of each page
- Can load manga pages from inside ZIP/RAR files
- Custom keyboard shortcuts
Full screen view
Extra Cool Stuff
- Enhancer Parameters is the lifesaver for anyone who occasionally reads manga that have been badly scanned. You can adjust brightness and sharpness, auto-level, crop pages and more on the fly -- nothing permanent is done to the actual files.
--- The Bookmark function saves your Enhancer Parameters for each folder of manga you read so you won't have to set them again and again.
- In Zip Password, you can insert the passwords for any ZIPs or RARs you might be trying to read, so you can get to manga in an archive you've just downloaded without ever having to unzip it.
- Pressing the Esc key instantly sends ComicsViewer to the system tray so you can pretend you weren't goofing off reading manga. ;)
- You can set ComicsViewer to overlay an analog clock and even the current moon phase on your manga, so you can keep track of time while reading full screen. If it's in the way, you can grab it and drag it around anywhere on the screen.
- There is also a built-in alarm function (!!) so you don't forget your appointments/class time/bedtime/whatever just because your comic was too interesting!
- Keep track of manga on your computer with the Library function
- Set an image as your wallpaper directly from CV
- Use Explorer Integration to open manga in CV directly from the right-click menu in Windows Explorer
- Probably other stuff I've forgotten about because I don't usually use it, lol :)
As you can see it is absolutely packed with features! My favorites are the two page view, the Enhancer, custom keyboard shortcuts, and the fact that it can read directly from zips. It's really amazingly handy -- probably not quite as customizable as the likes of MangaMeeya, but I think it strikes the perfect balance between features and ease-of-use. Despite there being little documentation for it, I didn't have any trouble getting it set up and starting to read manga.
If you like ComicsViewer, make sure to check the author's site once in a while for version updates!
Omake: Here's a ComicsViewer dock icon I made. It's not much but hopefully it will come in handy for someone.
(The manga featured in these screenshots is the amazing Death Brigade webcomic by demitasse-lover!!)
Mirrored from Dreamwidth
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Like so.
(If you're not like me and read your manga off online scanlation viewer sites, tbh you're kind of missing out -- the graphical quality is usually much better if you download, and frankly you're supporting unethical people making money off scanlations... :|a but that's neither here nor there.)
However, there are lots of applications out there that make comic reading much more easy and pleasant -- MangaMeeya, CDisplay, Hamana, etc etc etc. Today I'd like to introduce my absolute favorite reader software, ComicsViewer.
The developer of the software is Chinese and his homepage is Chinese-language only, but the ComicsViewer software itself comes in both Chinese and English versions. (Over at the homepage, if you click the one spot where it says "English" the English version will start downloading.) If you'd like to read an explanation of the software, the site does reasonably well in Google Translate.
Basic Features
- Two-page spread lets you read manga with 2 pages on the screen at once, the way it's meant to be read.
- Zoom, slide show mode, full screen view
- You can flip and rotate pages, or rotate the whole screen (for example if you wanted to hold your laptop/netbook like a notebook while reading, read while lying down/at odd angles, etc)
- Bookmark pages to save your place
- Built-in folder view with thumbnails of each page
- Can load manga pages from inside ZIP/RAR files
- Custom keyboard shortcuts
Full screen view
Extra Cool Stuff
- Enhancer Parameters is the lifesaver for anyone who occasionally reads manga that have been badly scanned. You can adjust brightness and sharpness, auto-level, crop pages and more on the fly -- nothing permanent is done to the actual files.
--- The Bookmark function saves your Enhancer Parameters for each folder of manga you read so you won't have to set them again and again.
- In Zip Password, you can insert the passwords for any ZIPs or RARs you might be trying to read, so you can get to manga in an archive you've just downloaded without ever having to unzip it.
- Pressing the Esc key instantly sends ComicsViewer to the system tray so you can pretend you weren't goofing off reading manga. ;)
- You can set ComicsViewer to overlay an analog clock and even the current moon phase on your manga, so you can keep track of time while reading full screen. If it's in the way, you can grab it and drag it around anywhere on the screen.
- There is also a built-in alarm function (!!) so you don't forget your appointments/class time/bedtime/whatever just because your comic was too interesting!
- Keep track of manga on your computer with the Library function
- Set an image as your wallpaper directly from CV
- Use Explorer Integration to open manga in CV directly from the right-click menu in Windows Explorer
- Probably other stuff I've forgotten about because I don't usually use it, lol :)
As you can see it is absolutely packed with features! My favorites are the two page view, the Enhancer, custom keyboard shortcuts, and the fact that it can read directly from zips. It's really amazingly handy -- probably not quite as customizable as the likes of MangaMeeya, but I think it strikes the perfect balance between features and ease-of-use. Despite there being little documentation for it, I didn't have any trouble getting it set up and starting to read manga.
If you like ComicsViewer, make sure to check the author's site once in a while for version updates!
Omake: Here's a ComicsViewer dock icon I made. It's not much but hopefully it will come in handy for someone.
(The manga featured in these screenshots is the amazing Death Brigade webcomic by demitasse-lover!!)
Mirrored from Dreamwidth
comments: View | Reply | Login with OpenID