What programs for OSX will let me read a comic book file with the extension .cbr?

August 27, 2004 4:54 PM

A friend sent me a comic book saved with the file extension .cbr are there any OSX programs that will let me read the damn thing?
posted by ssmith to Computers & Internet (7 answers total)

If memory serves me correctly.. they're just RAR files with a different extension. You probably have StuffIt Expander already, and that will expand RAR files, so try getting it into there, or try changing the extension.
posted by wackybrit at 5:07 PM on August 27, 2004

Try here.
posted by rglasmann at 5:39 PM on August 27, 2004

I don't think Stuffit Expander will open RAR files, but a program called UnRarX will. You do have to change the extension to .rar first before processing. Doing so will give you a folder full of .jpg's.

The better alternative is to download a program that can natively read the .cbr format. I find FFView to be the best OS X .cbr reader.
posted by toddshot at 5:47 PM on August 27, 2004

Response by poster: That's great! Thank you. After 20 more minutes with Google I also found a program called Jomic. It does require the Java Advanced Imaging Update from Apple though.
posted by ssmith at 5:49 PM on August 27, 2004

Expander does indeed handle RAR files, and I don't think you even need to change the filename extension.

I've found the existing .cbr readers on OS X unsatisfying. But if you select all the JPEGs you get in the folder Stuffit gives you and open them simultaneously in Preview, you get what the .cbr readers seem to be after: you can page through the comic in a single window (using keystrokes, if you like) with thumbnails in a drawer to the side.
posted by jjg at 6:08 PM on August 27, 2004

Is Comical no good?
posted by yerfatma at 9:19 AM on August 28, 2004

So far, I've never been able to get Comical to actually load anything. It just sits there and hangs with the CPU railed. It might be a good app, but until it actually does something, it'll be hard to tell.

Jomic is OK, but the interface isn't good at all and in the current version the keyboard shortcuts (which are stupid) stop working if you disable the toolbar (wtf?). It also lacks a "fit to window width" option or many other scaling options for that matter. It's what I'm currently sticking with, but I don't like it.

FFView seems almost OK, although the interface sucks badly (WTF is an image list and why do I care? Just open the damn file!) and it pops up some kind of speech recognition floaty circle that can't be killed or hidden. It lacks dual page view and the speech thing is obnoxious and in the way of the image viewer so I don't use it.

If there's something else out there I'd love to know about it. Preview is so crappy as to be beyond redemption, and you have to unrar the archive to use it.
posted by majick at 3:35 PM on August 28, 2004