On CBR formats July 12, 2005
Posted by BDcomics in : Comics , trackbackcbr & cbz files
A lot of my posted links will be comics in CBR/CBZ format, so here’s some basic FAQ about them. These are comic books in an archive format.
A .cbr file is exactly the same thing as a .rar file and a .cbz file is the same as a .zip file.
To display these archives easily use the free program CDisplay. If you associate these two file types with CDisplay, you never need to unpack the archives, but keep them together, then just double click to read/view the comics (of course, you can unpack the individaul images with WinRar etc any time you want).
The Windows Comic Reader utility ‘CDisplay’ was written to ease the reading of comics with the pages in JPEG, GIF or PNG format, without the need to open the archive at all
Get the free app here: http://www.geocities.com/davidayton/CDisplay
- What are CBZ files?
CBZ files are zipped file archives that have had their extension renamed from .zip to .cbz
- What are CBR files?
CBR files are rarred file archives with their extension changed from .rar to .cbr
- …but why?
These are the extensions associated with the rather excellent CDisplay program, a good way to read digital comics.
- Can CDisplay read zip and rar files?
Yes but you have to run the program then open them manually.
- So why rename them?
By making file extension associations it means when you double click on a CBR or CBZ file it will open in CDisplay automatically. Zip and Rar extensions are more likely associated with an archive program and you’re likely to want to keep it that way.
- So what’s so good about this CDisplay program?
It’s a good way of viewing image archives and has a lot of options for presentation and moving through archives, many of which are optimised for comics.
- How do I make my own CBR and CBZ files?
Archive the files as you would normally (eg Winrar. winzip etc) and just rename them with the different extensions…. yes, it’s that simple!