Formats
What Lijn reads, where the details come from, and what it cannot open.
Comics
- CBZ
- A ZIP archive of page images. The pages come in file-name order. The first image is the cover. Details come from the ComicInfo.xml file inside the archive, when there is one.
- CBR
- A RAR archive of page images. Same as CBZ. An archive with a password does not open; Lijn tells you why.
- CBT
- A TAR archive of page images. Same as CBZ, including ComicInfo.xml and the cover.
- Pages are shown as images. The cover is the first page, or the thumbnail stored in the file. Details come from the document properties: title, author, keywords. A PDF with text can also open in the book reader, as flowing text. A scanned PDF is read with text recognition first.
- DjVu
- Scanned albums in .djvu or .djv open as page images. Single-page and bundled multi-page files open. An indirect document, one file for each page, does not open; Lijn shows an error. There is no text layer, so you cannot search or select text. A page that mixes a photo and text can show small colour differences from other viewers.
Books
- EPUB
- A book with text opens in the book reader. A book that is mostly images, such as a comic sold as EPUB, opens in the comic reader. Lijn decides from the content. Details and the cover come from the book itself.
- MOBI and AZW3
- Kindle-style books open in the book reader. Files named .prc and .azw also open. Details and the cover come from the book itself. A book with copy protection (DRM) does not open.
- FB2
- FictionBook files open in the book reader. A zipped FictionBook must end in .fbz; a file named .fb2.zip is not recognised. A very large file opens more slowly than an EPUB.
- TXT
- A plain-text file opens in the book reader, up to 64 MB. It has no cover. Open it from the file picker or with "Open in"; folder import and drag-and-drop skip text files, so notes do not become books.
Where the details come from
Lijn reads the details in this order. Each source fills only what the earlier ones left empty.
- The details inside the file: ComicInfo.xml, the EPUB package, the PDF properties, or the Kindle header.
- The Calibre metadata file next to the book, when you import a Calibre folder.
- The file name, last. Lijn understands markers such as "tome 3", "vol. 3", "T3", and "#3", and a year in the name.
From ComicInfo.xml, Lijn reads the title, series, number, volume, summary, publisher, language, ISBN, writer, artists, genre, and date. It also sets the format: BD, manga, or comics.
When a file has no details at all, the book gets the file name as its title and stands alone, with no series.
Find Metadata
Find Metadata asks a public catalogue about a book. You choose the catalogue and the search. Lijn shows what would change. Nothing changes until you accept.
| Catalogue | Best for |
|---|---|
| Bibliothèque nationale de France | French and Belgian albums |
| Sudoc | French university libraries |
| Wikidata | Series, cycles, and authors |
| Open Library | Books in any language |
| Google Books | Books, including French editions |
| MangaDex and AniList | Manga |
| Metron and Comic Vine | American comics. Comic Vine needs your own API key, entered in Settings. |
Covers
After import, Lijn reads the text printed on each cover and describes the picture. Search uses both. This runs in the background. You can run it again for the whole library from Settings.
Duplicates
Lijn recognises a file by its content, not by its name. The same book with a different name is not added twice. When two copies are found later, Lijn keeps one and moves the progress, bookmarks, and notes to it.
What does not open
- A RAR archive with a password.
- A book with copy protection (DRM), in any format.
- Some Kindle-only layout features. The text still opens.
- CB7 archives.
- An indirect DjVu document, one file for each page.
A very large PDF can use a lot of memory while its pages are drawn.
Related
Related: Using Lijn, Servers, Gestures and shortcuts