What is EPUB and why it does not replace FB2. The main formats of e-books. Desktop text formats on mobile disorders

I like everyone's reader for smartphone tablets Cool Reader, but recently it has become recently to re-establish important parameters for me when resetting the device. And even accidental press switches the scroll mode into the scroll mode.

On the smartphone, convenient navigation plays a big role. Rewind, sampling, selection of text - this should be carried out in a convenient way. I do not have a big hand, but by 5.5» smartphone in some readers hit the right place with your finger very difficult. And I read a lot, the benefit is generally very worthy batteries that you can just read the week.

Of course, for me Cool Reader is the best reader, but I wanted something simpler and more convenient "out of the box." I want to introduce you a review - a comparison of readers for e-books FB2 formats, EPUB and others. Go.

Comparison of Universal Readers for Cool Reader Books with EBOOX, Readera, FBReader, Moon + Reader

For testing, chose several readers:

I assume that all the readers support formats.txt, .epub, .fb2. Evaluate the programs for reading e-books I will be in such parameters:

The first impression and how easy it is to figure out how to manage.
Brightness control, navigation
Quick access to functionality
Fast allocation
Setting the visibility of books in case they are in different folders. For example, in the book folder and the download folder.

So, I will say that I immediately installed and I like everything in any application. As in the status of girls - everything is difficult. Let's see where it is difficult, and where even more difficult.

Cool Reader. - Monster among the readers. I can do everything and even more. The minus of this monster is by chance that the configuration turns into a quest quest quest. If you take this app as a reference, then the following is all easier.

The reader has libraries, split the screen to assign gestures with a long and short press, reading offline voice (rather decent). The day / night mode is present and there is everything you need and even more. Books search is not very convenient, through folders, but you can hide automatically directory without books.

The annex ancient interface is already annoying, but the application is the best set of functionality, for which I love it.

My rating: 5-for some confused settings, difficulty with the allocation mode (you must first configure or go through the menu) and the old-fashioned interface.

Reader eBOOX NEW. It has a pleasant interface. Intuitively understand almost everything. The toolkit is minimal - several online book directories, their libraries on the device, synchronization with the Google Books account and that's it.

Add books, folders with books by pressing a plus log button. The application does not grow together by the smartphone independently in search of books.

Management is minimal. Settings is enough. Access to most through the menu. The minus called finely rewind control and no transition to a specific page. Application settings are sufficient and intuitive. Calling the settings - tap (by pressing) in the center of the screen. It is convenient to allocate and share the text fragment. Brightness is controlled through the menu, not a gesture on the screen. In addition to bookmarks, you can store quotes, which is very convenient. You can synchronize with other devices through the Google account.

My rating: 4+for thought, healthy minimalism. You can not add cloud storage, alas.

- similar to EBOOX new reader for books.

The application knows how to scan directory, allows you to control the gesture brightness, all important functions are at a distance of two clicks from any page. Lt. as in the previous application: the left side of the screen - back, right - forward, center - settings.

My rating: 4 ++for thought, healthy minimalism. You can not add cloud storage, alas. But there is scanning.

One of the most famous applications FBReader. It can boast settings comparable by quantity with COOL Readera settings.

Briefly about the main thing
If you want to make yourself an adequate view of EPUB, imagine that you saved some (for example, this) web page along with graphics and styles used on it. For all modern browsers, this is a standard function, for example, in Firefox, this is done through the "File → Save As → Web Page FULL" menu. You can save nearly alone, but several pages. Then you put two service XML files next to your pages. One simply "This Epub" label (container.xml), the second contains a list of all files - .html, .css, .jpg, etc (usually this is a content.opf file).
It remains to place all this in the zip archive and change it to the expansion of S.Zip N.Epub.
Everything.
The book is ready, and you already know what Epub is. This is not a joke and no exaggeration - EPUB is just archived in Zip HTML. No more, no less.

About the format detail
Positioning the content in the EPUB-archive
As we have already found out, EPUB is a zip archive with multiple files. When you archive the files with the zip-archiver and invest in the CONTAINER.XML XML file archive, you speak prose Create a file in Open Container format. Despite the murder-path name of this event (IDPF was worth aware that there is an ISO standard OPC and not to reinvent the bike), for the "Open Container Format" (OCF) it is quite possible to put the IDPF "Warzness" (why it is found out below).
In addition to the CONTAINER.XML file (must lie in META-INF), Epub necessarily contains another service file, where all other files placed in the archive are listed, and their type is specified, as a rule is called Content.opf.
The whole design for the knowledgeable person strongly resembles Java packets in general and OpenDocument in particular. And in the case of IDPF, looking for ways to combine with OpenDocument. It is not very clear that it hurts to start with the OD clone, because OpenDocument is two years older OCF, but, apparently, bicycles - the inevitable amateur dottants, did not bother the docks in time. Here and XPointer IDPF is also judging by all, firmly intend to reobe in Epub3. The version to the 5th guessed to use the standardized W3C format for references and will also search for the joining paths.

What data are stored in EPUB
ePUB usually contains the following information:

Meta-data: Title, language, authors, etc.
Navigation Tools: Spreading Procedure for XHTML Files and Site Map Content
Actually, text in the form of several XHTML files that can use CSS styles, pictures in JPG, GIF and PNG as well as vector graphics SVG and fonts. The latest EPUB version declares Mathml support.
In addition, EPUs may include a number of additional highly specialized marking files, the PDF version of the book for printing, etc. Exotic, really not used, not supported by the readers and the average reader is uninteresting.

Meta-information in Epub
The minimum EPUB meta information includes the name, document ID and language. In addition, you can specify authors, translators and other participants in the creation of a book, the date of publication / writing, the topic of the book (in free form), Plain-Text description and data on publishing.
The key meta-information is stored in the standard Doublin Core scheme, a bit extended. Description of authors, subjects and all other fields (with the exception of dates and language) is given in free text form, which, in fact, eliminates the effective automatic cataloging of EPUB from different sources.

Navigation tools
epub, as we remember, may include a set of HTML files. And the files will be many. Not because this requires IDPF, and because from large EPUB files are falling and all make a lot of small. And so in order for the usual "scrolling" reader, the creator of EPUs indicates the order in which the files should be submitted. "When opening, we show 3.HTML when the reader flips it to the end to open 1.HTML, then 8.html. And the file footnotes.html is unattainable with direct scrolling, the reader will fall there on footnotes ", something in such a kind. It is usually contained in the CONTENT.OPF file.
Another means of navigation inside the book is the content. If present, then, as a rule is stored in TOC.NCX. Technically, this is a more analogue of the "Site Map" function than the usual "content". Building in a paperbook (or electronic document) repeats the text structure, A.NCX is not related to the general procedure for following text fragments and can directly contradict them. However, in reality, the file is usually used precisely as a content and is issued "full-time", repeating the order specified for the spacing.
In general, re-storage and rewriting to various freedoms of the same data are the EPUB brand sign. Meta-data is stored in four places: in the description of the Container.xml OPF container, in the description of the content.opf EPUB package, in the TOC.NCX content file and in HTML files (in META tags). The content is described three times - the "book card" from Toc.ncx argues with the listing of fragments in content.opf Which of them is more important, and the headlines of the H1-H6 in HTML look at all this, and think about revenge.

Text book
Of course, both HTML files with the text of the book are present in Epub. Also in the archive stored in the text elements - graphics, styles, scripts, fonts.
No essential "add-ons" or "restrictions" in relation to HTML, CSS, etc. Epub does not specify. We take modern web content, which is not even "dynamic", and "fluid" (EPUB declares HTML5 support, more lining on the OS than on the markup language, it and browsers are still supported limited), we keep on the disk, archive - and voila, the e-book is ready.
"Dear, I saved the Internet to the disk, what's next?"

History of the question
To better understand the basic strength and the main weakness of the EPUB, we will return 12 years ago. In 2000, when your humble servant was just joined to electronic reading (if it was accurate, it was insidiously affected by an insiticizing the-ebook), "Moshkov Library", Aldebaran, Lit Portal God knows how many more small libraries. Pretty many texts were, in principle, available. Basically precisely in the form of HTML.
HTML already then gave the widest opportunities for registration. Thanks to this, people who prepared texts created sometimes genuine laying masterpieces. It is enough to remember that paragraphs in the library Moshkov were (and now Moshkov burns in the same kind, in my opinion) is decorated with a mix of tags

and

However, really existing readers (ISILO, Microsoft Reader, MobiPocket, Reb type devices, etc.) understood only a limited HTML dialect and an even more limited subset of CSS. Of course, each reader built the "expansion" above the format, but no one was versed under a specific reader.
In the final, after connecting the creative breakthroughs of the creators of texts inspired by the power of HTML + CSS and no limited in flight of their fantasy, with real readers, on the user screen, it turned out, as a rule, nonsense. At best, the book was a non-zero, but readable. At worst, the text generally turned into a mess.
My first answer to this was the CleArtXT program that cleaner from the text "Creativity". However, it became clear enough, it became clear that no heuristic analysis would be treated for the fantasy of the creators of HTML-books. As a result, I still had to work with your hands, more or less.

The problems with the dialect were not the only one. Programs-readers had not only individual "expressive means" and "Language preferences". No one read HTML directly (in this regard, there is little, which has changed, by the way, I propose to reflect - why). Each program used its usually closed, preparation method and data packaging method. Lit, RB, LRF, CHM - every creator of the reader and the developer of the device considered the new closed "format" and its own, personal, DRM solution. Tools for conversion to this closed format were often either not available, or were issued as applications and / or libraries for a specific platform, with limited documentation or without it.

Two problems in 2000, one problem in 2012
So, in the 2000th year to take arbitrary HTML and rape his reader two things interfered:

Need to use bulky third-party HTML packaging in clear reader format
Incompatibility of the reader with the marking and styles

ePUB offers solutions for both problems:

Packaging tools are standardized and technological - you can even manually, 20 minutes, collect a very complex book using the OCF, NOTEPAD and ZIP archiver.
As we have already seen, EPUs are compatible with all and all sorts of dialects, styles and markup methods. Save from Web, Archivat and read.

It would seem, all is well.
And about the packaging to Epub claims, in addition to aesthetic, no. It is used, let the non-standard and not the most successful, but adequate task the solution, besides, simple as a stick.
But on the display of the text in the readers we are waiting for bad news. The "format" itself is compatible with all and every HTML, it is yes. Where how easy it was to write in the standard "see HTML specification. " The temptation was great and IDPF did not resist. But we open our "whatever" HTML in the "whatever reader" and ...
And we discover that we did not move on the iota regarding the 2000th year. As at the end of the last century, each specific reader understands only its limited, HTML + CSS dialect. As in the last century, the dialect is usually undocumented. Still in every reader to solve even such standard problems as footnotes, they are introduced, nothing compatible, extensions (look for Epub Footnotes in Google, methods of creating, in addition to the conversion of footnotes in the links, vary from perfectly acidic CSS to JavaScript) . The simplest things are practically impossible to make, complex things either do not work, or drop the readers.

Here is your homework: not spying in Epub from Litres, make an EPU with an empty string between two paragraphs (text, empty string, again the text, as before this paragraph), the same displayed in iBooks, ADE, Sony and Nook. Chinese miracle readers and other exotic leave aside so that the task remains performed. And even alignment in width and transfer with footnotes will not ask. Just an empty string tag In FB2. Time went.

Verdict in the case of EPUB
The obvious advantages of the format are simplicity and the manufacturability of the ZIP-package, openness.
Just as plus you can consider a single DRM solution. IDPF shame dislike that DRM in Epub type is open and type any can make your own. All types believe. And clearly understand that Epub exists by 99% due to the fact that Adobe supports the DRM infrastructure for it. DRM-evil, but one DRM on all this is less evil than on the DRM on the store.
Yes, stupid when the archived HTML with the DRM cracked in one minute is issued for the misfortune. But Zip and other standardization is as none, but progress.
Regarding the advantages all.

But in the field of creating the complex markup EPUB, it is not good anywhere and then there will be only minuses. The format does not give the creator of the book not guarantees as to what the end reader will see on the screen, nor reliable means of control, which will allow you to cut off at least knowingly "non-working" options nor ready-made solutions for standard tasks. My first EPUB, who has just passed the validation, dropped two readers of the three, on which I tested it (too large HTML - 2MB, and too many links, as I then installed). Document creators are forced to either ignore the "features" of individual EPUB-readers, or offer several EPUs so that the reader can take a file compatible with its device. For the sake of such a finale and the garden, the garden was not worth it - what is the sense of silent HTML5 knowing that it will be read in IE3?

What do we expect from Epub in the future
The most favorable scenario for the Epub is to displace from the niche of the reader's readers of small developers with several major players. Make a full-featured HTML5-parser with a page breakdown at least not easier than to make a modern browser, but the return is incomparable less, and there will be no random people. However, neither Google nor Microsoft, nor Opera is not yet running to make new EPUB-reading engines to adobe how to raise the loot on his wonder-DRM. And Adobe itself is quite clear its potential for the development of readers showed - ADE still has no support for footnotes, nor normally typography, no transfer.
So it is much likely that for five years around Epub, a certain "Unisected IDPF" is formed an informal layout of the rules of layout, working solutions for the design, tested on the leading chapters "hacks" and "focus". The network community already forms a "true" EPUB-standard on top of the unforgettable "HTML5 + CSS3 + all_cho). Real solutions for real problems in real reeers are described. Then these "tricks", being a de facto standard, will be mandatory for new reader developers. Those who in IT have long been to have time to grasp the smoke of browser wars and work with IE4, NN4 and Opera 3, perfectly imagine that it is waiting for us - on these rakes the network community has already walked and downloads this walk so far. Therefore, when I see "This EPUB is optimized for iBooks" I do not feel just a de-ist, but a sharp vomit reflex.

And so for the fact that we are trying to drank "back in the 90s" I put Epub nonsense. We do not need hacks that are inoperable in the new version of the software. We do not need unsupported rules, tick-making tick on the grains. Do not need legal bugs. Do not need "testing testing" for all readers - "will show or will not show." All this we passed.
We need a reliable and convenient technology, a clear standard and quality control tools. And the Epub could not give us, unfortunately.

What from Epub to wait useless
Among the disadvantages of Epub there is another one, which we have not yet affected - fundamental incompatibility with other formats. Epub is born to be a monopolist. Extracting data from EPUB and conversion to another format Even for simple HTML is a difficult task. When Epub is clumsy, turns the hacks under the devices and intricate solutions, such as subpartures on CSS, to extract anything to the task practically intractable. Whatever Adobe format has been developed, the PDF is obtained - the entry ruble, and the output is five.
But we still need support for different (including old) readers and devices. Need a full support for alternative formats that have already acquired weight (mobipocket on Kindle) and will still appear on the market.

In addition, we need cataloging tools, exchanging quotes and notes and other things and other things that Epub even does not promise at the declarative level. In other words, we need FB3, which the next article will be devoted to.

E-books (readers, readers) have long become familiar devices for a wide range of users. Their advantages: the availability of content (download the necessary book from the Internet can be in a matter of minutes), not a sprinkling e-ink screen, the ability to have a collection of thousands of books in a reader, long-charging work, type and font size. Not so long ago, e-books with illuminated screen appeared - they allow you to read in complete darkness. In general, the benefits of readers can be listed for a very long time.

However, when familiarizing with readers, users often arises one problem. People who decide to purchase a reader for the first time, facing the concept of "e-book formats", often do not understand what we are talking about. The problem is particularly relevant for beginners who are "FB2", "Epub" or "Mob2", "EPUB" or "MOBI".

The so-called formats are different types of electronic text files that are supported (reproduced) in one way or another. AT electronic libraries The Internet is often invited to a large set of file types: FB2, EPUB, MOBI, PDF, DOC, RTF, TXT and others. The choice is wide, and it puts certain problems before beginners. We describe the main formats of e-books, we will tell about what they differ from each other, which readers are supported, and on what format it is better to stop your choice if you have a multi-format reader reading all formats.

Varieties of formats

1. FB2 (FICTIONBOOK) - The format of e-books, which was created by a group of Russian developers. Books in this type of files have a structured view (that is, they contain a breakdown by chapters, content, illustration, cover). In addition, this standard stores file information (so-called tags: author, name, genre), which is read by the reader and allows the user to conveniently sort files on the device. This type of files takes a small volume, can be archived, and it is also well converted to other formats. Of the features: in view of the fact that the format was originally developed for Cyrillic, texts in Russian in FB2 have word transfers.

The format was originally designed for Russian users, and it is practically not used abroad. That is why FB2 is not supported by popular world manufacturers of readers - Amazon and Barnes & Noble. But this is the main format of files for PocketBook, Onyx and Wexler popular in Russia. In addition, Sony readers now support FB2 - after entering the Russian market, the company has developed an official firmware for a reader that allows you to read books in FB2.

2. EPUB (Electronic Publication) - the most popular in the world electronic format For readers. Barnes & Noble and Sony readers work with him. By layout structure, this type of file resembles an archived webpage containing text, graphics, built-in fonts, illustrations.

In addition to Western brands, EPUB format is supported by models of manufacturers oriented on russian market (PocketBook, Onyx, Wexler) because of the rapid growth in popularity in our country. In addition, this standard of e-books use iPhone and. The branded Epplovskaya program for reading iBooks supports EPUB.

3. MOBI.- Format of electronic books readers. Gets distributed in Russian online libraries as Kindle is becoming increasingly popular in Russia. Other readers have the support of this format "for the check mark". Mobi in its properties is similar to EPUB. Recently, Amazon introduced another Kindle Format 8 or KF8 electronic text format (it is distinguished by richer formatting) with a refinement that new and old Amazon readers will not stop supporting Mobi.

4. TXT. - format of simple text documents. Convert text from another format in TXT can be the simplest action "Copy-Insert". Although this type of file supports almost all the readers and takes very little space in memory, it would not be recommended to read in it. TXT does not format, markup, transfers, alignment. It is suitable for short text notes, but not for full-fledged e-books.

5. PDF (Portable Document Format)- The format of electronic documents created by Adobe Systems. Uncomfortable for use in readers for a number of reasons. First, the files of this formats are very cumbersome, as it is designed for the power of the computer, and the readers open quite slowly. Secondly, if the file is not specifically designed under a 6-inch reader, having a format similar to a paper sheet of size A6, then read on it PDF A4 format (and most PDF files are represented precisely in the size of a standard paper sheet) will be very difficult. In PDF, you can only increase the scale, but not the size of the font, and therefore, it turns out to be placed on the screen only some part of the page. Read pages will have in parts, and this is very uncomfortable.

For reading PDF is adapted, the size of the screen of which allows you to play the page on the scale, large enough for a comfortable reading.

6. Djvu.- The format designed to store scanned documents - books, articles, manuscripts. The DJVU book is actually a set of scanned pages. In terms of reading the readings on 6-inch readers - all similar to the story with PDF. You do not increase the font size, but only the scale. When zooming, the page will get out of the screen, and it will be necessary to constantly move the area of \u200b\u200bthe enlarged text to read - you do not have to talk about comfortable reading. To read DJVU, select the riedes with a 9-inch screen. However, even on 9-inch readers, the possibilities of convenient reading DJVU depend on how qualitatively scanned the book presented in this format.

7. LRF. - In the past, the signature format of Sony readers. On new models (starting with PRS-T1), it is no longer used, as the EPUB has given way. It is very poorly converted to other types of files. Despite the fact that in some places in the libraries is still presented, it is recommended to use it exclusively to the owners of the old Sony models.

8. RTF (Rich Text Format) - Format for storing text documents. Refers to the category of "computer", not "books". In the reader, read in RTF is not too convenient - these are large in volume files, and the read speed readers is reduced.

9. DOC (as well as Docx) - Microsoft Office Text Documents. These formats support quite a lot of readers, but it is for reading documents, not books. Large-volume files in this format can be large in size, and it is not easy to work with them on the readers. Multi-page books in the DOC better convert to FB2 or EPUB.

The main formats of e-books we listed. Completely exotic types of files that are sometimes found on the Internet, we will not be considered, but it is better to determine which of the above formats is the most convenient to read books on electronic reeers.

What kind of electronic book format to choose

If you have a reader with support for all formats, then you can stop your choice on a specific type of file, it can be based on a number of factors. Suppose you buy your first e-book, and you do not have a pre-collected collection of books, for example, in FB2. In this case, choose the format of the file that is best played by your reader. Traditional "book" EPUB or FB2 formats for reader (and for the user) are more preferable and convenient than "computer" PDF, TXT, DOC, DOCX and RTF.

In the case of 9-inch readers and the need to read DJVU and PDF, other things being equal, we advise you to prefer the latter, as PDF is a more modern format, and the books in DJVU are often poor quality.

From the point of view of ease of use, the advantages of "book" formats are obvious: EPUB, FB2 or MOBI visually looks better in the menu of your reader (covers of books are displayed), it is more convenient to sort them (there are tags: author, name, genre), they occupy much less Places and speed of work readers with such formats will be significantly higher.

Do I need support for all formats

In our opinion, it is not necessary to choose all-format reader. Many users with readers with support for all formats download books one or two types of files. All readers (including multi-format), one way or another, is the main format, and you will not be exchanged for others in the end. For PocketBook, Onyx and Wexler, major formats are FB2 or EPUB, for Barnes & Noble () and Sony - EPUB, for Kindle - Mobi.

In the case of the readers of Amazon and Barnes & Noble, if the desired book turns out to be in a format that these readers do not support, you can use the converter (for example, Calibre). This is a program installed on a computer and allowing to convert the same FB2 to MOBI or EPUB in minutes.

Read books in your native reader format is better than using additional programs installed on the reader. Our advice: Spend a few minutes to convert a book, for example, from RTF to EPUB using Calibre Converter. It is more convenient than reading it "in the original" using an additional installed program (on Sony PRS-T1 or Kindle) or encounter a slower work of the device (for example, on PocketBook references).

Remember that the main thing is the convenience of using the electronic book, and not the number of formats declared from it in parameters.

Enjoy reading!

It is the most popular in the world. It is installed about 85% of all mobile devices and about 60% of tablets. Her openness permits to use it by many portable electronics developers. But the absence of a single standardization led to the fact that each manufacturer can produce a slightly modified Android firmware. More advanced models are equipped with a large number of codecs, respectively, support more standards. That is why it is not always clear, with what documents a separate gadget knows how to work and what video format supports Android. We bring to your attention a hint.

Modern Android tablets work with most video and book formats.

Video formats

Most people buy devices for surfing worldwide web and watching movies. But sometimes the system gives an error "This video cannot be reproduced on the device." Even on the most budget plates with the ancient version of Android, it is possible in such formats:

263 - 3GPP, MPEG-4, 3GP extensions, MP4.
264 AVC - 3GPP, MPEG-TS, MPEG-4, 3GP extensions, MP4.
MPEG-4 SP - 3GPP, Extension - 3GP.

Agree, this is quite a bit. If MP4 is a moderator format in which you can find enough films, then 3GP - hopelessly outdated. But you should not be afraid, modern gadgets can reproduce much more formats. Popular tablet linkers guarantee the support of the following video formats:

Samsung - H.263, H.264, MPEG-4, WMV, AVI, 3GP, ASF, Webm, MKV, FLV.
Nexus - H.264, MP4, H.263.
HTC - AVI, MPEG4, XVID, WMV, 3GP, 3G2 H.263, H.264.

In most cases, this is quite enough. If you see that your device does not support the downloaded movie, use free, for example, Freemake Video Converter or Free MP4 Video Converter to convert a movie to a compatible video format for Android. Simply select Android converting, resolution and quality of the file in the program menu, followed by a finished file on the tablet.

You can always convert video to the desired format.

But much more convenient to install the player player to view the video in any format. In their sufficient amount, almost all of them are free. The most popular and best are considered:

MX Player.
VLC for Android.
BSPlayer.
KMPlayer.

All of them use hardware and multi-core decoding, which permits to use all the power of multi-core processors; Support work with subtitles, both built-in and external, multiple video and audio formats; allow you to play network streams. You can also easily manage video with gestures, change orientation, aspect ratio, scale, volume. That is, with watching films will not be absolutely no problems.

Books

In the overwhelming majority of cases, the gadgets are not equipped with full. Read on the tablet is undoubtedly very convenient, thanks to a rather large screen and easy weight of the device. But then in what format download books on Android? Most modern book content are presented in PDF and EPUB formats. Sometimes, especially in the Russian-speaking global network segment, there are FB2, TXT, RTF, DJVU formats. Consider them in more detail.

PDF - hardly the most popular book format for Android. Allows you to colorfully arrange a book, it has a built-in table of contents, you can make a mark, allocate text in different colors. The most important disadvantage - it is impossible to adjust the size of the text and adjust it to the size of the screen. In addition, files are quite large.
EPUB - Popular Book Format. Represents the largest archive with content. By the structure of the document reminds the web page. Used in documents where text is the main one. But at the same time you can embed photo, video, sound. It has a table of contents and internal links to text. A huge advantage is the ability to change the font, its size, transfers, the width of the page fields, thus adapting the view on any screen size.
FB2 - a somewhat outdated, but still famous format in RuNet. Supports table of contents, you can change the font size, configuring for any screen.
TXT is a regular text document. Does not support any table of contents, no changes in text. But it has the smallest file size.
RTF - a text document, something that resembles a text document Microsoft Word.
DJVU - scanned image files. Allows you to transfer all the authenticity of historical documents. Like PDF, it does not allow customized fonts for the size of the screen.

Android supports all the most popular text formats

What text formats does Android support other than those listed? There may be incredibly many, for example, UMD, CHM, MOBI, PDB, TCR. They are very rare, but they can sometimes meet. How to read them? You can convert them to Epub or PDF, but there is a chance to set a normal reader and do not break your head with the conversion. Consider popular programs for reading e-books.

Books - built in Android 4 and older book store. Allows you to download and buy books in Play Maret, add your own through the phone manager. You can not change the font size, the width of the fields, the screen brightness, it is impossible to manually turn on the night mode.
Moon + Reader. Can read EPUB files, PDF FB2, CHM, MOBI, UMD, CBZ, CBZ, HTML, TXT, RAR, ZIP.
Cool Reader. Support FB2, EPUB, MOBI, HTML, TXT, RTF, DOC, TCR, PRC, CHM, PDB, PML.
FB Reader. Reading books in FB2, FBZIP, Epub, AZW, TXT, RTF, HTML formats. It is permissive to set up the PDF and DJVU modules.

The last three readers can change the size, the width of the fields, have deep appearance settings. There is also a manual switching on the night mode. Choose from them the one you will like.

Conclusion

Now you know what video standards and what book format is supported by Android. The system is open, in Play Maret there are many free programs. We advise you to install a universal player and reader. Also in the comments are waiting for your advice on applications not mentioned in the article.

To date, you can download books in a huge amount of formats, but you need to know in what format download books on android better?

Features download books on android in any format

Users downloading books on Android often arises a problem in the convenience of reading it. Today there is a huge number of popular formats for downloading e-books, namely: doc, djvu, djvu, txt, fb2, epub, rtf and others. It is enough to understand in all their varieties, especially in the absence of a significant visible difference in formats. Many users prefer to use FB2, since this format is best suited for reading books. In addition, the drawings are perfectly visible in it, the text is successfully formatted and convenient to overflow. In the absence of this format, it is better to download books in Doc or TXT formats, since some programs for reading books cannot support files of this type.

You can install multiple readers on your mobile device supporting various formats (ease of choice).
When you download texts, some problems may arise, for example, they or do not open, or almost not visible.

Most devices with android have small-sized screens, therefore, more rational to choose the format, taking into account its scalability. The number of file formats on the mobile phone is not very large (in comparison with specialized devices).

Maximum common formats for downloading books on android

So in what format to download books on android is most convenient? There are some common types of files that are available for autonomous reading and beyond the worldwide network: EPUB and PDF.

The advantage of EPUB format is automatic text setting for different screen values. EPUB files have volumes up to several megabytes.
But for individual books on Play Google, only a popular PDF format can be available. Such files usually exceed the rest in size, they can reach a hundred megabytes (depending on the volume and the contents of the electronic book). Disadvantages of the format: Text cannot be adjusted under the device on which the book reads accordingly. The text of this file on a small screen is difficult to read.

However, in practice, everything is much simpler and, using special applications, other formats are also read on android. All of them are united by the fact that the formats are not adapted to read on small screens. In addition, to read the books you need to install a special application.

MP4 today is the most popular format playing on mobile devices. MP4 came to 3GP and received its distribution due to the improved degree of video compression used by the MP3 track, the ability to store various meta data. If you are going to download video on the Internet, MP4 is easiest possible to be transferred by the stream through an Internet connection, and the majority of video storage services support. Also, the format is supported by most popular players, and codecs for playback are included in the basic package of any operating system and firmware.

The MP4 video device can be played on the computer immediately after reinstalling the operating system. The format can be reproduced on portable players, automobile video recorders, TVs and any other electronics designed to play images. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that the video stored in MP4 format may be somewhat worse than some other formats, but for mobile devices, this fact is an advantage, because due to its small files, files can accommodate even for small removable media .

AVI is one of the most popular video compression formats. It is supported by any operating system and won its popularity due to the high quality of the resulting image. Despite the fact that the average AVI file has a rather large size, the format is still supported by most players on mobile devices and platforms. The disadvantage of the format is the impossibility of running it in the absence of codecs pre-installed in the system. However, this problem is easily solved both on computers and on phones, tablets, players and other portable electronics.

MKV differs from other ways to compress its structure. The format is structural represents a container that can store almost any information, various paths with subtitles, audio tracks, chapters, interactive menus, bookmarks, and the like. At the same time, the MKV video file has an open code and if desired, it can be easily opened and transformed in different editors. MKV will be a good choice for professionals who are often working with video files both on computers and modern mobile devices. The format is able to store video and audio almost without loss of quality. However, due to the low degree of video fitress compression, the size of the final MKV file is on average higher than that of other formats, and for playing video of this type, the installation of additional codecs is required. Nevertheless, there are a number of mobile and computer players that allow you to play video recording.

Lovers of literature often encounter a problem when the downloaded file does not open, because its encoding is not supported by the device. To avoid this, let's understand what format books for Android will be suitable and most convenient during reading.

What are the formats of books for Android

Consider what e-book formats support each device based on android. Here is the list of the most popular extensions:

ePUB,
tIFF
djvu.

Each format has actually its advantages and disadvantages that we will touch below.

This extension is based on XML technology, while developed by domestic programmers. The format is extremely popular in Russia and the CIS countries, but actually few people have heard about it in more distant abroad. Readers choose FB2 due to the following advantages:

Text document of this type is easy to structure (add data about the author, content, annotation and content);

Support illustrations and images. Editions in FB2 format have a cover and pictures along the narration (if any);

Such a book will not take much space. At the same time, the only format that can compete with FB2 for this indicator is TXT;
Simple navigation and fast movement via pages;
There are preset design options.

Files with extension FB2 are often distributed as ZIP archives. So they take less space on the device. Most of the "readers" open books directly from the archived source, which is also the advantage of the FRICTION BOOK.

Epub.

The main competitor of Friction Book in the domestic market - EPUB. Functional is a little different from the format described above. It also presents support for illustrations, text structure, quick transition through pages and other integral qualities of good e-book. Epub rarely extends to zip-files, because In itself, the extension is an archive containing text with different markings. This significantly saves a place in Internet storage and user devices.

In which of these two formats download e-books for your Android device - exclusively your choice. FB2 and EPUB are supported by any "reader", while you are unlikely to see the differences between them during the reading process.

MOBI.

The format was developed by the French company Mobipocket on request Amazon. Mobi is used in all applications and by Amazon, so the circle of its use is very limited. However, the format is not inferior to EPU and FB2 by functionality, so it is often offered as the only one available when downloading the book. Supported by almost all applications.

RTF, TXT, DJVU and other extensions

Such extensions are usually used for highly specialized literature or in cases where the use of other type files is simply impossible. For example, DJVU is scanned or photographed book pages translated into an accessible form using this encoding. Before downloading files with such extensions, make sure that they are "on the teeth" of your program. Due to its specificity, the books of this type are not always supported by the "readers" on the phones.

Books reading books

After you figured out, in which format it is necessary to download e-books and text files on Android, it has time to select the utility to start. Here is a list of the most popular reading programs:

CoolReader. It can boast the wide range of supported extensions (FB2, EPUB, TXT, DOC, RTF, HTML, CHM, TSR, RDB, PRC, MOBI, PML). The program is easy to manage, while it is extremely convenient for reading any text documents;

FBReader. It differs from CoolReader design style and a "lightweight" interface;

Moon + Reader. Presented in Google Play paid and free version. Wide support for formats, easy-to-use interface and search system - here are the distinctive features of the program.

Less popular, but not lagging behind the "flagships" on functionality are Aldiko, ZXReader, Bookmate, and others.

What kind of book format supports "Android" (tablet, smartphone, etc.), define applications installed on the device with this operating system. Nevertheless, there are the most common formats electronic publicationsFor which, actually, the developers of the applications are oriented.

In this article, we will consider which book format supports "Android 4" and the other versions of this OS, which are characterized by these formats and in which one of them is preferable to download literary works on the device.

FB2.

FB is decrypted as FictionBook. This is one of the most popular e-book formats. In honor of him, the reader on Android - FBReader is even named - which other files other than the above.

The text with extension.fb2 is formatted using an XML markup, that is, is described by tags. It is this that provides compatibility of a format with various devices, and also assumes ease of creation, transfer and storage of books. It is not surprising that he is so popular among users.

In addition to the specified reader.FB2 also, without any problems, opens Cool Reader, Monn + Reader, AlReader.

Epub.

The ELECTRONIC PUBLICATION format is actively promoted by Adobe, and very successfully. It represents the archived data data files created based on the XML markup, the text of the book itself (HTML tags or PDF). All additional materials, such as illustrations, formulas and tables are also stored in separate files. Thus provide similar publications on completely different devices. "Android", of course, among them.

Interestingly, Epub has copyright protection tools. On the "Android" system, it can be opened by the already mentioned CoolReader, a famous FBReader and an Aldiko Book Reader reader.

TXT.

The TCT format is the simplest text file (even the name itself is decrypted accordingly). On the Windows operating system, you can create a standard application in a standard application. This ensures the main advantage of the format - it can be opened with almost everyone. But for e-books in the TCT format there is also the main disadvantage: the formatting of the publication is lost, since the text file is just a sequence of characters.

But the TCT is an absolute answer to the question of which format of books is supported by Android (without installing additional applications) most likely, by default, such a book will open in the browser. But readers like FBReader will also cope.

Htm.

This format is based on HTML markup. In fact, a book in such an extension is a hypertext. Unlike TCT, there are more features here for including illustrations and inserting various objects. By the way, this is another format that does not require additional applications (although the readers are glad to open it). HTML is distributed when creating web pages, so the book * HTM will open in Google Chrome, a standard browser or any other downloader for surfing page in the Internet space.

RTF.

You can literally translate the value of this format as "enriched text". It opens in Windows using WordPad and the usual office Word. The same appalogues of the programs can also be used on Android. However, prudent developers take into account RTF when creating programs, allowing it to open it.

RTF is the next stage after TXT, using a simple meta-tag marking. Most support imports into it.

At Android, this format opens CoolReader (users note that the application does it not entirely correctly), Foliant, Nook for Android.

Finally

As you can see, essentially, the question of what format of books is supported by Android, you can safely answer "any common." Countless readers for this operating system, Annal number is available from time to time, and proven products have support for updates to open more and more diverse formats.

Read books in the electronic version on the computer is not very convenient. To make this process comfortable, special programs (readers) are created with different capabilities and chips that minimize discomfort and eye load. This is important for those users who have no tablet or e-books (special small tablet reading devices). Today we consider the well-known and most frequently downloadable programs for Windows 10.

Reading tools on Windows 10: Choose the best

The selection of reading programs for PCs with Windows 10 is quite wide, despite the fact that many utilities have taken a course on Android and iOS mobile operating systems. Today we will choose the best options that offer maximum opportunities, free use and understandable interface.

ICE BOOK READER PROFESSIONAL: Powerful modern reader with library

The ICE Book Reader Professional service has not a lot of competitors by the number of functions. This free Russian-language reader with a variety of fine settings that highlight it on a general background of such programs allows:

The program window can be easily customized: Select the background color, text itself, general topic Registration, put automatic layout of spaces and much more. The software can also read your books yourself and run files with a wide variety of extensions, including Lit, CHM, EPUB and others.

Ice Book Reader Professional service offers a convenient mechanism for finding books in its library.

Download the utility installer is better from.

Video: What is a software iCE BOOK Reader Professional

Calibre: Functional reader almost for all book formats

The Calibre utility is a very convenient tool for reading fiction, textbooks, documents, journals and another. The reader not only runs on your screen files with the most diverse extensions (for example, EPUB, FB2, DOC, PDF and others), but also converts them, that is, it converts one format to another. Managing books is the same convenient as in Ice Book Reader Professional. It can also configure the interface for itself.

What other pluses of this software:

The shortcomings of the program two: no ability to automatically separate soft transfers after conversion, and the conversion itself is quite slow.

Video: Calibre - Conversion and synchronization of books between the computer and the electronic book

AlReader: A simple reader that does not need to install on PC

The Russian-speaking tool called AlReader cannot, unfortunately, boast a wide functionality. Nevertheless, it has everything you need to read: support for FB2, RTF, EPUB, ODT formats and others, as well as configuration of the interface (background color, graphic themes, style and brightness of text, transfers, indents, etc.). In the books open with this program, the user can do how many bookmarks. The utility also remembers the page on which you have finished reading last time.

In the software window you can also:

The huge plus of this reader is that it does not need to be installed on the computer. You just download the file from the official site, and then run it - the program will be immediately ready for use.

EpubReader: Comfortable reading EPUB files

The program name speaks for itself: it is designed only to read files in EPUB format. The advantage of this format is that it takes up little space on the carrier, but is able to display tables, unusual fonts and vector graphics. The EpubReader tool also changes the book format (converts) EPUB to PDF, HTML or TXT. The developer of the utility is Freesmart. The program can be installed not only on Windows 10, but also on Android-based smartphones and on Apple devices.

In the EpubReader window, it is convenient to move on the sections of the book

In EpubReader, you can quickly move from the section to the section by convenient navigation in the left column window, as well as configure the font and text scale. The functionality of the program is not as wide as the Ice Book Reader Professional or Calibre, but this is compensated by a convenient and understandable interface. If you need to open Epub files, this reader is an excellent option for you.

Reading tool must be downloaded from.

FBReader: Convenient tool with access to network libraries

If you need a universal, but simple tool for reading books of various formats, take a look at FBReader. This tool opens the EPUB, MOBI, FB2, HTML, RTF, Plucker, CHM and others.

The utility has access to network libraries. In some of them you can download books of various topics and genres for free. There are also paid libraries - the FBReader tool allows you to buy books there, that is, you will not need to go separately to the seller's website.

All added books are distributed on the shelves automatically according to the genre and the author name. FBReader has a clear and convenient interface in which even knowing anything knows anything knows. In the window, you can configure the color of the background, the font, the method of turning the pages, etc.

There is a tool and disadvantage: it does not provide a two-page mode.

Books in the FBReader program can be added from network libraries.

You can download this convenient reader from the official site.

Video: How to use FBReader

LightLib: Read books from Librusk

The LightLib utility is at the same time the librarian and the reader, according to the official resource of this program from which you can download the installer.

The main features of this means:

Opens literature in such formats as FB2, EPUB, RTF and TXT. Can also run Zip archives.
Converts FB2 files.
Shows the contents of the folders on the disks.
It has access to the collections "Librusk" and "Flibusta".
Allows you to view all the images of the book with the possibility of transition to the page of the book on which the drawing is located.

In addition, as in any other reader, in LightLib can be configured appearance Windows, as well as view a book pre-book and add files to the Favorite folder.

LightLib is both the library and reader

Cool Reader: Functional with the Unpacking Option File from Archive

Cool Reader is one of the most convenient readers. She cares about your eyes using the following options:

smoothing and changing fonts;
setting textured background;
smooth scrolling.

In addition to reading most of the formats of books (TXT, DOC, FB2, RTF, EPUB, and others), the utility can also:

You can download the program on Windows 10.

Video: How to install Cool Reader

Adobe Reader: Classic PDF Reading Program

It is difficult to find a user who did not hear the Adobe Reader utility, as this is the most popular tool for reading and viewing PDF files. It comes out not only for documents, but also for reading fiction, textbooks and magazines.

The following options are available in the program:

Load the utility installer from the official site.

DjvuViewer: Simple DJVU Reader Tool

The DjVuViewer utility is one of the standard DJVU file opening tools. This format is better than PDF in that it saves a place in PC memory due to better compression of the file. The program has the following advantages:

The tool for files can be downloaded from its official page.

Foxit Reader: Alternative Adobe Reader

Like Adobe Reader, the Foxit tool is designed to view and read documents and books in PDF format. Its advantage is that it is necessary to install much less space on the hard disk. In addition to reading, here you can also:

The program is available for download on the official website.

Video: where to download Foxit Reader and how to install it

One of the most functional readers today is considered Ice Book Reader Professional, Calibre and Cool Reader. They not only allow you to read the text in a comfortable environment and minimize the risk of spoiling vision, but also convert the files to the formats you need, provide access to extensive databases. More simpler, but no less good are LightLib, Fbreader and AlReader. In addition, there are readers for a single format, for example, EpubReader or Adobe Reader. Choose a tool depending on file formats that you download for reading.

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