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ComicRackmanual
3rd edition

The Official companion to the ComicRack software!

A complete training package
Full-color, step-by-step, instructional book
The most complete manual
For the new as well as the advanced user
 the

ComicRackmanual
3rd edition

Disclaimer

The information in this book is distributed on an As Is basis, without warranty. While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of the
book, neither the authors nor comicrack.cyolito.com shall have any liability to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damage caused or
alleged to be caused, directly or indirectly, by the instructions contained in this book or by the computer software and hardware products described
in it. All comics and publishers identified throughout this book are used in editorial fashion only and for the benefit of users with no intention of
infringement of trademarks. No such use, or the use of any trade name, is intended to convey endorsement or other affiliation with this book. eCom-
ics displayed in the screenshots are for demonstrational purposes only. The freely downloadable eComic covers and official preview pages for the
respective comics have been used to construct demo cbz files. The ComicRack team strongly discourages copyright infringements, and opposes
piracy in any form.
 Preface to the third edition
Luck is what you have left over after you give 100 percent. Well, if that is true, I sure am
lucky. After giving my 100 percent for the second edition a month back, I thought that I neither had
any content left to explain, nor any improvements to perform (considering the absolute lack of skill
in my persona). But I was wrong, and here we are with the 3rd edition of the manual in less than
two months!
The second edition of our manual got an unprecedented response. Our team and all the
readers were nice enough to ignore the mistakes (both technical & factual) and appreciate the posi-
tives. Soon after the euphoria subsided, constructive suggestions started coming in, and I began
planning for a revised second edition. As usual, Stonepaw was the proof-reader, and quidam the
editor. From a few minor typographical errors and some features that I had missed, the change log
began growing everyday to an extent that I had to add about 25 pages to the last edition. Almost
every chapter had some new section added. Lists were allotted their own chapter. All this was rea-
son enough to release this edition of the manual as the third edition, and not as a revised second
edition. While the second edition was a radical change from the first one, this third edition builds
on the successful second edition, continuing the teach yourself visually layout.
Features that were missing in the last edition have been added. These include sections
on multiple eComic information dialog, autoscrolling, backup database, info panel, & command
switches. The scripts chapter has also undergone a number of changes; installation of scripts (in-
cluding crplugin scripts) is clearly explained, description of bundled scripts has been added, the
section on comic vine scraper has been updated in accordance with the latest v1.0.25, and the
comic vine scraper project page also gets a mention. The other chapter that has been restructured
is the network sharing chapter. The section on enabling network sharing was, honestly speaking,
a rushed-up job in the last edition, and has been accordingly rewritten. The lists section, as men-
tioned earlier, has been allotted its own (well-deserved) chapter. Individual sections for browser
views, favorites window, stacks layout, drag & drop, installing ghostscript, duplicate current list and
copying / pasting list layouts have been added. A large number of other minor updates are there.
Hopefully, this edition will also be received well by the ComicRack community. I have tried
my best (again!) to keep the manual as complete & error-free as possible. Please do give your sug-
gestions to improve the manual further. However, I wish I dont get lucky very soon again!

600Wpmpo
27 June 2010
 Preface to the second edition
It feels very nice to write the preface for the second edition. The first edition of the manual
was a simple, brief and rather amateur work. Things have changed since then. This time, I have
used (with no formal training) Adobe Indesign CS5 for the page layout and design of the manual,
and feel quite confident recommending this excellent software to friends having similar interests.
The manual has been almost completely rewritten and restructured. The section on reading lists
has been expanded and now is a detailed manuscript on the topic. We now have a separate (and
much-deserved) chapter on scripts, discussing almost all of the important scripts. Sections which
were inappropriately long have been abridged (the comic display settings section earlier spanned 4
pages, now it packs more information in a single page). The manual now has a proper (hyperlinked)
table of contents and an index. Each chapter also has its own table of contents. However, cross-
referencing has still not been implemented (due to a bug in InDesign) and is in the to-do list for the
next edition. While most of the wiki-copied sections have been replaced, some of them are written
so perfectly that I have decided against changing them. With this edition, a new pattern of diagrams
have been introduced, consisting of screenshots outlined with different strokes and explanatory
text alongside. I have always been impressed with the teach yourself visually series of books, and
have adapted their style to provide the manual an almost professional look.
Overall, the manual has improved in both the quality of content and the number of pages.
Not surprisingly, with this release, the file size of the manual has also doubled. For this reason, the
manual is being released in two formats: original/HQ version (recommended), and a small-sized
(low-quality) version.
No preface would be complete without thanking cYo. A lot of us move on with time, but
some great individuals keep true to their dreams and pursue them to perfection; cYo is one of those
people. I would also take this opportunity to thank my friends Stonepaw (for proof-reading the first
edition) and quidam (for helping me out with portions that I didnt understand properly).
I hope the manual would prove useful to the users of ComicRack. I intend to keep on
improving the manual, and releasing new editions from time to time, both to add the features that
I missed, and to add the new features as they are introduced. Just like with the previous version,
please support the manual project by giving it a good read, and pointing out any errors that you
discover.

600Wpmpo
08 June 2010
 Preface to the first edition
There comes a day in everyones life when one says to himself, What had I been doing all
this time? Such a day revelled on me about 2 years back when I stumbled upon a software called
ComicRack. At that time, I had just, rather painstakingly, completed organizing about half of my
comic collection in a record 2 weeks time, and was quite smug with the feat. So, anyway, I installed
it and began experimenting with my unorganized comics. In those days, ComicRack was neither
so much popular, nor the monster (in terms of functionality and efficiency) it is now. Still, it took
even less than an hour to sort out all the gigs of my eComics, all decked up with metadata and stuff.
Navigating eComics became a breeze, and managing my comics took less time than reading them.
That was the experience I hadnt forgotten till date. While my tastes in reading comics have changed
a lot since then, ComicRack has been my constant companion.
Over the years, I have seen ComicRack undergo a huge number of positive changes. A lot
of features have been added, some of them so subtle that unless you look for them, you wont find
them! I introduced a lot of my friends to ComicRack. Every few days, someone or the other would
say Yeah, this software is good, but I wish it had this feature also, or something on these lines.
While it felt nice to look at their blushing faces when I told them that what they wanted was already
there, I also agreed with them that such a program should have a proper help file. Many reviewers,
who had kind words of praise for ComicRack, also criticised it for lacking a manual. A few months
back, I finally got around to making one. I immediately realised that the plethora of features (Comi-
cRack is not just features rich, it is Bill Gates features rich) made it quite overwhelming to compile
and explain everything. Still, I have tried my best at doing what should have been done a lot earlier:
making a foundation for a proper manual for a software that deserves it more than anything else.
Since I am no web designer or software geek, the manuals look is still amateurish despite
of my hard work. Some sections are shamelessly copied from the ComicRack wiki. In spite of us-
ing ComicRack for many years, I am still not completely familiar with some of the features, and
they might be fully and properly explained in future editions. Please download the manual and give
it a read. Do point out any errors (of both omission and commission) and Ill try my best to rectify
them in the next update. Please give suggestions as to how we can further improve the look of the
manual. If you dislike anything in the manual (or the whole of it), please feel free to give construc-
tive criticism.

600Wpmpo
28 April 2010
 Acknowledgements
cYo
The creator of ComicRack. He is the single person whose consistent efforts have
transformed his fun project into todays top rated eComic managing program.
Greatly respected and loved by all, he solely develops and updates the software.

quidam
One of the most helpful members on the forum.
He seems to know the ComicRack software bet-
ter than most of us, and is the official editor and
trouble-shooter for the manual.
Stonepaw
The main script developer of ComicRack. He
has a lot of scripts to his credit, and is one of the
most reliable persons to seek in times of crisis. He
is also the official proof-reader for the manual.

cbanack Shinrai
Best known for developing the Comic vine scrap- Shinrai has been with the ComicRack team for
er script. His script is considered the best script a long time. Helpful and supportive, Shinrai is al-
ever in the history of ComicRack. ways there to lean on.

wadegiles oraclexview
One of the oldest members, wadegiles has to his Oraclexview has developed a couple of excellent
credit a number of scripts, that have stood the scripts over the past one year, that are very popu-
test of time, and still figure in the currently popu- lar & useful even today.
lar script lists.

DouglasBubbletrousers Alan Scott

Considered an expert in making comic book chro- One of the senior members, Alan is widely appre-
nologies, and posting them as reading lists for all ciated for his work on the ComicRack wiki.
of us.

perezmu {Oo}
One of the oldest members, perezmu was the {Oo} is also a member for a long time. He is a
person whose idea (ImportComicVineInfo script) regular these days on the forum, and is always
was later modified into the comic vine scraper. found helping other users.
He is also the developer of arturos toolbox script.

Although a lot of other users have contributed to the development of The ComicRack Manual, it is not possible to list and thank all of
them. Any omissions are inadvertent and should be excused. Here are some active users, who are regularly participating in the discus-
sions on the forum, and have helped, in some way or the other, the software (sometimes by finding bugs & even seeking help) & the
manual (by their comments & experiences).

Fain bkagan forkicks lanzajr26 RevQuixo Franck peterparker72

Contents
Introduction
What is ComicRack ? 3
SystemRequirements 3
Supported Languages 3
Feature Overview 4
eComics: Basic Facts 6

Getting started
Installation 9
First Run 11
Start a new library 12
Open an eComic 12
Drag and Drop 13
Reading Pdf files 14
 User Interface
Main Window 17
Docking Grips 18
Toolbars & Tab bars 19
ComicRack Status Bar 20
Menus 21
State Indicators 23
Ribbons 23
Stars 23
Pending Background Tasks 23

Browser
Introduction to the Browser 26
Docking the Browser 27
Browser Toolbar 28
Library 28
Browser Views 29
Browser Context Menu 34
Folders 35
Pages 36
Saving Pages 37
Deleting Pages 37
Sidebar 38
Sidebar Toolbar 39
Search Browser 40
Using the Quick Search box 41
Using the Negation filter 41
(contd...)
(contd...)
Optional Windows 42
Favorites 42
SmallPreview 42
Info Panel 43

Reader
Introduction to the Reader 46
Reader Navigation 47
Auto Scrolling 48
Reader Toolbar 49
Reader Tab Bar 50
Overlays 51
Reader Context Menu 52

Configuring
Preferences 55
Reader Setup 56
Keyboard Map 57
TouchGestures 58
Libraries 59
Behavior 60
Scripts 61
Advanced 62
ComicDisplaySettings 63
List Layouts 64
Copying/PastingLayouts 65
Workspaces 66
Command-line Switches 68
 Managing
Info 71
Summary 71
Details 72
Plot & Notes 74
Pages 75
Colors 76
Multiple eComic Information Dialog 77
Copy & Paste data 78
Reading Lists 79
Exporting eComics 80
Creating exportpresets 80
Bookmarks 81
Database Backup 82
How to backup a database ? 82
How to restore a database ? 82
What is backed up ? 83
Good Backup Practices 83

Lists
Introduction 86
Custom Lists vs. Smart Lists 86
Create a new Custom List 87
Custom Lists 87
Smart Lists 89
Create a new Smart List 89
Smart List Basics 90
(contd...)
Working with Lists 91
Open a list in its own tab / window 91
Duplicate current list 91
Edit a smart list (change its rules) 92
Delete an eComic from a custom list 91
Delete a list 92
Working with reading list folders 92
Export (or backup) Lists 93
Exporting basics 93
How to export & import lists 93

Scripts
Scripts: Basics 96
Installing Scripts 96
1stgenerationScripts 96
2ndgenerationScripts 96
3rdgenerationScripts 97
UninstallingScripts 97
Current Popular Scripts 98
Comic Vine Scraper 99
Other Scripts 101
Pre-loaded Scripts 101
AutonumberWizard 101
SearchandReplace 101
RenameFiles 102
CommitProposedvalues 102
ExportComicList 102
WebLink 102
WeeklyComicReleases 103
OrganizeLibraryFiles&Folders 103
MoveFiles 104
ArturosNewComicsToolbox 104
FindGapsinseries 105
GuidedRename 105
(contd...)
(contd...)
Extractallpages 106
Extractfirstpage 106
OpenWithScript 107
CreateCombinedScript 107

Web Comics
Web Comic Basics 110
Getting Web comics 110
ComicRack forum 110
Create Web comics 110
WebcomicTemplates 111
Working with Web comics 113
Alter a Web comics starting date 114
Save a Web comic for offline reading 114
Updating Web comics 114

Network Sharing
Opening Remote Libraries 117
Enabling Network Sharing 119
Allow ComicRack through firewall 120
Sharing on the LAN 121
Enabling sharing on the LAN 121
Sharing over the Internet 122
Enabling sharing via a modem 122
Enabling sharing via a router 122
 Support
Forum 126
Facebook 127
News 128
Donations 129
Why donate ? 129
How to donate ? 129
 About the Manual
Who needs this book ics into custom lists and smart lists to suit a particular
reading style or mood.
The ComicRack Manual is for 3 kinds of users. First, the
Chapter 9, Scripts, introduces you to a large number of
naive user who has never used the ComicRack soft-
add-ons for ComicRack to increase its functionality by
ware. Second, the casual user who knows the basics of
automating various tasks.
the program, but feels overwhelmed by the sheer num-
ber of features that ComicRack provides, and would like
Chapter 10, Web Comics, introduces you to the Web
to master them at his own pace. Lastly, the advanced
Comic format; creating, downloading and updating Web
user, who wishes to expand his knowledge of the differ-
Comics using ComicRack is also explained.
ent features that ComicRack has to offer.
Chapter 11, Network Sharing, tells you how to use Comi-
Book Organization cRack for sharing your eComic collection with your fam-
ily & friends over the internet.
The ComicRack Manual has 12 chapters:
Chapter 12, Support, provides information on how you
Chapter 1, Introduction, gives you the basics of eComics can help the ComicRack project. It also tells about vari-
and ComicRack. ous ComicRack resources on the web.

Chapter 2, Getting Started, explains installing Comic- Chapter Organization

Rack and using it for the first time.
One chapter groups together a number of sections hav-
Chapter 3, User Interface, introduces you to the win-
ing a common theme. A chapter may also contain pages
dows, menus, and toolbars of ComicRack.
that give you the background information needed to un-
derstand the sections in a chapter. Every section has an
Chapter 4, Browser, discusses the browser window in
introduction to the task at hand, a set of full color screen-
detail. You get to know about the library, folders and pag-
shots, and steps that walk you through the task, and a set
es tabs, the sidebar, and the search browser.
of tips. This format allows you to quickly look at the topic
Chapter 5, Reader, discusses the reader window in de- of interest and understand it instantly.
tail, including basic navigation, toolbars, and tab bars.

Chapter 6, Configuring, shows you how to setup Comic-

Rack according to your taste, using the Preferences di-
alog, comic display settings, list layouts, and workspaces.

Chapter 7, Managing, helps you organize your eComic

collection using metadata. The Info dialog and reading
lists are described in detail.

Chapter 8, Lists, explains in detail how to organize eCom-

 How to Use this Manual
The Conventions in this book
Using the mouse
A number of typographic and layout styles have been
used throughout The ComicRack Manual to distinguish The book uses the following convention to describe the
different types of information. actions you perform when using the mouse:

Blue italic Click

Blue italic type represents the names of commands and Press your left mouse-button once. You generally click
options that you interact with. Most of the blue italic your mouse on something to select something on your
terms are indexed. screen. The word single-click is synonymous with the
word click.
Blue stroke
Blue stroke text indicates keyboard shortcuts. These
are alternatives to performing the desired actions with Double-click
the mouse. Press your left mouse-button twice. Double-clicking
something on the computer screen generally opens
whatever item you have double-clicked.
Blue Underlined
Blue underlined text indicates hyperlinks. These are ei-
ther cross-references to text somewhere else in the book,
Right click
Press your right-mouse button. When you right-click an-
or links to resources on the internet.
ything on the computer screen, the program displays a
shortcut menu containing commands specific to the se-
Numbered Lists lected item.
You must perform the instructions given in Red num-
bered lists in order to successfully complete a section Drag and drop
and achieve the final results. Blue numbered lists denote Move your mouse pointer and hover it over an item on
the various components of the menu / window being dis- the screen. Press and hold down the left mouse button.
cussed. Now, move the mouse to where you want to place the
item and then release the button. You use this method to
Bulleted Lists move an item from one area of the computer screen to
These bulleted lists point out various optional features. another.
You dont have to perform them as steps.

Tips
Tips offer additional information, including hints, tricks,
and solutions to some common problems faced by
TIPS users. You can use the TIPS information to go be-
yond what you have already learned. You can eas-
ily identify the TIPS in any section by looking at the TIPS
button.
This page intentionally left blank
Introduction
Are you new to ComicRack?
This chapter introduces you
to the world of ComicRack
and eComics. Welcome
aboard!
What is ComicRack ? 3
System Requirements 3
Supported Languages 3

Feature Overview 4

eComics: Basic Facts 6

What is ComicRack ?

ComicRack is the best eComic reader and manager

for Windows computers. It is an all-in-one solution
to read and manage your eComic library. It is actively
maintained, has a strong user base and is FREE.
ComicRack uses Comic Book Archive files, which
have the extension .cbr or .cbz and are simply re-
named RAR or ZIP files, respectively. ComicRack
supports various file formats including PDF, CBZ (ZIP),
CBR(RAR), CB7(7z), TAR(CBT), and may add further
formats in the future.

SystemRequirements

Supported Operating Systems: Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP

SP3
Processor: 400 MHz Pentium processor or equivalent (Minimum); 1GHz
Pentium processor or equivalent (Recommended)
RAM: 128 MB (Minimum); 2 GB (Recommended)
Hard Disk: Up to 40 MB of available space may be required
CD or DVD Drive: Not required
Display: 800 x 600, 256 colors (Minimum); 1024 x 768 high color, 32-bit
(Recommended)
Software: .NET framework 4.0 is required to run ComicRack 0.9.122
and higher, Ghostscript 8.7 (optional) is needed for complete pdf sup-
port.

Supported Languages
ComicRack is multilingual: English, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese,
Chinese and other languagepacks are available. The latest release of Comi-
cRack always contains all Language Packs in the setup.

3
 Feature
Overview

Read your eComics the way

you want: Fast navigation,
auto scrolling, auto rotation,
dynamic zooming, automatic
page fitting, magnifier, man-
ga mode, full screen reading,
dual screen support, multi-tab
interface.

The powerful integrated li-

brary allows you to bring your
whole collection to life. With
different ways to group, sort
and present all the data of
your eComics, it helps you
rediscover your hidden treas-
ures.

ComicRack allows you to

edit and show the information
of your eComics. You can even
change the color and sharp-
ness of comic pages.

4
 Edit eComic pages, rotate
them to your needs, change
the reading order or add ad-
ditional information.

ComicRack can batch con-

vert your eComics to all im-
portant formats (including
PDF). And all this in done in
the background while you
keep on reading.

ComicRack can be adapted

to your needs. Optimize page
display, share your library in
your local network or change
the user interface language.

5
 eComics:
Basic Facts

eComics are basically archives of individual page images and usually have the extension .cbr or .cbz. eComics are
thus defined as RAR/ZIP/7z files containing JPG, BMP, PNG, or GIF images, with the extension changed to CBR/CBZ/
CB7 respectively.

ComicRack organizes eComics by storing metadata as Xml snippets (either as part of the big
library file ComicDB.xml) or as single small files (called Comicinfo.xml) into eComics. As eComics
can have a variety of formats (PDF, CBZ, CBR, CB7, CBT), the ability to save metadata differs:
PDF: No archive at all, no place for ComicInfo.xml or any custom metadata.
CBR: Rar format can not be written (proprietary)
CBZ: ComicInfo.xml is updated
CB7: ComicInfo.xml is updated
CBT: Streaming archive, no update because of performance issues.

The recommended format is CBZ, as ZIP/7z are freely available formats while RAR is owned by RarLabs. They have
released the unRAR capabilities but not the RAR. Thus, the ComicInfo.xml file is changed/added for CBZ and CB7
eComics only, while for all other archive formats (including CBR), it is not touched.

Will my metadata stay preserved if I transfer my eComics to another computer?

All the files of all the formats recognized by ComicRack that are in your Library, are
stored in the database file (ComicDB.xml), so you can easily backup/restore their meta-
data. In case of CBZ (also in CB7 & CBT, and not in normal zip, 7z, tar) files, ComicRack
also stores metadata as the Comicinfo.xml file within these file formats. Once the
Comicinfo.xml file is stored in cbz/cb7/cbt files, the metadata in these file formats will
stay preserved no matter wherever or how many times you transfer them. However,
upon transfer, you will lose non-comic metadata information: last page read, current
page, added, tags, rating, read percentage, opened count, added/opened date etc.

Technically you can retrieve metadata from CBRs as well, since the metadata is also
stored in the secondary stream of an eComic. This means that as long as you don't
move the eComic to a non-NTFS partition or burn it to a CD or something, you will be
able to retrieve metadata from CBRs also. This also implies that in case of CBR files, the
metadata is lost if you transfer the file to another computer. However, its metadata (or
any file format, for that matter) can be saved by backing up the database (ComicDB.
xml) from the Preferences dialog. Backing up database saves absolutely everything,
including the non-comic metadata that is not preserved in the Comicinfo.xml file. For
more information, see the section on Database Backup.

6
Getting started
Are you ready to experience
ComicRack? In this chap-
ter, you learn the basics of
installing and getting started
with ComicRack. Come on
in!
Installation 9
First Run 11
Start a new library 12
Open an eComic 12
Drag and Drop 13
Reading Pdf files 14
 Installation

InstallingComicRack is a very simple process. Just follow the step-by-step instructions below to get Comic-
Rack working on your system. The steps outlined below depict ComicRack installation on a PC running Win-
dows 7. if you have a different (supported) operating system, the screens may appear slightly different.

1. Download the latest ComicRack setup file from the ComicRack download page. Double-click the setup
file to open the installation wizard. Click Next to continue.
2. Read the license agreement, and click I agree to continue.
3. Choose the components that you want to install, and uncheck those you dont. You can see the description
of the components by positioning your mouse over them.

1 2 3

4. Choose the folder in which to install ComicRack. The default location is C:/Program Files/ComicRack.
5. ComicRack requires .NETframework 4. If not already installed on your system, the ComicRack installer
will offer to download it from the internet.
5a. Pressing No will continue with the ComicRack installation, but the program will not run till the re-
quired .NET installation is completed. Instead, the .NET framework initialization error will occur on run-
ning ComicRack.

4 5 5a

9
 5b. The .NETframework can be installed through the offline standalone .NET installer, either prior to or after
the ComicRack installation. However, the simplest way is to click yes when the ComicRack installer
prompts you. Accept the .NET license terms and let it install.

5b

6. Just after the .NET framework installation completes, a dialog box appears, asking for an immediate system
restart.
6a. Click Restart Later, and let ComicRack complete its installation and then manually restart your system.
6b. If, however, you are installing .NET prior or after ComicRack installation, you can safely click the Restart
Now button when asked by the .NET installer.
7. Click Finish to complete the installation.

6a 6b 7

TIPS
From where do I download Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0 so that I may use it for offline
installation?

Following are download links for all Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0
versions available:
Download Link (Web Installer) (requires Internet connection at installation time)
Full Standalone Installer (supports x86, x64 and ia64 architectures but some features are not sup-
ported on ia64 for example, WPF)
Full Standalone Installer x86 (If you need to install it in x86 system only)
Full Standalone Installer ia64 (if you need to install it in ia64 system only)

10
 First Run

As you are going to start ComicRack for the first time, we would like to welcome you to the ComicRack community.
Wishing you a lifetime of comics, with a little help from the most complete, yet incredibly easy software that you have
just successfully installed. So, come on, lets start ComicRack !

1. Double-click the ComicRack icon to open the program. It can be found on 1

the desktop or under All Programs in the Windows Start Menu. We recom-
mend pinning the program shortcut to the taskbar (Windows 7) or the start
menu for quick access.

2 3 4

2. A Windows Security Alert may pop-up, in- 5

dicating that windows firewall has blocked
some features of ComicRack. You may
check all options and safely click the Al-
low access button. This is a once-only step
and wont be required every time you start
ComicRack.
3. You will be greeted with the ComicRack
splashscreen.
4. A dialog will open requesting you to Donate
to ComicRack if you wish. To know more
about Donations, please read the section
on Donations. Even if you decide not to do-
nate, ComicRack is fully functional. In this
case, click Skip for now.
5. The defaultComicRackwindow is open,
and your program is up and running !

11
 Open an eComic
Opening your first eComic with ComicRack is the quickest way to
get started! There are a number of ways of opening eComics with
ComicRack:
From the Main menu at the top of the window, click the
Filemenu and then click OpeneComic
Click the blank tab (labelled Open eComic) just below the
mainmenu (on the readertabbar)
Alternatively, you may simply use the Ctrl+O keyboard com-
bo
Double-clicking any cbz/cbr file in windows explorer will launch
that file with ComicRack
Right-clicking any zip/rar archive in windows explorer and se-
lecting Open with ComicRack

Start a new library

Adding your eComic collection to ComicRack is the first step in
managing / organizing your ever expanding comic collection. Here
is a quick startup on how to start a new eComic library with Comi-
cRack:

1. From the main menu at the top of the window, click File and 1
then click Add Folder to Library. Alternatively, you may simply
use the Ctrl+Shift+A keyboard combo
2. Browse to where your comics are. Select your eComic folder,
and click Ok.
3. ComicRack will scan the folder (and its subfolders) and add all
eComics to the Library. The pendingbackgroundtasksindica-
tor on the statusbar at the bottom of ComicRack will display
a spin logo while searching.

These steps may have to be repeated if you have your eComics in 2

more than one folder. The next time you add an eComic to one of
the added folders, you may click the ScaneComicfolders button
from the file menu, or simply restart ComicRack, and the newly
added files will be displayed in your ComicRack library. More ad-
vanced features of the library shall be discussed in the forthcoming
chapters.

12
 Drag and Drop
You can also draganddrop your eComics into ComicRack to 1
read them or to add them to the ComicRack library. New us-
ers find this the most convenient way to get started! Here is
how you can use this feature:

From an explorer window, select an eComic. If you are plan-

ning to add eComic to ComicRack, you can select a batch
of eComics.
Drag & drop it over the Reader window (if you want to read
it) or the Browser window (if you want to add it to the li-
brary). Learn more about these windows & the user inter-
With the left mouse button clicked, drag an eComic from
face of ComicRack in the next chapter. explorer towards the ComicRack window.

2a 2b

Drag and drop your eComic over the Reader Release the mouse button to drop the eComic
window (this is the window that you see occupy- over the Reader window. You can now read your
ing the upper half of the default ComicRack eComic with ComicRack.
interface)

3a 3b

Drag and drop your eComic over the Browser
window (this is the window that you see occupy-
ing the lower half of the default ComicRack
interface)
Release the mouse button to drop the eComic over
the Browser window. Your eComic is now added to
the ComicRack library. Now, whenever you open
ComicRack, you can access the added eComic
from the browser window.

13
 Reading Pdf files

Out of the box, ComicRack has very limited support for PDF files. Basically it tries to get
all the images in it and displays them. Of course, this works for most eComic PDFs but not
for eBooks which also contain a lot of text. However, you can convert ComicRack to a full
blown, fully compliant PDF reader and have the advantage of all the built in library functions
(cover, page thumbnails and previews, database etc.)

You simply have to download the official ghostscript release and install it on your system.
Make sure to install the correct version. If you run ComicRack as 32 bit, you must install Ghostscript is a suite of soft-
ware based on an interpreter
the 32 bit version of ghostscript. After this, ComicRack will automatically use it and display for Adobe Systems PostScript
PDFs as good as Adobe Reader. and Portable Document For-
mat (PDF) page description
languages.
Just follow these 2 simple steps to install ghostscript on your system:

1 2 Once the extraction is complete, the ghostscript setup dialog

will open. Here, if you wish, you can change the installation di-
rectory. To begin the installation, click Install. The Ghostscript
setup log will open and a scrolling list of files being copied to
the system will be seen. Once installation is complete, the
setup dialog boxes will close.

Please note that you do not need to open or run the ghost-
Double-click the downloaded Ghostscript setup file. The Win- script program just installed. Simply running ComicRack on a
Zip self-extractor will open up. Click on Setup to begin the ex- system having ghostscript will open & read pdf files perfectly.
traction.

Before Ghostscript After Ghostscript

Opening the ComicRack manual pdf file in ComicRack Opening the ComicRack manual pdf file in ComicRack
on a system that does not have ghostscript. See how on the same system after installing ghostscript. Now,
ComicRack displays only the images on a page. ComicRack displays the manual just like Adobe Reader.

14
User Interface
Getting familiar with the in-
terface and terminologies of
ComicRack will serve as a
primer for later understand-
ing the myriad functional-
ity ComicRack has to offer.
Dont skip this one!
Main Window 17
Docking Grips 18
Toolbars & Tab bars 19
ComicRack Status Bar 20
Menus 21
State Indicators 23
Ribbons 23
Stars 23
Pending Background Tasks 23
 Main Window

This chapter is essential for understanding the terminologies used to describe the various parts of ComicRack. Take
some time to familiarize yourself with the components.

ComicRack broadly consists of 2 main components, the Reader window and the Browser window. You manage your
eComics in the Browser, and you read them in the Reader. The ComicRack Reader and Browser are supplemented by
their respective toolbars and tab bars. The Browser is supported by the Sidebar, which carries the library, plus all the
reading lists. At the top of the ComicRack window is the MainMenu, and at the bottom lies the StatusBar.

Shown below is the default interface for ComicRack:

Main Menu
Reader Toolbar

Reader Tab Bar

1 Reader Window

Browser Tab Bar

Sidebar Toolbar 3 2 Browser Window Browser Toolbar

Sidebar

Status Bar

17
 Docking Grips
In its default layout, ComicRack contains as many as 3 hidden
or optional windows. These can be identified by noticing the dot- 4
ted extenders known as DockingGrips. Clicking on these docking
grips toggles off/on the 3 optional windows, viz. SearchBrowser, 2 1
Favorites & SmallPreview. Apart from these, there are 3 more
docking grips that assist in changing the layout of the ComicRack
window contents.
Although, technically speaking, the Sidebar also is an optional win- 5
dow, yet it is active in the default ComicRack setup. This is due to
the essential functionality of the Sidebar (discussed in forthcom-
ing chapters). Please also note that the Info Panel docking grip is
not seen in the default setup. It shall be discussed later.
The locations and names of all the docking grips are tabulated be- 3 6
low:

Location Name
1 Between the Browser Toolbar above and the Browser window below Search Browser Docking Grip

2 Between the Sidebar Toolbar above and the Sidebar below Favorites Docking Grip

3 Between the Sidebar above and the Status bar below Small Preview Docking Grip

4 Between the Reader Window above and the Browser Tab Bar below Browser Docking Grip

5 Between the Sidebar on the left and the Reader window on the right Sidebar Docking Grip

6 Between the Browser window above and the Status bar below InfoPanelDockingGrip

Favorites Window
Search Browser
2 1

3 6

Small Preview Info Panel

18
 With the Sidebar toggled off, the Browser Tab Bar sits just above the Browser Tool-
bar. Please remember that the Sidebar comes back when the Folders tab is clicked.
Therefore, if required, it has to be toggled off independently for both the Library
tab and the Folders tab. It should be noted that the Pages Browser does not have
5 the Sidebar, and thus does not display the Sidebar docking grip.

Toolbars & Tab bars

The BrowserTabBar contains tabs for the Li- The Comic Reader is the area where the
braryBrowser, FoldersBrowser, and PagesBrowser, open eComics are displayed. Just above
which are all integrated with the Sidebar Toolbar the Reader window is the ReaderTabBar
and the Browser Toolbar. The Sidebar folders & lists on the left, and the ReaderToolbar on the
can be opened in a new tab here. Shared libraries right. The Reader Tab Bar shows the tabs
also show up here in their own tabs. The Library and for currently opened eComics. Scrolling
Folders tabs open up their respective content in the anywhere over the reader tab bar switches
Sidebar, while the Pages Tab uses the entire Browser its tabs. It continues into the Reader Tool-
window to display details regarding the pages of an bar which contains several buttons and
open eComic. Please note that scrolling anywhere menus required for customizing the dis-
over the tab bar switches its tabs. play for the eComics opened in the Reader.

Browser Tab Bar Reader Tab Bar Reader Toolbar

Sidebar Toolbar Browser Toolbar

The Sidebartoolbar contains the icons required for The Browsertoolbar contains a number of
working with the sidebar. At the extreme right, the options for viewing a variety of comic lay-
sidebar toolbar contains previous / next arrows for out styles in the Browser. The content of
navigating through the sidebar lists and folders. The the Browser Toolbar changes with respect
content of the Sidebar Toolbar changes with respect to the tab open in the Browser Tab Bar.
to the tab open in the Browser Tab Bar.

19
 ComicRack Status Bar
The ComicRack StatusBar is present at the very bottom of the ComicRack window. It displays important information
about your eComics.
At the very left of the Status Bar, the total number (and size) of eComics displayed in the Browser is seen. This num-
ber indicates the number of eComics present in the list selected in the sidebar. The Library list is the default, and
reflects your entire eComic collection archived with ComicRack.
Next to it is the number (and size) of the eComics currently selected in the Browser window. For some users, this
might be the quickest way to find out the size of a particular eComic, or a group of many eComics.

Number of selected eComics / Size Pending Background Tasks Indicator Current Page of the open eComic eComic Display resize slider

Total eComics displayed in the Browser/ Total Size Caption of the opened eComic Page count of the opened eComic Server Statistics
At the right end of the Status Bar, the eComicdisplayresizeslider is present. This is used when you wish to increase
the size of the eComics view (thumbnails, tiles or details) in the Browser window. The resize slider can be dragged to
the right to increase the thumbnail or the tile size, and, in case of the details view, the row size.
Left to the resize slider is the page count of the opened eComic, followed by the current page number of the open
eComic and the caption of the opened eComic, in that order.

Still left is the PendingBackgroundTasksIndicator,
that spins whenever info data from files is being read,
or web comics are being updated. Clicking it brings
on the PendingBackgroundTasksDialog.
If you are sharing your library over the network, you
will see a round icon at the extreme right of the Sta-
tus Bar; this is the Server Statistics button, clicking
which will open a small window showing all the de-
tailed server statistics for your shared library.

The Server Statistics dialog displays all

The Pending Background Tasks Dialog displays all pending tasks,
the details regarding network traffic of
with options to abort them immediately.
your remote library.

20
 Menus

The ComicRack Mainmenu contains a number of self-explanatory menus. Each menu has a number of sections,
containing several functions. All of these functions have been described in relevant chapters. Here is a brief over-
view of these menus.
The Filemenu comprises 6 sections, the main functions of which are as
follows:
1
1. Opening or closing eComics
2. Creating a new tab 2
3. Organising and updating the library folders and files
4. Opening remote libraries
3
5. History
6. Exit or Restart

4
5

The Editmenu comprises 6 sections, the main functions of which are as

follows: 1
1. Opening the eComic Info dialog
2. Undo / Redo buttons 2
3. Editing eComic pages, plus rating and bookmarking them
4. Copying/exporting pages
5. Refreshing ComicRack 3
6. Opening the Preferences dialog

5
6

How do I hide / unhide the main menu ?

The ComicRack main menu can be hidden using the

Shift+F10 keyboard combo, and can be subsequently tog-
gled on/off using the Alt key.

21
The Browsemenu comprises 3 sections, the main functions of which are
as follows:
1. Quick links to toggle ComicRack components on/off
2. Shift back and forth the comic lists
3. Browsing / Editing workspaces and list layouts 1

The Read menu comprises 4 sections, which have the following main
functions:
1. Shifting between eComic pages 1
2. Shifting between individual eComics
3. Shifting between Tabs 2
4. Options for Autoscrolling
3

The Displaymenu has 3 sections, which contain:

1. Comic Display Settings dialog 1
2. Page customization options (Layout, zoom, rotation)
3. User interface customization options 2

The Page Layout options can also be accessed from the Reader Toolbar.

The Helpmenu contains important links to the ComicRack forum and

homepage. The ComicRack documentation links to the ComicRack
wiki page. A Support button is there for users wishing to donate and
maintain ComicRack.

22
 State Indicators

ComicRack makes use of a number of small icons, called StateIndicators to provide a lot of at-a-glance information.

Ribbons
The greenribbon indicates the last page read in an eComic.
The yellowribbon is the current page open in the eComic.
If the current page being read is earlier than the last page
ever opened, the yellow ribbon scrolls down as the eComic
pages are read, till the green ribbon is reached. From there
on, the green ribbon takes over till the end of the eComic.

Stars

You may occasionally see coloured stars on eComic thumb-

nails or in the state column if you use the list view. Each star
has a specific meaning.
Red: The Web comic has been updated with new pages.
The number is the number of new pages. Once the new
pages are read, the red stars disappear.
Blue: The eComic in the current list that was last opened
in the reader.
Green: The eComic is currently open in the reader. If no
eComic is open, the green star will not be seen.
Orange: Data is pending to be written to the Comicinfo.
xml file in the eComic archive. This includes changes to As the orange stars are basically update reminders, you can re-
the metadata, information on the page images, changes duce a lot of manual updating by allowing automatic updating,
in eComic attributes (like file size and file modified time). allowing automatically writing data to the files, and increasing
your page cache. You will learn to access these options from the
Updating your eComic files makes the orange stars disap- Preferences section in the Configuring chapter.
pear.

Pending Background Tasks

If there are any currently under-process assignments (called
Pending Tasks) then an animated icon in StatusBar is shown.
This is the PendingBackgroundTasksIndicator. Double-
clicking on it opens the PendingBackgroundTasksdialog.

23
Browser
Having problems manag-
ing your eComic collection?
Suffering heartaches while
spending hours organizing
them? Look no further, the
ComicRack browser is will
come to your rescue!
Introduction to the Browser 26
Docking the Browser 27
Browser Toolbar 28
Library 28
Browser Views 29
Browser Context Menu 34
Folders 35
Pages 36
Saving Pages 37
Deleting Pages 37
Sidebar 38
Sidebar Toolbar 39
Search Browser 40
Using the Quick Search 41
Using the Negation filter 41
Optional Windows 42
Favorites 42
SmallPreview 42
Info Panel 43
 Introduction to
the Browser
The Browser is the section of ComicRack that helps you manage / organize / browse your eComic collection. All (or
selected) eComics are displayed in the Browserwindow in the form of thumbnails, tiles, or details view. The Browser
window is ably supported by the BrowserToolbar and the BrowserTabbar. The Sidebar is an essential component of
the Browser, and changes its content according to the tab open in the Browser Tab Bar. There are 3 tabs in the Browser
Tab Bar, viz. Library, Folders and Pages. Out of these, the Library and the Folders tabs are integrated with the sidebar,
while the Pages tab does not contain the Sidebar. The Browser window is often referred to as the LibraryBrowser,
FoldersBrowser or PagesBrowser, depending on which tab is open in the Library Tab Bar. The SearchBrowser, fa-
voriteswindow, and the SmallPreview are the 3 optionalwindows of the Browser, and can be toggled off/on using
their respective Docking Grips.
Browser Tab Bar

Sidebar Toolbar Browser Toolbar

Sidebar Browser Window

Favorites Window Search Browser

Small Preview

26
 Docking the Browser

The position of the Browser in the ComicRack window can be changed

to suit the users choice. The Dockmenu present on the extreme right of
the BrowserTabBar can be used to place (dock) the Browser to the left,
right or bottom position in the ComicRack window. The Browser docked
at the bottom is the default setting.

Dock Bottom (default)

One important setting is the DockFill option, which unifies the Brows-
er tab bar with the Reader tab bar and the Reader Toolbar. In this
setting, eComics open on this UnifiedTabbar. Please note that the
Fullscreen interface under the Dock fill option displays the main menu
and the unified tab bar.

Dock Left

The Dock menu also contains the InfoPanelright option. You can use
this option to dock the InfoPanel (docked at bottom of the browser
by default) to the right side of the browser. To know more about the
Dock Right
Info panel, see the corresponding section at the end of this chapter.

27
 Library

The Librarytab is the section of ComicRack that allows the user to interact with archived eComics via the Browser
window (referred to as the LibraryBrowser when the Library tab is open). Archiving eComics gives you the advantage
of storing metadata, which then can be used for organizing your eComic collection. Using the Library tab, you can view
in the Browser window either your entire collection (via library folder in the sidebar), or selected groups of comics (via
reading lists in the sidebar).

Browser Toolbar
The BrowserToolbar is the key to understanding and customizing the Library Browsers layout and appearance. The
following (from left to right) are the essential components of the Browser Toolbar, with a brief info on their functions:

Views Stack List Layout Undo / Redo Scripts Quick Launch

Group Arrange Duplicate Currrent List QuickSearch

ListLayout, Scripts
Quick
Views Group Stack Arrange Duplicate Undo / Redo Quick
Search
Current List Launch
View as thumb- Based on de- Based on de- eComics can Arrange the Undo or Redo A quick launch Search your
nails, tiles, or sired metadata, sired metadata, be arranged to eComic viewing the last opera- bar contain- library based
details. Option eComics can eComics can appear in a de- options with tion performed ing buttons for on keywords,
to only show be grouped to be stacked sired sequence List Layouts. in ComicRack all the scripts series, writer,
eComics based appear under so that they Duplicate cur- installed in artists, de-
on read state, a common appear placed rent list button ComicRack scriptive, or
and duplicates heading in the one above the builds a new filename
browser other in the smart list out
browser of your current
settings.

28
 Browser Views
The Views button helps choose how and what eComics are displayed. Basically, you get to choose from 3 different views:
thumbnails, tiles & details. We shall discuss these in the coming sections. The Views button also provides options for
showing all / not read / reading / read eComics as well as finding duplicate eComics (see below) in your collection.

Grouping, Stacking and arranging eComics help in customizing the view as per your choice. Different permutations and
combinations of these 3 options provide a variety of environments for managing eComics. Play with these settings for a
while to find the layout that suits you best. Please note that the stacking option is not available in the details view. For
changing between multiple list layouts, please read the section on List Layouts.

Group by Publisher Stack by Series Group by Year Stack by Publisher

Arrange by Number
Arrange by Series

RemovingDuplicates
The Views button provides an option to find & remove duplicate issues that you may have accumulated over time.
There are a number of metadata values needed for comics to be matched; most importantly, Series Name, Issue
Number and Volume. Note that Superman #1 and Superman V1 #1 would not match, nor would Superman
V1 #1 and Superman V2 #1.

After a slight delay

(dependent on the
total number of
issues in the library,
To use this feature,
folder or list that
select Views in the
this feature is run
Browser window
against), all ap-
and select Show
plicable duplicates
Duplicates.
will display, allowing
the user to make any
changes or deletions
desired.

29
Using the Thumbnails view
The thumbnails view is the most commonly used view, and is enabled by default. Double-clicking on a (unstacked)
thumbnail opens up its eComic in the reader. It is possible to increase the size of the eComic view by using the eCom-
icdisplayresizeslider present on the status bar. Dragging the slider to the right increases the size of the thumbnails or
the tiles , and, in case of the details view, the row size. Drag it to the left for the reverse.

Name of the metadata State Indicators: Ribbons

field used to group the
eComics

Rating

State Indicators: Stars

To select multiple eComic thumbnails:

Text you choose to display
below the thumbnails
See List Layouts for more info
Dog-ear on selected thumbnail
If you do not require this
feature, Uncheck Selected
thumbnails have a dog-ear
from Preferences dialog
To select a consecutive group of
thumbnails without using the
keyboard, drag the mouse pointer
to create a selection around the
outside of all the items you want to
include.
To select consecutive thumbnails,
click the first item, hold down the
Last page opened Shift key, and then click the last
item.
To select nonconsecutive files, hold
down Ctrl, and then click each
item you want to select
To select all of the thumbnails visible
in the browser, click Select All from
the Browser context menu, or click
Ctrl+A

TIPS
Can I group or arrange eComics in reverse order ?

Yes. Just note the direction of the arrows on the group / arrange buttons. A down-
ward-pointing (default) arrow indicates alphabetical order (from AtoZ). You just need
to simply click on the button and the arrow will reverse its direction, giving you the
reverse alphabetical arrangement (from Z to A). Please note that this feature does not
apply to the Stacks option.

30
 Using the Tiles view
The tilesview is relatively more informative than the thumbnails view. Double-clicking on a (unstacked) tile opens up its
eComic in the reader.

Name of the metadata

field used to group the State Indicators: Ribbons
eComics

Rating

Stacked tiles:
While stacking thumbnails just places
them one atop the other with no added
information, stacking tiles provides a
number of at-a-glance info:

State Indicators: Stars Tile Info Number of books in the tile

Dog-ear on selected tile Caption
Number of opened books
Total size of the eComics in the tile,
If you do not require this Creator info and total number of pages
feature, Uncheck Selected Summary
thumbnails have a dog-ear Size You can select multiple tiles (whether
from Preferences dialog Format stacked or not) in just the same way as
File name you would select thumbnails.

TIPS
What are the little -/+ signs that sometimes appear
on my eComic thumbnails & tiles in the browser?

This is the covercount. It indicates the number of pages in the

eComic marked as front cover. It can be used as a visual indica-
tor to identify eComics with variant covers.

31
Using the Details view
The detailsview is the most informative view. Double-clicking on an eComic column in the details view opens up its
eComic in the reader. It should be noted that you can not stack eComics in the details view.

The details view arranges your eComics using meta-

data fields (of your choice) as columns. You can group
& arrange the eComics as you did in the thumbnails
& tiles view).

The grouping metadata field is seen as a heading with

a disclosure triangle that can be used to toggle on/off
its individual eComics.

The eComics of a group are arranged by your speci-

fied metadata field, seen as a small arrow on the
column heading. A single-click on this arranging
column-head toggles the order from descending to
ascending (notable from the direction of the arrow:
pointing downwards or upwards, respectively)

You can change the column positions by a simple

draganddrop using the mouse.
In the above example, the writer column is initially
present to the right of the publisher column. If you
wish to place it to the left of the publisher column,
simply click and drag it to the left till it reaches its
desired position, and then release the mouse button.

Right-clicking any column in the details view brings about the detailscontextmenu. It
contains the following options:
Autosizecolumn. Resizes (expands or shrinks) the column according to the maxi-
mum length of its contents
Autosizeallcolumns. Resizes (expands or shrinks) all columns according to the
maximum length of their respective contents
Autofitallcolumns. Resizes (expands or shrinks) all columns so that all of them fit
completely in the browser window.
The Layout menu, which also appears as an independent menu on clicking in any
empty space in the browser. This contains the view, arrange, group, and layout
copy/paste options.
Metadata field columns currently open in the browser. You can uncheck those
you dont want.
All available metadata fields that could be used as columns in the details view.
Explanatory tooltips appear on hovering the mouse over a column title.

32
Using the StacksLayout
Stacking eComics in the thumbnail & tiles views brings forth few additional features. Double-clicking on a stack opens up
its individual eComics in the browser, and additionally the Stackstoolbar appears on top of the browser window.

Click to close the Stack Stack Title Navigate eComics us- Search Browser
ing the Stack toolbar

Viewing eComics as Double-clicking the stack has opened up the eComics. The stacks tool- Clicking the docking grip present at the top of the browser opens the
thumbnails, stacked by bar is visible at the top. As we had stacked the eComics by series, the search browser. Combining the Search browser with the Stacks toolbar
series stack title (in the middle) displays the series name. gives greater level of control over navigating the eComics

TIPS
Can I choose which eComic will be shown as the cover for a particular stack ?

Yes. Open up the stack by double-clicking it. Now, right-

click any eComic to get the browser context menu (see
next page), with an additional option: Set as top of
stack. You can use this option to select any eComic (from
all the eComics constituting the stack) to appear as the
stack cover.
Right-clicking an eComic from the stack, and
selecting the set as top of stack option makes
it sit on top of all the ecomics forming the
stack

33
 Browser Context Menu
Right-clicking in any empty space in the browser brings about the Layoutmenu that carries
over most of the features of the browser toolbar. This includes the view, arrange, group and
stack menus.
Right-clicking any eComic in the browser brings about the browsercontextmenu. Many of
the submenus share an overlap with the main menu. While most options are self-explan-
atory, a brief overview of some of the features is presented below. Features like exporting
eComics, copying and pasting data, and lists-related options are discussed in the relevant
sections.

Opening eComics in the Reader

Opening the Info dialog Mark eComics as Read or Unread

Find eComics with similar metadata

Rating eComics on a scale of 1 to 5

Open eComic with Windows Explorer

Use any eComic cover as back-

ground image for a list open in the
Run scripts on selected eComics browser

You can use the ResetListBackground

option from the List layout button on the
Browser toolbar to undo changes made to
list background.

34
 Folders

The Folderstab allows you to browse your computer for eComic folders in an explorer-like fashion. Selecting a folder
opens the contained eComics in the browser (referred to as the FoldersBrowser when the Folders tab is open).
Similar to the Library browser, the Folders browser is integrated with the sidebar, and can display a Favorites window
above, and a Small preview window below. The Search Browser is also available.

Sidebar Toolbar Browser Toolbar

Favorites Search Browser

Viewing selcted
folders as shortcuts
for quick access.

Just right-click a
folder in the sidebar,
and select Add Fold-
ers to Favorites

Sidebar
Clicking on any folder displays
its eComic content in the Fold-
ers Browser.
Right-clicking any folder Folders Browser
opens the context menu
Essentially the same as the
library browser, the only
difference is that it displays
the content of a particular
folder on your system. Can be
grouped, stacked, arranged
in the same way as Library
Browser

Small Preview

TIPS
How do I exclude eComics in subfolders of a favorite folder from being
displayed by default in the browser ?
The Includeallsubfolders icon is useful for toggling off and on the subfolders of a favorite folder. To use
it, click on a folder in the favorites window. Next, click on the Include all subfolders icon. All subfolders
shall now display in the library. Clicking on the icon again will toggle the subfolders off.

35
 Pages

The Pagestab is the section of ComicRack that allows the display and organizing features for the pages of an
eComic in the browser window (referred to as the PagesBrowser when the pages tab is open). ComicRack pro-
vides labelling for individual pages of an eComic, as Front Cover, Story, Advertisement, Letters etc. The page type
can be changed to suit the users needs. Similar to the library browser, the pages browser also has the options for
viewing, arranging and grouping eComic pages. It should be noted that, unlike the library and folders browsers,
the Pages Browser does not contain the Sidebar.
Just like the Library Browser
and the Folders Browser, op-
tions for viewing thumbnails
/ tiles / details view are there
in the Pages Browser too. The
only difference is that here
individual eComic pages are
displayed in the Browser.

Views

PageFilterMenu
The Page Filter menu can
PageContextMenu be used to toggle types of
pages on and off. These
changes also apply to
any other comics as well
as the reader view. For
example you can uncheck
the Advertisement setting
and you will never see a
page marked as Advertise-
ment as youre reading a
comic.

Right-clicking on any page in the PagesBrowserContextMenu

Pages Browser invokes the Page
Context Menu. This contains options Right-clicking on any empty space in the Pages Browser invokes
for changing Page Type, Page Rota- the Pages Browser Context Menu. This contains the view / ar-
tion, Adding / removing Bookmarks, range / group options analogous to the Pages Browser Toolbar.
reordering pages within an eComic, Please note that the Pages Browser Context Menu is different
copying page(s) to another location, from the Page Context Menu.
and marking pages as deleted (so
that they do not show anymore in
ComicRack).

36
 Deleting Pages
The Pages Browser provides options for marking the pages as deleted, without actually removing the page(s) from the
comic file. There are several ways to do this:

Change the page type to Deleted:

1. Right-click on a page(s) to open the
page context menu
2. Go to the Page Type option
3. Click on the Deleted option
Press the Del button on the keyboard
Choose Markasdeleted from the
Pagecontextmenu.

A redcross would be visible on the page, in-

dicating that it has been marked as deleted
and will not show while reading, while it is
not actually removed from the eComic file.

Saving Pages
You can save page(s) as a single image file(s). To do so, right-click any page thumbnail in the
pages browser and select the CopyPage option. You can now just paste the page anywhere
in either windows explorer, or an image editor of your choice. Multiple pages can be similarly
saved by selecting them individually using the Ctrl key, or selecting all pages via the Se-
lectAll option.

An alternate way to save pages is to simply to drag the page(s) to a location on your computer
from the pages view.

TIPS
How can I reorder pages within an eComic ?

You can change the order of your eComic pages by simply clicking and dragging them to where
you want them to be. A black line shows where it will be reinserted. You can also use the
MovetoStart or MovetoEnd options in the right-click context menu for moving a page to the
beginning or end of an eComic respectively. A Resetoriginalorder option is always there if you
wish to undo these changes.

37
 Sidebar

The Sidebar contains the Libraryfolder, the default ComicRack folder that contains your entire eComic collection ar-
chived with ComicRack. The Sidebar is also needed for creating, organising, and accessing readinglists. The Sidebar
is an essential component of the Browser, and changes its content according to the tab open in the Browser Tab Bar.
There are 3 tabs in the Browser Tab Bar, viz. Library, Folders and Pages. Out of these, the Library and the Folders tabs
are integrated with the sidebar, while the Pages tab does not contain the Sidebar. Just like the browser, the sidebar is
referred to as the Library sidebar or the Folders Sidebar, depending on which tab is open in the Browser Tab Bar.
There are as many as 3 ways to toggle the sidebar on/off:
Main Menu Browse Sidebar
Clicking the docking grip on the left border of the Reader window
Shift+F5 keyboard combo
Please note that the default ComicRack layout has the sidebar open. An overview of the Sidebar is shown below:

Library Count
The default (albeit virtual) This number is the total count
folder containing all the of eComics present in a par-
eComics added to Comi- ticular folder or list
cRack

SmartLists
The default folder contain-
ing a number of Smart
Lists for you to start with
Arranging files and folders in the Sidebar
You can make folders within
folders for arranging your lists

TemporaryLists Lists or folders can be placed

Double-clicking any read- at any level of hierarchy
ing list from windows ex-
plorer opens it directly in
Any number of lists can be
ComicRack. This is made
kept within a folder, and can
possible by means of the
be dragged up or down, both
Temporary Lists folder. It
within a folder and from one
can also be used to store
folder to another
experimental reading lists,
as any list kept here is
deleted on the next run of
ComicRack.

SidebarContextMenu Arrange lists within a folder in

Right-clicking on any alphabetical order
folder or list in the sidebar
brings up the Sidebar con- Lists can be copied and pasted
text menu. It contains a from one folder to another
number of options, many within the sidebar
of which share an overlap
with the Sidebar Toolbar ExportReadinglist saves a
and are covered in the reading list on the desktop or
next section. any folder of your computer.
You can then transfer it to use
it on another system or share it
with your friends, who can use
the ImportReadinglist option
to add it to their ComicRack
sidebar

38
 Sidebar Toolbar
Shown below are the essential components of the SidebarToolbar, with a brief info on their functions. Just like the
sidebar, the sidebar toolbar is referred to as the Librarysidebartoolbar or the FoldersSidebartoolbar, depending on
which tab is open in the Browser Tab Bar.

Library Sidebar Toolbar Folders Sidebar Toolbar

Favorites New List Open in new window Previous / Next Favorites Open in new window Refresh

New Folder New Smart List Open in new tab Include all Subfolders Open in new tab

Open in new Open in new Previous /

Favorites NewFolder NewList NewSmart list
window tab Next

This opens the Creates a new Creates a new Creates a new Opens the cur- Opens the cur- The two arrows
Favorites window folder to organize custom list smart list rently selected rently selected on the far right
at the top of the your lists. Lists library, list or library, list or of the Library
Sidebar. Select can be dragged folder in a sepa- folder in a tab. Sidebar Toolbar
any item in the and dropped into rate window. You can return to enable the user to
sidebar, right- the sidebar fold- the library and move through the
click, and you will ers. leave the tab succession of lists
be able to add it open, or open recently browsed.
to the Favorites multiple tabs.
window.

39
 Search Browser

Short of using reading lists, the SearchBrowser offers one of the quickest ways to access an eComic or a set of eCom-
ics based on the metadata present. The Search Browser is present above the main Browser window. Please note that
the default ComicRack layout has the Search Browser hidden. The Search Browser can be toggled on/off by any of
the following:
Main Menu Browse Search Browser
Clicking the docking grip on the upper border of the Browser window
Using the Shift+F8 keyboard combo
As the Search browser opens, a three-part pane will slide down, allowing you to narrow down the visible eComics by
using three metadata fields. The drop-down menus can be chosen to display the eComic metadata attribute of your
choice. Choosing a particular metadata attribute delimits the eComic search results in the Browser accordingly.

Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Negation

The Negation filter (ex-
clamation marked) helps
in excluding a particular
set of results from the
Browser.

Column Header
To quickly clear the filters
in the Search Browser,
simply click the column
header, and it will revert
to showing all. If you
click on the header of
the leftmost column,
Drop-down Menu this wont reset all the col-
The drop-down menu of umns; instead, it will now
all the 3 columns contain reflect the search results
the same metadata fields. based on the new filters
The Search Browser provided.
provides more than 20
commonly used metadata
fields to filter your search
results. As per your
requirement, you can
choose any combinations
of them.
Using metadata fields to filter the search results
In the example shown, we have chosen the
3 columns as Publishers, Genres and Series.
Clicking a Publisher will narrow down the
Genre column to all eComics of the particu-
lar Genre; clicking a specific genre narrows
down the third column to all the eComic
series that have the selected genre. Finally,
the eComic listing is narrowed down fur-
ther once you click on a particular eComic.

40
 Using the Quick Search box

You can filter the Search Browsers results by also using the
Quick Search box.
The information displayed by Search Browser depends on the
current content: the reading list currently selected (if any)
and the metadata selected in the columns. But this content
also depends on Search box of the Browser Toolbar. The quick
search box is an on-the-fly filtering tool: simply start typing,
and the Browser window as well as the Search Browser will
display (as you type) all the items with matching description
fields. If the search box is empty, ComicRack displays all
the eComics of the current metadata selected in the Search
Browser or the reading list; if the quick search box contains
text, only the subset of items matching this text.

The example here displays the result shown by the Search Browser after typing
wat in the quick search box.

Using the Negation filter

The little exclamation (!) mark present next to the drop-down menu in each column is the Negation button. If you
select this, all eComics that do NOT match the criteria are displayed.
For example, you are browsing the eComics of a particular publisher. Now, if you wish to see eComics of all genres
except one-shots, here is what to do. First, select One-shots in the genre column. You will see that the series column
promptly displays all the One-shots of your chosen publisher. Now, with one-shots already selected, click the (!) but-
ton in the genre column. You will now get all series except those tagged as one-shots.

TIPS
Can I select multiple fields in the Search Browser ?

Yes. Just hold the Ctrl key and click on desired metadata fields. To select a
number of fields in continuity, you can hold the Shift key and click the the
first and the last fields, all fields in between the 2 clicked ones will be selected.

41
 Optional Windows

Favorites

This small window at the top of the Sidebar will dis-

play the folders or lists of your choice for quick access.
Please note that the default ComicRack layout has
the Favoriteswindow hidden. There are 2 ways to tog-
gle the favorites window on/off:
Clicking the favorites icon on the sidebar tool-
bar (yellow star)
Clicking the docking grip on the upper border
of the sidebar

Any item present in the sidebar can be added to fa-

vorites. Individual eComics cannot be added or dis-
played in the Favorites window. Its purpose is for Side-
bar items that you use frequently and would like quick
access to. This is especially helpful when one has a
large assortment of lists and folders.
To add a list / folder to favorites:
1. Select any item in the sidebar
2. Right-click to get the sidebar context menu
3. Click the Add to Favorites option
Favorites window in the Library sidebar. Favorites window in the Folders sidebar.
You can add both custom lists & smart Here we can see individual folders
lists to favorites. Single click on a list in added as favorites. The file path of the
the favorites to open its content in the folder is also seen. A single click on a
browser folder in the favorites opens its content
in the browser
You can have different sets of favorites items for the Library sidebar &
the Folders sidebar at the same time. Right-click on any favorite item
to refresh or delete it. Deleting a favorite list / folder would have no ef-
fect on the original source, as these are only shortcuts pointing to their
respective lists / folders.

SmallPreview

This small window at the bottom of the Sidebar will Goto next / previous Show one / two pages
display the eComic selected in the Browser, whether page or first / last page in the preview
opened or not, without changing its read state and Refresh
bookmarks.

Please note that the default ComicRack layout has

the Small Preview hidden. There are as many as 3
ways to toggle the small preview on/off:
Main Menu Browse Small Preview Close the preview
Clicking the docking grip on the lower border window
of the sidebar
Shift+F7 keyboard combo

An overview of the Small Preview is shown alongside.

42
 Info Panel
The InfoPanel is an optional window that can be used by script authors to put customized info there, for example open
webpage from Web field of comic Info. The Info panel opens in the browser, but without any complementary scripts
enabled, it doesnt show up. A basic knowledge of the preferences dialog & scripts is required to understand this panel,
so we recommend that you first get acquainted with these above-mentioned sections, and then come back to the present
page. A large number of Info Panel enhancements are planned to be released in the future versions of ComicRack.
How to use the Info Panel 1 2

1. First open the Preferences dialog & go to the Scripts

tab. From the Available scripts section, enable the
Weblinkscript. Currently this is the only script that
makes sensible usage of the Info Panel. Advanced
users may also enable the Dummy Comic Info UI/
HTML scripts. Click Ok & restart ComicRack.
2. From the Browse menu, click Info Panel. Alternative-
ly, use the Shift+F9 keyboard combo.
3. Identify the InfoPaneldockinggrip at the bottom of
the browser window. Click it to slide open the Info 3
Panel. At its top, you will see tabs depicting the ena-
bled info panel scripts. If only one script is enabled,
no tabs will be seen. Browser Window
4. In the browser, select any eComic with a valid web
field. The Web link tab will show the page corre-
sponding to the web address of the eComic. You may
browse that complete website through this page.
Sidebar
5. You can dock the Info Panel (docked at bottom
of the browser by default) to the right side of the Info Panel
browser with the InfoPanelRight option, from the
Dockmenu.
4 5

43
Reader
The ComicRack reader is,
inarguably, the best eComic
reader in the world. This
chapter helps you use the
reader to the maximum of its
abilities!
Reader 44
Introduction to the Reader 46
Reader Navigation 47
Auto Scrolling 48
Reader Toolbar 49
Reader Tab Bar 50
Overlays 51
Reader Context Menu 52
 Introduction to
the Reader
The Readerwindow is the most important part of ComicRack, as it is where the eComic pages are ultimately
displayed for onscreen reading. Scrolling the mouse wheel moves the open page up or down, and scrolling be-
yond the end of the page opens the next page of the eComic. This is the simplest way of navigating the Reader.
For further customizations, please see the chapters on Preferences and Keyboard map.

Reader Tab Bar Reader Toolbar

There are a number of views in which the eComics can be displayed in the reader win-
dow:
1. Default (Showing the Reader, Browser, and the Sidebar)
2. Filling the entire ComicRack window (with the browser & sidebar closed) (F3)
(Clicking on the docking grips between the Reader and the Browser toggle off/on
the browser, thus achieving the same result)
3. Fullscreen (no menus or toolbars)
4. Fullscreen with menus and toolbars (F11)
5. Reader in its own window (F12)
The Reader in its own window. Hit F12 or
The mouse can also be used to quickly change the reader views. The next page shows use the option in the display menu to get
how to navigate between the first 4 views using the mouse. this view.

TIPS
How do I get the Reader fullscreen with all menus & toolbars hidden?

We like to call it the 10-3-11 trick! Just follow these steps:

1. First select (if not already selected) the MinimalUserInterface option from the
Display menu, or simply hit F10 in the default ComicRack window.
2. Now, close the browser (including the sidebar) by unchecking the Browser op-
tion from the Browse menu, or by hitting F3.
3. Finally, either select Full Screen from the Display menu or hit F11.

Also important are these options from the Behavior tab of the Preferences dialog:
Reading section :- Fullscreen Also Toggles Minimal User Interface: Unselected
Browser section :- Always Display Browser Docking Grip: Selected

46
Reader Navigation
View #1 is the default ComicRack window on the
windows 7 desktop, displaying the browser and the
sidebar, apart from the reader (here showing a page
from DCs official preview of Brightest Day #0). A
single-click in the reader window brings up View #2,
while a double-click takes us to view #4.
1 2
4 3
View #4 is the Fullscreen view (with menus &
toolbars) & is seen after a single-click in the Reader
window of view #3 or a double-click in View #1.
A single-click again brings back view #3, while a
double-click takes us to view #4.
In view #2 the browser and the sidebar are closed,
thus providing the complete space in the ComicRack
window to the Reader. This is seen after a single-click
in the Reader window of the default view #1 or a
double-click in View #3. A single-click again brings
back view #1, while a double-click takes us to view #3.
View #3 is the Fullscreen view (no menus/toolbars)
& is seen after a double-click in the Reader window
of view #2 or a single-click in View #4. A double-click
again brings back view #2, while a single-click takes
us to view #4.
47
 Auto Scrolling
AutoScrolling is feature that smartens up the way you move around the page. Instead
of scrolling based on constant values (pixels), ComicRack calculates automatically and
dynamically the best scroll step for you, so that you could scroll in most comfortable
way. For example, with some small fixed scroll values you might scroll 5 times before
going to the next page. With autoscroll, it usually takes two or three scrolls. It works
best in Two Page mode + Fit Width (adaptive). Also in all the cases when page(s) width
is bigger than our screen can fit. Autoscroll also affects keyboard hotkeys and mouse
wheel behavior accordingly.

Enabling auto scrolling

To enable auto scrolling, from the main menu, goto the read menu & click auto scrolling. You Most of the features in the Read menu
are self-explanatory and share an
may also use the Ctrl+S keyboard shortcut. While using the Reader, you can toggle auto scroll- overlap with the Reader toolbar, where
ing on/off with the S key. they are explained. The last 2 options
are exclusive, and are the subject of our
discussion here.
Advantages of auto scrolling
Page movement is dynamic & smoother (with smooth auto scrolling also enabled)
If page is wider than display area, autoscroll moves to the hidden parts of the page. Without
autoscroll, when you reach the bottom of a page wider than the display area, scrolling goes
directly to the next page.

Double-pageautoscrolling
This is a complementary option that works only if Auto Scroll is enabled. Affects only double
page spreads, not the Two Page mode. If youre viewing double page spread, enabling this op-
tion changes page movement direction. This is noticeable if page width is bigger than the view-
ing area and we dont use Fit Width or similar modes. So you start form top-left corner of the The preferences option
Smoothautoscrolling works only
page displayed and then move to top-right corner (instead of bottom-left with this option disa- with auto scroll enabled. With this
bled). Most double-page spreads are supposed to be read this way, as our eyes follow from left we smoothly flow to the next part of
to the right to the bottom. the page instead of just instantaneous
switch to it. Page movement is more
fluent this way. But obviously its not
Flowingmousescrolling as fast because some time is necessary
for page movement from one part to
This is also a complementary option, but works independent of Auto Scroll. With flowing mouse another.
scrolling & hardware acceleration on, you get an iPhone-like effect where you move the page The Mouse wheel scrolling option is
not related to the auto scrolling feature.
with the mouse and when you release the button it still keeps on moving (but decelerates). This is the simple mouse wheel scroll
speed based on constant values (pixels)

An eComic open in the Reader With no auto scrolling, a single scroll of the mouse With auto scrolling enabled, a single scroll of the
wheel moves the page a few pixels down. mouse wheel moves the page more dynamically.

48
 Reader Toolbar

The ReaderToolbar can be accessed from the top right of the Reader window. It contains important shortcuts
to display, navigate and customize the eComic pages reading. Shown below are the essential components of the
Reader Toolbar, with a brief info on their functions.

SinglePage: Every image is displayed by itself (so
single pages stay single and double pages stay
double)
TwoPages: Always two pages are displayed (like
a book). If there are forced single pages (like a
single page before a double spread or a page of
type Cover), white fill pages are introduced.
TwoPages(Adaptive): This is the classic Comi-
cRack two page mode. No fill pages are intro-
duced.
Clicking on this button takes
you to the previous page.
Clicking the small downward-
pointing arrow opens up a
drop-down menu that has
additional options for going to
the previous bookmark or the
PageLayout (Number)
Provides options for displaying eComic pages by fit-
ting width/height/all dimensions. You can simultane-
ously choose the option onlyfitifoversized to make
the original page size the limiting factor.
The FitWidth(adaptive) mode splits double-page Provides options for rotating
and displays only half of it at once fitting it to width. the open eComic 90o,, 180o, or
This is especially useful for people with pivoted 270o. All the pages of the open
monitors or when eComic pages are scanned in a eComic are rotated only for
way where all the images consist of two pages on display in the reader, while the
each one. image files in the cbz/cbr are
not rotated.
You can choose the autoro-
tatedoublepages option to let
the reader window automati-
cally display double-pages in a
270o rotated state.

previous eComic in the list.

Page Layout (Fit)

PreviousPage
Rotation

NextPage
Clicking on this button takes
you to the next page. The
drop-down menu has the
options for moving to the
last Page, next bookmark,
or the next eComic from the
list. You can also open up a
Random eComic (or use the
Ctrl+Alt+N keyboard
shortcut).
Tools
At the end of the Reader
Toolbar is the Toolsmenu,
which is a completely reor-
ganized and easier-to-use
Zoom ComicRack menu, having
multiple important options
from all over ComicRack in
a single pane. Notable is the
ShowMainMenu option,
which when enabled shows
the main menu, which can
then be toggled via the Alt
key.
Zooms in/out the eComic
Magnifier
pages, using the preset
(100%, 125%, 150%, 200%,
400%) or custom values.
The keyboard combos
Ctrl+Oemplus and
Ctrl+mouse wheel
up zoom in the page while Viewing the default magnifier
Ctrl+Oemminus and to see Jons query magnified !
Ctrl+mouse wheel While reading eComics, ComicRack
down zoom out. has a Magnifier to temporarily
enlarge the desired page portion. The
Magnify button in the Reader Toolbar
contains options for controlling
width, height, opacity and zoom of
the magnifier. It also has options for
Viewing Garfields response with the
enabling the magnifiers activation
simple magnifier and 50% opacity
with a long mouse click.

49
 Reader Tab Bar

The Reader Tab Bar is present over

the top left of the Reader window. It
continues into the Reader Toolbar.
The Reader Tab Bar shows the cur-
rently opened eComics in a tabbed
interface. When no eComic is open, it
displays the OpeneComic tab. Click-
ing (either left-click or right-click) this
tab opens an explorer window, from
which you can browse to the eComic
you wish to open. The Reader Tab Bar
displays the name and few details of
the currently open eComic.

On hovering the mouse over the tab,

an info box pops-up that contains a
brief plot of the eComic, format (zip/
rar), size and number of pages.

Right-clicking a tab brings up the

tabcontextmenu, which contains op-
tions for revealing the open eComic in
the browser or in windows explorer.

When a number of eComics are open in the Reader, the Tab Bar displays right
and left buttons at its ends to navigate between them, and a drop-down menu
at the end that contains a list of all the open eComics. Every tab contains its
own close button that appears when the tab is selected. You can use the Close
all but this option from the tab context menu to close all other eComics in one
go.
Double-clicking an eComic from the
browser opens it in the current tab
(whether empty or occupied by an-
other eComic) in the reader tab bar.
If you hold the Ctrl key while dou-
ble-clicking, the eComic will open in a
new tab.

50
 Overlays

The ComicRack Reader makes use of a number of Overlays to display live information regarding the eComic cur-
rently being read. These overlays can be enabled/disabled via the Preferences dialog.

CurrentPageOverlay NavigationOverlay VisiblePagepartOverlay StatusIndicatorOverlay

Current Page Overlay displays the page
number (along with the number of total
pages) and, if enabled, the page name.
Navigation overlay displays a filmstrip of all Visible Page part Overlay displays the por- Status Indicator overlays are the overlays
the pages of the currently open comic. Just tion of the page currently visible onscreen in the center of the Reader (opening book,
hover your mouse over the lower border with a thumbnail of the entire page cur- loading page etc.).
of the Reader window, and the navigation rently open in the reader.
overlay will slide up. Quick browsing is via
the horizontal scroll bar, and the first / last
page arrows.

TIPS
I dont need the overlays. Can I turn them off ?

Yes. Open up the Preferences dialog from the Edit menu (or hit
Ctrl+F9keyboardcombo):
Goto the Readersetup tab
Scroll down to the Overlays section
You can now uncheck the overlays you dont want

You also have the option for increasing/decreasing the overlay

size, and showing the navigation overlay at the top (by default,
the navigation overlay is shown at the bottom of the reader).

51
 Reader Context Menu

The Readercontextmenu is seen after right-clicking any page open in the Reader window. Most of the options pre-
sent here share an overlap with other menus and toolbars in ComicRack, and are discussed in the relevant sections.
A brief overview of the Reader context menu and its sub-menus is presented below.

Opening the Info dialog

Rating eComics on a scale of 1 to 5

Setting the PageType

Navigating between eComics

Changing the PageRotation

Changes selected page rota-

tion permanently in the cbz/
cbr. So if you have some pages
in file scanned in wrong hori-
zontal/vertical position there is
no need to extract images and
rotate them in external editor.
PageLayout Options
Provides options for displaying eComic pages by
fitting width/height/all dimensions. You can simul-
taneously choose the option onlyfitifoversized
to make the original page size the limiting factor. Working with Bookmarks
The FitWidth(adaptive) mode splits double-page
and displays only half of it at once fitting it to
width.
In SinglePage mode, single pages stay single and
double pages stay double. The TwoPages always
displays 2 pages. If there are forced single pages
white fill pages are introduced.
TwoPages(Adaptive) mode doesnt have any fill
Provides options for rotating the
pages.
open eComic 90o,, 180o, or 270o.
All the pages of the open eComic
are rotated only for display in the
reader, while the image files in the
cbz/cbr are not rotated.

52
Configuring
ComicRack comes with a
number of features that en-
able you to personalize it
to your liking. This chapter
will help you learn how to
change the way ComicRack
works to make it easier to
use & more efficient.
Preferences 55
Reader Setup 56
 Keyboard Map 57
 Touch Gestures 58
Libraries 59
Behavior 60
Scripts 61
Advanced 62
ComicDisplaySettings 63
List Layouts 64
Copying / Pasting Layouts 65
Workspaces 66
Command-line Switches 68
 Preferences

The Preferences dialog is essential for configuring ComicRack according to your needs. It can be opened either via the
Edit menu, or by using the Tools menu. Alternatively, you may use the Ctrl+F9keyboardcombo.

The Preferences dialog contains 5

tabs, each of which has a number
of sections.
1. Reader Setup
 General
 Hardware acceleration
 Adjustments
 Overlays
 Keyboard
 Mouse
2. Libraries
 eComic Folders
 Scanning
 Sharing
 Server Settings
3. Behavior
 Starting ComicRack
 Opening an eComic
 Reading
 Right to Left
 Browser
 Application
 Import & Export
4. Script
 Script Packages
 Available Scripts
 Script Settings
5. Advanced
 Languages
 eComics
 Database Backup
 Disc Cache
 Memory Cache
 Hidden Messages
 Explorer Integration

If you have any of the following How do I.. questions, then look no further, the preferences dialog will help you:

How do I add eComic folders to the ComicRack library ?

How do I open new files in new tabs?
How do I use custom keyboard shortcuts?
How do I increase the mouse wheel scroll speed?
How do I make sure that deleted files dont show up again in the library?
How do I use ComicRack to check its RSS feed?
How do I customise ComicRack for reading manga?
How do I minimize ComicRack into the system tray?
How do I change the ComicRack interface language?
How do I remove the overlays?
How do I backup my database?
How do I open eComics from windows explorer directly with ComicRack?

55
 Reader Setup
The readersetup tab contains a number of self-explanatory options for customizing
the ComicRack experience to your liking. There are 5 sections in the Reader setup
tab:
1. General
2. Hardwareacceleration
3. Adjustments
4. Overlays
5. Keyboard
6. Mouse
In the General section, Turning High
Quality option off increases page display
speed on slower machines.
AnamorphicScaling stretches the
eComic page to fit the screen in both As we have already seen, during instal-
dimensions. With SmoothAutoScroll- lation, ComicRack self-optimizes itself
ing enabled, moving from one part of for your system. Most of the settings in
the page to the next is more fluent. This the hardware acceleration section have
works only when auto scrolling is ena- already been selected by ComicRack,
bled from the Read menu. and are the ones recommended for your
system. If you do not desire the page dis-
The Adjustments section provides easy
play change animation, you may disable
changes to the saturation, brightness,
it. With flowingmousescrolling & hard-
contrast and sharpening attributes of
ware acceleration on, you get an iPhone-
the comic pages.
like effect where you can kinda move the
page with the mouse and when you re-
lease the button it still keeps on moving
(but decelerates).

The Overlays section contains settings

for a number of enhancements for the
reader window. Please read the section
on Overlays to understand details re-
garding their nomenclature.

ComicRack can be completely con-

trolled by the keyboard. This section
provides the default keys for various ac-
tions, all of which can be customised ac-
cording to the users choice.

You can adjust the mouse wheel scroll-

ing speed to your liking.

56
Keyboard Map

The ComicRack keyboardmap contains 9 sec-

tions:
Library
Browse
Auto Scroll
Scroll
Display Options
Page Display
Zoom & Rotate
Edit
Other

Every section contains a number of options with

their default shortcut(s). If you wish to change
any shortcut, just select its option and it will
open in the pane below, where you can easily
modify it as per your requirement.

For each keyboard shortcut, there are 3 options: 1 Main and 2 Alternate.
Each option has its own drop-down menu, from which you can choose
the shortcut key that suits you. You can also use the Ctrl, Shift, or Alt
keys to make a number of combinations and permutations for making
the shortcut of your choice.

57
 TouchGestures
If you have a computer with a touchscreen, you might find that gestures (mo-
tions that you make with one or two fingers) are easier to use than a mouse,
pen, or keyboard. ComicRack recognizes a number of touch gestures on
supported touch-enabled devices. Currently they simply map to square areas
in the reader you can click. They are numbered left-to-right, top down, from
1 to 9. By default, if you click (touch with touch display) in the upper corners
you change page. In the lower corners, you auto scroll (with page change).

ComicRack also recognizes multi-touch gestures: you can zoom in/out, By default, Gesture 1 is assigned to Previous Page
move around page, rotate page, and swipe to next/previous page. action, Gesture 3 for Next page, Gesture 7 for Previ-
ous part and Gesture 9 for Next part.

Multi-touchGestures for ComicRack

Touch Press &
Slide Pinch in or out Tap Touch and hold Two-finger tap Drag
Tap

Slide your finger To increases Touch your The touch and Quickly tapping After you touch a Touch your finger
lightly on the the size of the fingertip quickly hold menu is the screen with movable item, if to the screen and
screen in an up/ thumbnails / tiles and lightly on equivalent to a two fingers (using you hold your fin- leave it there.
down or left/right view, or the row the screen. Us- right-click. Touch your forefinger ger on the item Tap quickly with
direction. This size of details ing this gesture your finger to the + middle finger and slide, the a second finger.
gesture is primar- view, start with over the browser screen and leave works well) in the item slides with This touch press
ily used for scroll- your thumb thumbnails/tiles/ it there until the reader window your finger. This & tap gesture
ing or panning. To and forefinger details opens up context menu is toggles the navi- drag gesture may is used in the
scroll up or down together in the the eComic in the triggered. gation overlay. be used to add reader window to
quickly, flick your middle of the Reader. Tapping browser eComics toggle the magni-
fingertip quickly screen then pull in the reader is to reading lists or fier.
and repeatedly them apart. the equivalent re-ordering pages
up or down. Tap To zoom out, of a mouse-click. in the Pages
the screen to reverse this mo- Also, tap to open browser.
stop the scrolling. tion. & operate the
menus.
Watch all the ComicRack touch gestures in action on YouTube !

58
 Libraries
The Libraries tab contains a number of self-explanatory options for customizing the
ComicRack experience to your liking. There are 4 sections in the Libraries tab:
1. eComicfolders
2. Scanning
3. Sharing
4. ServerSettings

The eComic Folders section helps in

adding folders containing eComics to
the library. These folders, if checked,
would be watched for changes (move /
rename) while the program is running.
Using the open button, any added folder
can be opened with windows explorer.

The Scanning section has 2 important

options. The first option, if enabled,
removes missing files from the library
during the scanning process. The second
option comes in handy when you decide
not to add a file to the library, while that
file resides within an eComic folder that
The Sharing section is used for sharing is already added to the library.
of libraries over the internet. Select Add
Share to open the library sharing config.
Here you can also select if you want to
share your complete library or only se-
lect lists. You can also select to make
your library editable or password pro-
tected (recommended). Please read the
chapter on Network sharing for further
details.

In the Server settings section, you have

the option to input the external IP of
your server, and to password protect
your private share lists.

59
 Behavior
The Behavior tab contains a number of self-explanatory options for customizing the
ComicRack experience to your liking. There are 7 sections in the Behavior tab:
1. StartingComicRack
2. OpeninganeComic
3. Reading
4. Righttoleft
5. Browser
6. Application
7. Import&export

The Starting ComicRack section con-

tains startup tasks for ComicRack, like
scanning for eComic folders and updat-
ing web comics. We recommend that
you mark all these options to run auto-
matically at startup. You can also check
for all the ComicRack news and keep Here you get the options for opening
informed about new releases new eComics in separate tabs. You can
opt to close the browser automatically
With the Blend animation while fast whenever an eComic is opened. You can
paging option unchecked, when you choose to open the eComic at the page
keep the page down shortcut pushed, where it was closed.
it disables any page transition effect. If
its checked, animation effect is always
turned on, no matter how fast you try to
switch through pages.
Keep the Fullscreen also toggles mini-
mal user interface option selected if you
dont want any menu or toolbar in fulls-
creen view. Right-to-left mode is used while reading
You can uncheck the reset zoom option manga.
if you wish to read all pages in a particu- Left/right movement is also reversed - if
lar zoomed mode. book is marked as Manga, or if your page
layout is Right to Left then page loads
A couple of tweaks for the Browser. If in upper right corner and goes to lower
you wish to hide even the browser dock- left.
ing grip while using the reader, you can True right to left reading - The whole
uncheck the option here. You can also book is mirrored and not only double
opt for eComic tooltips while hovering pages reversed. So youre really reading
your mouse over them in the browser. the book from back to front.
Also present are options for thumbnail
animations. The comic info dialog can display either
simple or 3D covers, which can be tog-
gled by either clicking on them, or using
the option here. You also have the op-
tion to hide the main menu (also see
Tools menu, and use the Alt key).

While exporting reading lists, you may

keep this option unckecked (recom-
mended) to omit file names from being
included in the list. Unchecking this op-
tion provides better results during list
imports.

60
 Scripts

Scripts are essentially plugins or add-ons that extend the functionality of ComicRack. They can be found in the News
& announcement section of the ComicRack forum or in the Downloads section. They are usually distributed as a
zip file. Working with scripts is explained in detail later in the Scripts chapter.

ScriptPackages is the first section in the Scripts tab. It is used for installing/
uninstalling the scripts. It displays all the installed scripts, with a brief descrip-
tion of them.

AvailableScripts is the second section. In its default state, it contains a list

of all the scripts that come bundled with ComicRack. As new scripts are in-
stalled, they show up in the available scripts section. It can be used to disable
a script without uninstalling it. To disable any of these scripts, just untick the
checkmark next to the script name here, and restart ComicRack. Reverse the
steps for reactivation.

The ScriptSettings section in the end contains an option for disa-

bling all scripts with a single-click.

TIPS
A glimpse of what scripts can do for you!

 Automatically download  Catch the latest RSS feeds  Move eComics to another  Use a custom program (like
metadata into your cbz about the new comics coming folder on your PC from within WinZIP) to open eComics from
eComic files out each week ComicRack within ComicRack
 Add scanners name and scan  Extract all the pages from an
type to eComic tags eComic

61
 Advanced

As the name suggests, the Advanced tab contains a number of sections that should be handled with caution.

The Languagessection at the top helps select the user interface language of
your locale. Restart ComicRack for the language changes to take effect.

The eComics section has the option to allow ComicRack to write a small
Comicinfo.xml file to eComics. ComicRack organizes eComics by storing
metadata as Xml snippets (either as part of the big library file) or as single
small files into eComics. This metadata file is labelled as ComicInfo.xml. The
ComicInfo.xml is also instrumental in restoring your eComic database, in the
event of a system format or file transfer. Please note that info can be added to
only cbz (zip) files.

The DatabaseBackup allows easy backup & restoration of all the eComic data
to a small xml file on your computer, or on a USB drive. It is described in detail
in the next chapter.

The cache is the maximum disk space you allow ComicRack to use to stock
thumbnails, pages and eComics accessed through remote libraries. It allows a
smoother reading experience. Since it pre-loads images, you can browse quite
fast through an eComic. Default maximum cache size vary depending on the
machine. It is set during installation of ComicRack (optimization part). The
bigger the cache, the bigger the amount of images/thumbnails/eComics can
be pre-loaded. The cache will increase in time as you use ComicRack. You can
also safely delete it. Optimized means that ComicRack keeps the compressed
image in memory. Advantage is that it can cache more image in memory, dis-
advantage is it has to uncompress them if needed (images stay uncompressed
for about 5 seconds since the last use)
Hiddenmessages are message boxes you disabled (clicked never show again).
To reshow these hidden messages, simply click the reset button.

Out of a number of supported formats, the checked ones will be associated

with ComicRack, and opening any file having those extensions wil automati-
cally launch them with ComicRack.

62
 ComicDisplaySettings
This option will allow the user to edit the background display of the Comic Reader, as well as
choose between display options for the opened eComic itself. There are three ways to open this
dialog: using the Display menu at the top, using the Tools menu, or simply hitting F9.
No Page Transition Effect. This
will turn the page without any
animations.
New Page Fades In. This will
turn the page with a fading
transition.
New Page Scrolls In Horizontally.
The page will slide onto the
reader in a sideways motion.
New Page Scrolls In Vertically.
The page will slide onto the
reader from the bottom to the
top.
Page Turn Effect. This is an
animated motion that simulates
turning a page from a real comic
by hand.
PageTransitionEffects
PaperEffects
This will add a paper texture over
the ecomic itself, simulating such
things as a blue-lined grid pattern ,
weathering or grains to the page.
63
A vertical divider between double page spreads
is seen, with a blank margin around the pages,
signifying a real-like imaging of the open eComic.
The background
will blend with the
primary color of the
page displayed to
create a solid color
that will change as
the page is turned
and the primary
color changes.
AdjustColorToCurrentPage
Realistic Comic Display (with margins)
BackgroundTextures
Texture: This will allow the user to load
an image file to serve as the back-
ground. There are a number of these
that come with ComicRack, and the
user may also load their own. You have
the option of either None, Tile, Center,
Stretch or Zoom, as one would with a
Desktop Background.
You can also add your own textures
to the C:\Program Files\ComicRack\
Resources\Textures\Backgrounds
folder. You may also freely download
background textures from the web.
BackgroundColor
Solid Color: This allows the user
to choose one color to have
as the one background for the
reader area. If you choose to
always have the comic sur-
rounded by black, for instance,
you can choose that here. There
are a total of 140 different color
options.
 List Layouts

Every list in ComicRack can have its own ListLayout. A layout contains options
for viewing, arranging, grouping and stacking eComics. Different situations re-
quire different List Layouts. The eComic views have a number of options that
are fully customizable and can be arranged in a number of ways. Sometimes
you may want detailed view with columns, while for some lists, thumbnails view
may work better. You may wish to increase or decrease the size of the thumb-
nails or tiles or rows (details view). You may group / arrange / stack them with
the metadata fields of your choice. Youre free to choose whatever suits you.
All these can be saved as list layout presets, so that manually changing them
every time is not required. Once you save your List Layout, assign it to the list(s)
you want and every time you go to that list, it will be displayed with the layout
youve set. The List Layout options can be accessed either via the List Layout
icon on the library toolbar or via the Browse menu. Clicking the EditListLayout
button opens up the ListOptions window.

All the columns that can be displayed in the Details view The text under the eComic thumbnails in the browser
are shown in the List Options window. The columns of can display a maximum of 3 lines. You have the choice of
your choice can be selected here. selecting the captions that will be displayed there.

Once you are satisfied with a list layout and

The columns chosen in the List options are seen in the
details view. You can right-click a column header to get the
options for auto sizing or auto fitting the columns.
wish to save it for quick use later, use the
Save List Layout button. Give your layout a
name, and click Ok. Your saved List layouts
will now be accessible through the List Lay-
out menu. You can change the layouts using
The text lines chosen in the List options are seen in the the keyboard shortcuts Alt+Shift+F1,
details view. Please note that these options work only for Alt+Shift+F2, and so on.
individual thumbnails and not for stacked eComics.

64
 Copying/PastingLayouts
Making a lists layout is easy. ComicRack has features supporting a 1
number of layout customizations, so that you get the perfect layout,
exactly as you desire. However, if you have got a large number of lists,
and you wish to assign them your favorite layout, you dont have to
repeat the same steps again and again. ComicRack provides for easy
copying & pasting of list layouts, so that you may simply apply your
preferred layouts to other lists with just the click of a button.
Our desired list here has details
view, arranged by position,
You can access layout copy / paste options from any of two places columns manually re-sized and
described below: no grouping or stacking

The layoutmenu, which appears as a small menu on clicking on 2

any empty space in the browser.
Right-clicking any column in the details view brings about the de-
tails contextmenu. Among other options, it also contains the lay-
out menu, which contains the layout copy/paste options.

Here is how to copy / paste the list layout:

1. Once you are satisfied with a list layout, use the layout menu to
copy the layout of this desired list. This is the list to which we wish
2. From the sidebar, select the other list to which you wish to paste to apply the layout displayed in
step 1. Here we have thumbnails
the layout of the desired list. From the layout menu, select paste. view, grouped by genre & ar-
3. The layout of the selected list will immediately change to match ranged by volume.

that of your desired list. 3

4. repeat Step 2 for any number of lists to which you wish to assign
the layout chosen in Step 1.

Once the layout paste action is performed, the layout in

step 2 immediately changes to that of our desired list in
step 1. See how it exactly mirrors the original !

TIPS
How do I backup my list layouts ?
While ComicRack provides a database backup feature, it does not include your list layout
presets. However, you can always manually backup your list layouts. Just follow these steps:
1. Open an explorer window and just go to: %APPDATA%\cYo\ComicRack\
2. Copy the Config.xml file to a safe location.
3. While restoring database, paste this file back in the location specified in step 1.
On restarting ComicRack, all your list layouts will be preserved.

65
 Workspaces

The multiple windows and layouts of ComicRack

are fully customizable and can be arranged in a
number of ways. Such an arrangement is called a
workspace. Different situations require different
Workspaces. Manually rearranging and re-adjust-
ing them every time is a hassle. Thus the option
of saving multiple window layouts as workspaces
within ComicRack. The Workspace options can be
accessed from either the Browse menu or the Tools
menu. Alternatively, you may use the Ctrl+W key-
board combo to bring on the SaveWorkspace di-
alog.

Window state (maxi-

mized or not, fulls-
creen)
Panels state, position
and arrangement. For
example :
browser docking
mode
active browser tab
minimal user inter-
face

WindowLayouts ComicDisplayLayout

ListLayouts ComicDisplaySettings

66
Once you are satisfied with a particular layout and wish to save it as a Workspace for quick usage later, just click the
SaveWorkspace button. The latest workspace saved can be accessed by the shortcut Ctrl+Shift+F1, and the
earlier one by Ctrl+Shift+F2 and so on. You can use the DeleteWorkspace button to delete any workspace that
you dont need. You can also delete all of them by selecting the All option in the delete workspace drop-down menu.

First example workspace (Ctrl+Shift+F3) showing Second example workspace (Ctrl+Shift+F2) Third example workspace (Ctrl+Shift+F1) show-
almost the default ComicRack setup, with eComics in showing the browser docked fill, with eComics in Tiles ing the browser docked right, and the Search browser
thumbnails view. view. open, with eComics in details view (with an expanded
row size).

67
 Command-line Switches

What is a command-line switch ?

A command-lineswitch (also known as a command line parameter, flag, or an option) is an indication by a user that a
computer program should change its default output. For example, in the OpenVMS operating system, the command
directory is used to list the files inside a directory. When the user simply types directory, it will list only the
names of the files. By adding the option /owner (to form the command directory/owner), the user can instruct
the directory command to also display the ownership of the files.
ComicRack supports a number of command-switches that modify its default configuration to the one specified by
the user.
How to setup a command-line switch for ComicRack?
1. Make a shortcut to ComicRack.exe, or copy
1 2 3
& paste a preexisting shortcut. Right-click on
this new shortcut, and click Properties.
2. Identify the Target field. The default target
reads: C:\Program Files\ComicRack\Comic-
Rack.exe
3. Add the command switch at the end of the default target (af-
ter the mark, put a space and write the command). The com-
mand switch should follow the format listed in the table below.
4. Save this new shortcut by clicking Ok. You can now rename
this shortcut to help you remember the command-switch it
represents.
In this example, we add the -ac [Config Name] command-switch to the
5. Repeat these steps for each switch that you want. target field. We write doc for the [Config Name] field, so the switch
Please note that ComicRack will follow the command parameter reads -ac doc. Starting ComicRack from this shortcut brings on the
default ComicRack window with an empty library.
only when it is run from this shortcut that you have created. If you
do not want the switch, simply run it from the default shortcut.

List of command-line switches supported by ComicRack

Command Description
-ac [ConfigName] ConfigName is the name for the new configuration space. It will be initially empty (like after a fresh install).
-cp [CachePath] To force a different cache path
-db [Path to the Database] To force a different database path (e.g. shared databases)
-dbr Disable Broadcast: Switch to turn off network broadcasting
-dso Disable Script Optimization: Scripts are always reloaded when executed. Otherwise they are compiled once
during startup
-hwd Disables any OpenGL support
-hwf Forces ComicRack to use OpenGL (even if no hardware acceleration is available)
-lm [Value in MB] To limit the memory ComicRack uses
-ssc Show Script Console: With this you get a look at all your script output (good for debugging messages)
-ws [workspace name] Force ComicRack to use this workspace setting at startup

68
Managing
This chapter introduces you
to eComic metadata, which
forms the basis for managing
your eComic collection with
ComicRack.
Info 71
Summary 71
Details 72
Plot & Notes 74
Pages 75
Colors 76
Multiple eComic Information Dialog 77
Copy & Paste data 78
Reading Lists 79
Exporting eComics 80
Creating exportpresets 80
Bookmarks 81
Database Backup 82
How to backup the current database ? 82
How to restore a database ? 82
What is backed up ? 83
Good Backup Practices 83
 Info

If the Preferences dialog is the heart of ComicRack, the Info dialog is its brain. Essential for inputting and editing
eComic metadata, the Info dialog packs in 5 different tabs, each of which is described in detail below.

To open the Info dialog:

Right-click on any eComic in the browser and select Info,
From the Main menu, open the Edit menu & select Info
Keyboard combo Ctrl+I

Summary

The Summary tab is an all inclusive box that provides at-a-glance information for your eComics, one at a time. The
upper panel of the Summary tab displays essential metadata, that includes the eComic caption and the creator
info along with a brief plot of the comic. This requires filling in the metadata fields (manually or via scripts) in the
Details & Plot & notes tabs. The lower panel of the Summary tab displays the technical specifications for your
eComic (like the file path, file format, size, number of pages, etc).

The eComic caption

(Format/series/title/
volume/number/
year/month) and
the creator info
(Writer/Penciller/
Inker/Colorist/Let-
terer/Cover artist)

The eComic cover. You can

click on it to get a 3D cover, The text that you
and click back to revert to this input in the Sum-
simple one. mary field of the
Plot & Notes tab
will show here in
the Summary tab as
the comic plot.

eComic ratings (on a scale of

5) that you can assign to any
eComic by simply clicking on
the stars here.
eComic specifica-
tions, including the
The location of the eComic on size, pages read,
your computer. total pages, last
opened date, and
file format (zip/rar
etc).

71
 Details
The Detailstab is the key to inputting eComic metadata, that forms the basis of organizing your eComic collec-
tion. Just like tags in a music file, eComics contain a variety of metadata. While ComicRack supports scripts to
automate this process from online databases, you always have the option to fill in every detail manually. All you
need to know about the Details tab is given below.
Essential information regarding the
series name, volume, number (n of
total), month & year.
The title is the name of a particular
issue of a series. You can usually find
the title within the first few pages of
a comic.
Use the AlternateSeries field
for crossovers (like Blackest
Night) or story-arcs (like Sine-
stro Corps war) or for storylines
(like Batman: reborn). The
number field helps in making a
chronology. A smart list based
on these fields brings up the
complete event in a go.
Essential information regard-
ing the comic book creators.
Writer, penciller, Inker, color-
ist, letterer, cover artist, and
editor. Helps in organising all
eComics by, for example, a
particular writer.
Here you can choose one or
multiple genre for you eComic.
Read in detail about it on the
next page.
Use the Tags field for any
custom metadata that doesnt
have fields in the Info dialog,
like scanners name, series
status (ongoing, completed,
mini-series), scan type (c2c,
noads) etc.
The Previous and Next buttons
are used to navigate between
the Info dialogs of the previous
and next eComics open in the
the browser respectively. So,
in this case, you dont have to
close and open the info dialogs
repeatedly.
The eComic Format can be
selected here. This includes
Annual, Giant, One-Shot, Trade
paperback, etc. You can also
add your custom formats here.
Essential informa-
tion regarding the
Publisher (and
imprint, if any). You
can then arrange
or stack eComics in
the browser by the
publisher field
Choose the AgeRat-
ing here from
among All ages, ex-
plicit ,T+, A, Parental
advisory.
Select Yes here to mark an
eComic as Manga. Not select-
ing anything here marks an
eComic as manga is unknown.
If required, you can choose
the eComic Language here
Select Yes here to mark an
eComic as Black&White.
Not selecting anything here
marks an eComic as Black &
white is unknown.
The ProposedValues button
is used for metadata auto-dis-
covery that ComicRack does
by processing filename. Its
there for convenience, so those
fields wouldnt be empty by
default. You can commit them
permanently (for example
with Commit proposed values
script) or hide them, if the
guess is wrong.
72
There are 3 types of metadata fields in the Details tab, all of which can be filled either
manually or via scripts:
1. Text fields (like Title, Volume etc): have to be filled with relevant words or numbers 1
2. Menus: drop-down menus, where you select from an already-present list of choic-
es.
a. Simple list: Apart from the default choices, any user-inputted word is also
stored in the list and shows up in the drop-down
b. Yes/No menus: You can only choose Yes or No from the drop-down 2a
3. Option fields: Here you can select more than one option. Just like the text menus,
apart from the default choices, any user-inputted word is also stored in the list for
re-use later. Just click the Additembutton at the end of the field box to open
the Additemdialog, which contains 3 tabs placed at the bottom:
a. Lists tab
b. Check tab 2b
c. Text tab

3
Add Item button

3a 3b 3c

The Lists tab of an Options field The Check tab of an Options field The Text tab of an Options field
Double-clicking on an entry selects it and shows it in Here you get checkboxes for each entry. Just select any The most simple one. Meant for users who like to
the box above. Double-clicking on any entry in the box number of entries you desire, and then click anywhere use the keyboard more than the mouse. Just type
removes it. You can also use the < < button to bring all outside the tab to close it. in the names separated by commas , and then click
entries in the box en masse, the > > button to remove anywhere outside the tab to close it.
all entries from the box. Single-click on any entry fol-
lowed by the < button brings it in the box, and the >
button takes it out of the box. Click anywhere outside
the tab to close it.

73
 Plot & Notes
The Plot&notes tab complements the Details tab. While the details tab contains metadata fields which are
essential for organizing your eComics, the Plot & notes tab helps complete the metadata, specially to satisfy ad-
vanced comic book enthusiasts! Metadata fields like Characters, Teams and Locations bring on a large number of
possibilities regarding the eComic grouping in the browser. An overview of the Plot & Notes tab is shown below.

The summary field should be

filled with a brief text that
highlights the plot of the
eComic. The text here shows
up in the summary tab as well
as in reader tab bar tooltips.

Input the teams

(like Justice league,
Input the characters (like Wol- Avengers, etc) here.
verine, Batman, Deadpool etc) Helps in grouping/
here. Helps in grouping/stack- stacking by the
ing by the characters field, or Teams field, or in
in making smart lists making smart lists

You may use Notes for whatev- Input the locations

er purpose you wish. If theres (like Gotham city,
some data about comic that Metropolis, OA, As-
doesnt fit anywhere else, but gard etc) here. Helps
you still want to save it, notes in grouping/stacking
can be right place for it. by the Locations
field, or in making
The web address of the eComic smart lists
goes here. This shows up in the
summary tab as well as when
you click the arrow mark next
to the eComic name in the
details view of the browser.

TIPS
Search Wikipedia from within ComicRack

Right-click inside any metadata field to bring up the con-

text menu with the wikipedia search results at the top
Click the arrow mark next to the eComic name in the de-
tails view of the browser. You will get both the wikipedia
search results as well as the eComic web address that you
input in the Web field (Plot & notes tab)

74
 Pages
The Pages tab in the Info dialog shares lot of similarities with the Pages Browser (see Chapter 04). Just like the
pages browser, the pages tab also has the Pagescontextmenu and the Page browser context menu (called as the
Pagestabcontextmenu here).

The Pages tab con-

text menu provides
options for viewing,
arranging, and
grouping the pages.

Drag & drop individual pages to

change the page order. Double-
click a page to open it in the
Colors tab.

The Reset button

brings back the de-
fault values for the
The Previous and Next buttons page attributes.
are used to navigate between
the Pages tab of the previous
and next eComics open in the
browser respectively.
Opens up sub-menus for
Changing the Page type
and the Page rotation.

Right-clicking on any page in the

Pages Tab invokes the Pages Context
Menu. This contains options for
changing Page Type, Page Rotation,
Adding / removing Bookmarks,
reordering pages within an eComic,
copying page(s) to another location,
selecting & refreshing, and deleting
pages from ComicRack.

75
 Colors
The Colors tab is used for adjustment of the intensities of the color
attributes of the eComic pages, viz. Saturation, brightness, contrast
and sharpening.

Saturation: The purity of a hue; or, more precisely, the intensity of one
color channel relative to the intensity of the other color channels
Brightness: The relative lightness or darkness of an image, or of a particular
color in an image
Contrast: The relative difference between lightness and darkness in an area
of an image Saturation decreased to -100%
Sharpening: An image effect that is used to adjust the image contrast by
enhancing the definition of the image edges

Brightness decreased to -25%

Contrast increased to +50%

The Previous and Next Find a white spot (usually text bubble Click the Reset
buttons are used to background) and double-click on it button to bring
navigate between the and itll manually adjust the other back the default
Color dialogs of the pre- colors relative to the color at the spot values for the color
vious and next eComics you clicked such that it is balanced. attributes.
open in the the browser This is really most applicable to poor
respectively. So, in this scans of discolored books to adjust
case, you dont have to yellowing. Good scans of new books
close and open the color should require very little white-point
dialogs repeatedly. adjustment.
Sharpness increased to 4+

76
 Multiple eComic Information Dialog
So far, we have discussed filling the metadata for individual eComics. ComicRack also supports batch process-
ing of multiple eComics for inputting and editing metadata. This is accomplished through the Multiple eComic
Information dialog. To open it, select multiple eComics and open the Info dialog as you would do for a single
eComic. The MultipleeComicInformationdialog contains metadata fields of both the Details tab and the Plot
& notes tab of the Info dialog.

The Multiple eComic Information dialog contains 3 types of

checkboxes, which are interpreted differently with regard to the
type of the metadata field:

For text fields or menus (yes/no, simple list):

Value is identical in all books: Checked
Value is different for at least one book: Unchecked

For option fields:

Value is identical in all books: Checked
Value is different for at least one book: Indeterminate
No value will be set: Unchecked

TIPS
Is there any way to completely remove the
tags? Ive already tried doing it manually in
the details tab, but the same old tags get
put back up.
Is there any way to leave the Series field
blank? Ive tried deleting it manually, but it
appears again after the field loses the focus.

The trick is to remove the tag not only from the tags
field of the details tab but also the notes field of the
plot & notes tab. You can clear the tags AND notes in
the Multiple eComic Information dialog. Check them
both and clear the contents (if any).
You just have to switch the Proposed Values from
Yes to No. Then validate the change by clicking on Ok
which will close the info window. When you will open
the info window again, the series field will be blank
and you will be able to specify whatever you want.
To do this operation for multiple eComics: Select
them all, and from the Multiple eComic Information
dialog, check the checkbox on the left of Proposed
Values, select No and click Ok. From now on, all the
eComics you selected wont have the Proposed Val-
ues.

77
 Copy & Paste data

The Paste Data feature helps you to manually transfer the metadata from one eComic to another, without needing
to import the data anew. Examples include replacing comics with those of better quality, or those with additional
pages.

For example, here are two ecomics; the original, and a new one with the complete pages. You would not want to manually input the data for the new one, as you
already have done it for the original one. Here is where the Copy data & Paste data options are useful.

To add the data to the new comic, Then right-click the new comic and select
right-click on the original eComic in the PasteData
browser window and select CopyData

This will open the Paste Data dialog box. There are three op-
tions; All, which will add a check to every data item, Only Set,
which only select those items that actually have data, and Clear,
which will uncheck all data and allow you to only select those
items you wish

Select Ok, and all selected data will be added to the new ecomic. The data can be added to as many issues as are selected. Please note that this feature will not
transfer bookmarks.

The Paste Data feature is also useful when you have a number of eComics that are supposed to have similar meta-
data (like different issues of a series having a common creative team, the same publisher & the same genre), but
you have the metadata filled in only for one, or a few, of those eComics. In this case, you can simply use the Copy
Data option from the eComic with the maximally complete metadata present, and select the rest of the eComics
and select Paste Data. Most often than not, ComicRack itself will intelligently guess your desire & keep only the
relevant metadata fields checked. You can make yourself doubly sure by unchecking metadata items you do not
wish to paste.

78
 Reading Lists

A ReadingList is a compilation made up from eComics in your comic library. You can use lists to organize a group of
eComics matching a particular criteria. All the lists are accessed from the sidebar, which, thus, is essential for work-
ing with lists.

There are 2 types of lists:

1. CustomList: This is a simple list of eComics, made by manually adding individual eComics to it. This is a compila-
tion of eComics for quick access, akin to playlists in a music player.
2. SmartList: This is an automatized list, in which you create a rule (or many rules), and ComicRack automati-
cally all eComics fulfilling the rule(s) to the smart list. As new eComics are added to your library, ComicRack
auto-updates your smart lists.

Create a new folder to organize your

lists. You can also create folders Use these icons to create
within folders. Lists can be dragged a new custom list or a new
and dropped from one folder to the smart list, respectively.
other.

Custom Lists

Smart Lists

Add eComics to your custom list by

simply dragging & dropping them
from the browser window, or by
clicking Add to list from the browser
Create a rule by picking a metadata field
context menu.
from the leftmost drop-down menu,
choosing an instruction from the second,
and filling in a complete or partial key-
word in the third (text) field.
The Sidebar with all the custom lists & smart
lists

Reading Lists can be easily edited. To edit a custom list, you have to manually add or remove the eComics in the
the list. This is not possible in smart lists, where editing is done by modifying the rules that constitute the list. Both
custom lists and smart lists can be renamed, deleted, moved from one folder to the other, and opened in their own
tab or window. You can also add any list to the favoriteswindow by right-clicking on any list and selecting add to
favorites. All your list are saved when you backup your database (see database backup section).
We shall discuss all the features and functionality of lists in detail in the lists chapter.

TIPS
Can I transfer my lists to another computer ?

You can export and import both custom lists & smart lists from and into ComicRack.
Right-click on any list in the sidebar and select the exportreadinglist option. Save your
list to a location of your choice. To import it another computer, right-click anywhere in
the sidebar and select the importreadinglist option.

79
 Exporting eComics

ComicRack has many options to exporteComics. To convert an eComic to another format, right-click on any eComic
in the browser, goto Export eComics and simply choose your format. A batch of eComics, or even your complete library
can be batch converted in a similar fashion.

Choose the
export location
The exported eComic can
be named according to its
You can select multiple eComics and preexisting filename, or
choose to combine them during export. the comic caption (which is
You may also choose whether you wish the standard format used
to keep the original eComics, or delete by ComicRack for naming
them after export eComics) or your custom
choice.

You can select from this

drop-down menu which
page types you wish not
to include in the exported
eComic. Please read the
Choose the file format Choose compression
chapter on Browser to know
more about page types.

You can choose

to split double
Choose the page Choose resizing op- pages to 2 single
format tions pages each dur-
ing the export

If you wish, you can modify the color

attributes of the eComic pages to your
liking. Available are options to change
the saturation, brightness, contrast and
sharpening attributes of the images.

Creating exportpresets

You can also create your own presets for easy repetition of specific export
settings. To create a preset, first open the Export eComics settings menu and
then set any settings you want your preset to have. After you get the settings
to your liking, click the Save button and give your preset a name. The preset
will now show up in the right-clickExport eComics menu. Included are pre-
sets for CBZ, CB7 and PSP.

80
 Bookmarks

ComicRack contains features for bookmarking your eComics at any (and any number of) page(s) that you wish.
A page can be bookmarked using the Set Bookmark option, which can be found here:
Reader window: From the Bookmarks sub-menu in the Reader context menu (after right-clicking any open page)
Info dialog: Right-click on any page in the Pages tab
Edit menu: From the Bookmarks sub-menu

From Edit menu

From Reader window

From Info dialog

Bookmarks are, in their simplest form, needed when you have to quit reading an eComic and you wish to continue
reading from the page you left it at. So you bookmark it and next time you can easily access it. Please note that for
this purpose ComicRack already has the Open the eComic at the page where it was closed option. We recommend
bookmarks for more intuitive scenarios like:
As chapter jump points
To mark backup features (or second-third-fourth-etc stories in Annuals or King-Size editions)
If you combine multiple comics to one with export, the beginning of each eComic is marked with a bookmark.

The bookmarks menu in the reader window displays The Pages browser showing the eComic pages grouped by book-
all the bookmarks for the open eComic. Every book- marks. See how comfortable it becomes to recognise them in this
mark can be given an individual name, for example, as scenario.
in this case, the chapter name.

81
 Database Backup

Once you have completed entering all the metadata, bookmarking your eComics,
adjusting the colors, rating them, making lists, you wouldnt want all the effort go
in vain just because of an accidental deletion, a virus attack, or a software or hard-
ware failure. ComicRack provides for a quick and easy back up of your eComic
database. It is a simple file copy of the ComicRack database (ComicDB.xml) file,
available for storage in a separate location from the original.
The database backup options can be accessed through the Preferences dialog:
Edit Preferences Advanced DatabaseBackup
Always keep a backup ready !

How to backup the current database ?

1 2

An explorer window will open,

where you can browse to the
location of your choice and
then click the save button. The
database will be saved with the
name ComicDB Backup along
with the date of saving the
database.

From the Advanced tab of the Preferences

dialog, just click the backup database option.

How to restore a database ?

1 2 3

From the Advanced tab of the Preferences An explorer window will open, where you can browse to On closing the Preferences dialog, Comi-
dialog, click the restoredatabase option. the location of your saved database. select the desired cRack will prompt you for a restart.
database and then click the open button, simply double- Click the restart button to complete the
click the saved database. database restoration.

82
What is backed up ?
Absolutely all the metadata is backed up by the Backup database feature, including:
Comic-related metadata: all fields in the Details tab & Plot & notes tab of the Info dialog
Non-comic metadata: literally everything, including properties of every single page of the book, page
type, rotation, bookmarks, last page read, date added/opened, rating, color adjustment, file modified
time, file creation time etc.
Lists (both custom lists & smart lists), together with their individual layouts

The following features are not backed up by the Backup database feature:
Workspaces
List Layout presets
Options from preferences dialog
Export presets

Good Backup Practices

Backup to a remote location & backup often

Backup your database to a safe and remote location; either a USB drive, or an free online backup
server like box.net or dropbox. Also, make a habit of backing up your database often. A weekly
backup is recommended. However, your backup frequency should depend on how often you mod-
ify the info of your library eComics, and how often & how many new eComics are added to the
library.

Maintain your eComic folder structure

Just be sure to put all your comics files back into the same main folder they were in before when
you restore. So if they were in C:\Comics then thats where you need to copy them after you refor-
mat. As long as the content of the file is the same as the original one, its name and sub-folder can
be different. On the other hand, if the file path and name is identical as the original one, the con-
tent of the file may be different.

Manually backup the Config.xml file

Please note that the database backup does not include your preferences, export presets, list layout
presets & workspace presets. So, if you would wish to backup them also, you would have to do so
manually. Open an explorer window and just go to: %APPDATA%\cYo\ComicRack\
Copy the Config.xml file to a safe location. While restoring database, paste this file back in this loca-
tion. On restarting ComicRack, all your preferences & presets will be preserved.

83
Lists
This chapter introduces
you to lists, which form the
quickest way to access a set
of eComics based on the
metadata present. Essential
reading for ComicRack us-
ers !
Introduction 86
Custom Lists vs. Smart Lists 86
Custom Lists 87
Create a new Custom List 87
Smart Lists 89
Create a new Smart List 89
Smart List Basics 90
Working with Lists 91
Open a list in its own tab / window 91
Duplicate current list 91
Edit a smart list (change its rules) 92
Delete an eComic from a custom list 92
Delete a list 92
Working with reading list folders 92
Export (or backup) Lists 93
Exporting basics 93
How to export & import lists 93
 Introduction

By default, all your ComicRack eComics are located in the Libraryfolder.

As time passes, managing your eComic collection can become quite difficult without some form of organization. This
is where readinglists come into play. A Reading List is a compilation made up from eComics in your comic library
These are analogous to playlists that you make in your music player. You can make as many reading lists as you want
and give them any name you desire. It is useful to organize eComics into lists to suit a particular reading style or
mood. Not only will your eComic collection become more manageable, any group of eComics matching a particular
criteria will then be just a click away.

Custom Lists vs. Smart Lists

Once you reach a few gigabytes of eComics, lists and smart lists become an essential tool to keep
your eComic collection manageable and enjoyable. In the sidebar, custom lists and smart lists can
be easily differentiated by their distinct icons. However, the difference between customlists and
smartlists doesnt stop at their icons only!

Custom Lists Smart Lists

Custom Lists work great if you want to group a set number of Smart lists are based on criteria of your choosing. Smart lists will
eComics together. You have total control over what eComics get scan your entire library to find whatever matches your criteria.
into the list. Great if you know exactly what you want.
A regular custom list always contains the exact eComics you Smart lists are automatically updated as new eComics are added
manually added to it to your ComicRack collection.
Individual eComics can be added or removed from custom lists Manually adding / removing individual eComics in smart lists
whenever and as many times as you wish. is not possible, because smart lists are bound by the rules you
specify.
Deleting an eComic from a custom list only remove a reference Deleting an eComic from a smart list removes the eComic from
to the eComic from the list the library itself!
Between the Sidebar on the left and the Reader window on the Sidebar Docking Grip
right
Both custom lists and smart lists can be exported & imported, renamed, added to favorites, opened in their own tab / window,
organized in folders / subfolders, and obviously, deleted.

TIPS
Keep your Sidebar On

All the reading lists (custom lists as well as smart lists) load
in the sidebar. If you have toggled the sidebar off, you wont
be able to access your lists. Moreover, if you have selected a
list first & then toggled off the sidebar, you wont be able to
access your library till you bring back the sidebar and select
the library folder. So, it is highly recommended to keep your
sidebar on. For more details, read the section on the side- Sidebar Off Sidebar On

bar in the browser chapter.

86
 Custom Lists

In its most general form, a customlist (often simply called a list or a regularlist or even a reading list) is simply
a list of eComics. Custom lists are virtual folders you can create to filter different types of eComics. Regular lists
are just that: folders. But ComicRack also supports Smart lists: these are intelligent folders which can keep their
content updated, following some conditions you create. These smart lists will be discussed in the next section. This
section will introduce you to the regular and simpler custom lists.

Create a new Custom List

1. To create a new customlist, either click the newlist icon on the sidebar 1
toolbar, or choose New List from the Sidebar context menu (appears on
right-clicking anywhere inside the sidebar).
2. The New List dialog box opens up. Here you can give your new list a
name. The NewList icon on the sidebar toolbar.
3. Your New List shows in the Sidebar. It can be dragged up or down the
lists, or in or out any folders. 2
4. The new list is empty; adding eComics to the list can be done in 2 ways:
a. Drag the eComics from the Browser and drop them on top of your
list. You can drag & drop them either one by one, or selecting multi-
ple eComics in the browser (using the Ctrl key). The new list dialog
b. Alternatively, you can right-click any (or a group of) eComic(s) in the
browser to open the browser context menu, and goto AddtoList. 3
Select from names of all the reading lists in your library.

The New List showing in the Sidebar.

4a 4b

Drag & drop to add new eComics to your list Use the Add to List option to add eComics to your list

87
 How to use custom lists for making eComic chronologies

Custom lists are best suited for organizing chronologies of comic

book events. To demonstrate the power of custom lists, we made a
demo list for Siege, a recent comic book event. Free preview pages
were used to make the demo eComic files shown in the list. Here is
how to use custom lists for making eComic chronologies:

Select all eComics belonging to a particular crossover / storyline and then add
them to the list. Select this list in the sidebar, so that all the eComics in this
list are now visible in the browser window.
Now, we have to arrange them in chronological order. Here the Alternate
number field in the Info dialog comes to play.

For each individual eComic in the list ,you will have to input a numerical value
in this field to help ComicRack decide the chronological order of the eCom-
ics. Here you can use the Autonumber wizard script for numbering. The Alter-
nate series number should not be confused with the series number.
Select the details view in the browser.
If not already selected, right-click on the details columns
and select the Alternatenumber field to be displayed. Drag
the column to place it on the extreme left. Now, click on the
alternate number column title to arrange the eComics in the
list according to it.
You can now view the eComics in the chronological order
anytime by clicking on the list in the sidebar.

Any Custom list you already created can also be changed later on:
rename it, add or remove eComics from it. You can, of course, delete
an old custom list, and backup or export your lists out of Comic-
Rack. These topics are discussed in detail later in the Working with
lists section.
Disclaimer:
This list is for demonstrational purposes only and in reality does not contain
the actual eComics shown here. We used the freely downloadable eComic
covers and preview pages for the respective comic issues displayed and
saved each of them as a small cbz file. The list is made of these cbz files.

TIPS
How can I quickly access the lists I use the most?

If you have lists that you use very frequently, you can have them
displayed in the favorites window. Just right-click on any custom
list (or smart list) and select add to favorites. Your list will now
show in the Favorites window and can be accessed more quickly.
Add to favorites option in the The favorites window showing
sidebar context menu the added reading list

88
 Smart Lists

ComicRack gives you the ability to organize your eComics with Smartlists: these work much
like rules in email programs (mail filters). Any eComic that matches the conditions you set out
will automatically appear in the smart list. Smart lists thus consist of rules the user can define
in order to create dynamic, self-updating lists of comics. ComicRack itself comes with seven
built-in smart lists: Files to update, My Favorites, Never Read, Read, Reading, Re-
cently Added and Recently Read.
You could, for example, create a Smart list of all eComics you rated more than four stars.
Anytime you rate an eComic four or five star, ComicRack would automatically add it to your
smart list. - this cannot be achieved with a regular ComicRack custom list, unless you manu-
ally added or deleted some of them. Smart Lists can have multiple conditions, which limit their
potential only to your creativity.

Create a new Smart List

1. To create a smartlist, either click the newsmartlist icon on the sidebar 1

toolbar, or choose New Smart List from the Sidebar context menu (ap-
pears on right-clicking anywhere inside the sidebar).
2. The EditSmartList dialog box opens up.
Click the New Smart List icon on the sidebar
toolbar.
Name

2
Remove rule
Match All/Any
rule in Library/
List

Negate rule Add rule group

Limit by number
or size Add rule

Metadata field Instruction Keyword

3. Pick a metadata field from the leftmost drop-down menu, choose an instruction from the second, and fill in a
complete or partial keyword in the third (text) field.

89
 Smart List Basics
Here we explain you the basics of making smart lists, from the most simple smart lists to the relatively more com-
plex. As a general rule, you should make your rules as open-ended as possible to optimize their matching scope;
the more detailed the rule, the shorter the smartlist results.
1 2

In its default state, every smart list contains one rule that will search for The ! (negation) button finds the opposite of what you specify. To continue
anywhere in All the comics data that contains New Smart List. You can the X-Men example, if you set the ! button, the smart list would display any
change New Smart List to anything you like. For example, if you want to find comics that do not contain X-Men.
any comics that have X-Men in its data. You could change New Smart List to
X-Men and click Ok and the smart list would display any comics with X-Men
in its data.

3 4

If you only want to search for a phrase in a certain field, you can change the You can also change the instruction field (second drop-down menu). For exam-
metadata field All to something else. For example if you wanted to find all the ple if you want to find an exact word or phrase you could change the option
Batman titles you could set the search to be: Series contains Batman from contains to is.

5 6

If you specify Match All then all the rules would have to be true for a comic in To create complicated and very specific rules, you can create rule groups. Click
order for it to be displayed. If you specify Match Any then if any one rule is true the .. button to add a rule group. With each group you can specify to follow
for a comic it will be displayed. Click the + button next to a rule to add a new all or any of the rules in the group. The example above displays a smart list
rule to the smart list. Click the - button to delete a rule. designed to find Detective Comics 327-342 and Batman 164-174.

90
 Working with Lists

Your ComicRack lists are not fixed in stone: you can you can easily rename lists, delete lists, edit smart lists,
create, rename & delete list folders, etc. It is noteworthy that manually adding / removing individual eComics in
smart lists is not a valid option, because smart lists are bound by the rules which define them. Individual eComics
in custom lists, on the other hand, are supposed to be only manually added or removed.
Open a list in its own tab / window
ComicRack lets you open a list (both custom lists & smart lists) in its own tab or window, which
eases working with multiple lists at a time. If you have loads of entries in your library (folders,
lists, smart lists) and want to work with some, it is lot easier to open them as tabs (or windows)
instead clicking or scrolling around in your smartlist. You can also drag an eComic(s) from a list /
smart list in one tab and drop to a list (not smart list) in another tab. To open a list in its own tab
or window, right-click on the list name, and choose Openinnewwindow or Openinnewtab.

Reading list open in own window Reading list open in own tab

Duplicate current list

The duplicate current list option is something different than simply copying/pasting a list. It builds a new smart list
out of your current settings. If you did not make any changes, it does not create a new list. It takes into account the
filters in Search Browser, Quick Search and options in Views (read / not read / reading / duplicates).
Click a list (either custom list or smart list), type something in the quick search or choose a filter in the search
browser. Once the filtered eComics show up, click the duplicate current list button and you will get a new list (with
the same name) in the temporary lists folder, following the rules of the original list PLUS whatever extra filters you
applied. This is the quickest way of creating smart lists.

In this example, we filter the Siege demo list using the

search browser. We select Brian Michael Bendis from
the writers field in the search browser, which filters the
total 44 comics in the list to 14 written by Bendis. Now,
click the duplicate current list button on the browser
toolbar. A new smart list titled Siege appears in the
temporary lists folder. Click edit to see what its rules are.
You will find that smart list has filtered the original siege
list according to the criteria we chose. If you wish to
store this list, you have to move it out of the temporary
list folder to somewhere else in the sidebar.

91
Edit a smart list (change its rules)
To edit a smart lists rule, right-click on the list, and choose Edit. If the Edit menu
item is greyed out, you are probably clicking on a standard list. Choosing Edit will
open the EditSmartList dialog box: this is the same dialog you used to create
the smart list in the first place. This obviously only applies to smartlists, since
standard custom lists are managed manually.
Delete an eComic from a custom list
To remove an eComic (or a batch of eComics) from a custom list, select the
eComic(s), right-click, and choose Remove. This will only remove a reference to
the eComic from the list, not delete the actual eComic from your system. Please
note that in case of smart lists, the Remove function actually deletes the eComic
from the library itself.

Delete a list
To delete a list (both custom lists & smart lists), simply right-click on the list you
would like to delete, and choose Delete. Note that since a list contains only
links to the actual eComics they contain, deleting a list only deletes references
to these items, and none of your content will actually be deleted.

Working with reading list folders

You can organize any number of lists and smart lists into well defined fold-
ers. Each non-empty folder has a disclosure triangle which allows you to
hide or show the folders content.
To create a list folder: click the NewFolder icon either from the sidebar
toolbar or from the sidebar context menu. Click the New Folder icon on the sidebar toolbar.
To create subfolders (folders inside other folders): first click on the de-
sired would-be parent folder, and then click the NewFolder icon.
To promote a subfolder to a folder: simply drag the folder towards the
left, and release once the cursor changes appearance to that of a hori-
zontal dividing line.
To move a subfolder to another folder; simply drag the subfolder and
drop it above the destination folder. All items stay inside and accom-
pany their containing folder wherever you put it. Converting a subfolder into a folder
To move existing lists and smart lists in a folder: simply drag the list,
and drop it on the desired folder label.
To create a list directly inside a folder: first click on the desired folder,
and then create the list.
To move a list from one folder to another: simply drag the list with your
mouse, and drop it on the new, destination folder.
To remove a list from a folder: drag the list upwards or downwards,
until you get a horizontal divider; at that point, release the list.
You can rename list folders at any time, much like you rename regular
folders on your computer: it will not affect the folders content. Placing a list into another folder

92
 Export (or backup) Lists
Both custom lists and smart lists can be exported from and imported into ComicRack. There are a number of
reasons why youd want to export a list: first, you could export the list to import it into another ComicRack instal-
lation (like your laptop). Second, you can export a list to put it online, or email it to a friend, for example.

Exporting basics
Exporting lists only backs up the information related to the
list; exporting lists doesnt backup your eComics. The list is
exported as .cbl (which is a modified xml format) or plain .xml
format, which allows to display information in a simple way,
which can then be used by any application, even outside Comi-
cRack. Backup your exported lists in a safe location: since
the exported list file is plain text, it takes very little space. As a
rule of thumb, you should always have at least one backup at
a remote location: either a geographically different, like a rela-
tives house or your office, or virtually different, like an email
Heres a look at the XML of an example exported list. This excerpt displays
or FTP server. This way, if your house burns down, you will still the most meaningful fields of information related to eComics in Comic-
have your exported lists to console yourself (provided you also Rack; you will recognize them from the Details tab of the Info dialog.

backed up your eComic collection!).

How to export & import lists

1 3a

Right-click on any list (custom list or smart list) in the sidebar and Right-click anywhere in the sidebar (preferably over the folder in which
select the exportreadinglist option. Alternatively, you can select you wish to import the list) and select the importreadinglist option.
the list and use the Ctrl+Shift+Ckeyboardcombo. Alternatively, you can use the Ctrl+Shift+Vkeyboardcombo.

2 3b

You can also right-click on any list in windows explorer and select the Import
Browse through the export reading list window to a location of eComic list into ComicRack option. Alternatively, you can simply double-
your choice and click Save. click to open it as a temporarylist.

93
Scripts
Scripts are small pieces of
software that add new fea-
tures and functionality to
your ComicRack. Through
scripts, you can execute a
number of tasks with a single
click. This chapter discusses
all you need to know about
scripts.
Scripts: Basics 96
Installing Scripts 96
1 generation Scripts
st
96
2nd generation Scripts 96
3rd generation Scripts 97
Uninstalling Scripts 97
Current Popular Scripts 98
Comic Vine Scraper 99
Other Scripts 101
Pre-loaded Scripts 101
Autonumber Wizard 101
Search & Replace 101
Rename Files 102
Commit Proposed values 102
Export Comic List 102
Web Link 102
WeeklyComicReleases 103
OrganizeLibraryFiles&Folders 103
MoveFiles 104
ArturosNewComicsToolbox 104
FindGapsinseries 105
GuidedRename 105
Extractallpages 106
Extractfirstpage 106
OpenWithScript 107
CreateCombinedScript 107
 Scripts: Basics

ComicRack has built in Python scripting support. Scripts are essentially plugins or add-ons that extend the func-
tionality of ComicRack. With scripts you can batch process eComic books in ComicRack. The scripts are usually
distributed as packaged zip files. They can be downloaded from the Downloads section or the News/Announcement
sections of the ComicRackforum.

Installing Scripts
ComicRack scripts have underwent a lot of advancements with time. This is evident not only in
their efficiency & stability, but also in the way the scripts are installed. At present, there are 3 ways
of installing a ComicRack script. As these have evolved over time, the scripts are often classified
into generations based on the installation procedure. These are:
1st generation scripts
2nd generation scripts
3rd generation scripts
All the scripts have backwards compatibility, i.e. all 3rd generation scripts can be installed like ei-
ther 2nd or 1st generation ones, and all 2nd generation scripts can be installed like the 1st generation
ones. However, the reverse does not hold true.

1stgenerationScripts
These are the earliest ComicRack scripts, distributed as a zip file. You can install a 1st generation script by extract-
ing the zip contents to your ComicRack scripts folder (default location is C:\Program Files\ComicRack\Scripts) and
restarting ComicRack. These scripts can be installed only this way, and not through the scripts manager.

A second-generation ComicRack script in win- Contents of the script in a zip file manager Extracting the zip file contents to the ComicRack scripts folder
dows explorer

Among the current popular scripts, only the Guidedrenamescript (described later) falls in the category of 1st genera-
tion scripts.

2ndgenerationScripts
These are also distributed as a zip file, but are compatible with installation via the inbuilt scripts manager of Comic-
Rack. Most ComicRack scripts are 2nd generation scripts. In the coming future, most of these scripts are planned
to be upgraded to the 3rd generation.
Unless otherwise mentioned, installing a script refers to the installation procedure needed for a 2nd generation script.
Please note that a basic knowledge of the preferences dialog is needed for installing these scripts.

96
Here is how to install a 2nd generation script:
1 2 5a

5. Restart ComicRack and the script(s) will be in-

stalled and available to use.
3
5b

If an earlier version of a script is already installed and

1. Open the Preferences dialog 4. Now you will see the script under the heading you wish to update it with a newer version, you can sim-
2. Go to the Scripts Tab to be installed (requires restart). If you wish to ply install it without uninstalling the older version. After
3. Click the Install button. Browse to the down- install more scripts, repeat step 3, otherwise installation, just click yes in the dialog box asking your
loaded zip file and select it. click Ok. permission to overwrite the preexisting script.

3rdgenerationScripts
These are the most recent scripts. Unlike its predecessors, the 3rd generation script is distributed as a .crplugin file.
Currently, only the Comicvinescraper (v 1.0.25) is available as a 3rd generation script. However, in the coming future,
almost all scripts are expected to follow suit. Installing a 3rd generation script is the easiest of the three.

1 2

Simply double-click a crplugin file to start the in- Alternatively, you can right-click the file and then select The script manager displays the script
stallation process. You can also select the file and Install plugin into comicRack from the context menu. under the heading to be installed (re-
then click Install plugin into comicRack from the quires restart). Click Ok to restart and
windows 7 explorer toolbar. complete installation.

UninstallingScripts
All the 3 generations of scripts are uninstalled in the same way: using the scripts manager. To uninstall (remove) a
script:
1. Open the Preferences dialog
2. Go to the Scripts Tab
3. Select the script you wish to remove
4. Click Remove
5. Restart ComicRack

97
 Current Popular
Scripts

Here are some of the more popular scripts for tweaking the ComicRack experience. Dont hesitate to post in the
help section or in the script topics if you need help with any of these scripts. We follow this section with a description
of the currently recommended & top-rated ComicRack scripts.

Scripts for getting info

Comic Vine Scraper (by cbanack). Matches and downloads information from the ComicVine website. Highly recommended.

Arturos new comics toolbox (by perezmu). Some useful scripts that include getting scanner name from the file name, type of
comic (noads, c2c, etc) from the file name, and save tags to notes.

Find gaps in series (by Stonepaw). Finds the missing issues in a series and displays the start and end of the gap.

Scripts for sorting

Organize library files and folders 2.0 (by oraclexview). Standardizes the eComic library naming and structure in windows
explorer.

Standardize Library Script Tweaked (by oraclexview). Uses file pattern of [scripts hard coded set directory] \[Publisher] \
[Imprint]^if not null field^ \[Series] \[Series] Vol.[Volume] #[Number] (of [Count]^if not null field^) ([Month]^in text format if not null
field^, [Year])

Guided Rename (by wadegiles). Uses a GUI to create a pattern to rename files only, no directories.

Move files (by wadegiles). Allows you to move eComic to another folder from within ComicRack

Fix Volume Script (by cYo). Moves volume information contained in series titles into the volume tags.

Other Scripts
Weekly Comic Releases (by Stonepaw). Gets you the latest RSS feeds about the new comics coming out each week.

Remove all Bookmarks (by Stonepaw). Removes all bookmarks from any selected eComics.

Open with script (by wadegiles). Allows you to extend ComicRack by adding your own Open With item to the right click
Automation menu.

Extract all pages (by wadegiles). Extracts all the pages of an eComic to a user-specified folder.

Extract first page only (by wadegiles). Extracts the first page of all selected eComics to a user-specified folder.

Create combined script (by Stonepaw). Allows you to create a script that can run several other scripts in sequence.

98
 Comic Vine Scraper

The importance of metadata in organizing and managing eComics has been already emphasized at many places
earlier in the manual. Manually filling the metadata fields can be a very slow and inefficient process. Neither
would it be easily possible to be accurate and complete. Here is why the concept of automatized metadata filling
was introduced and the Import Comicvine Info script was designed. The Comic vine scraper is a modern adapta-
tion of that script.
ComicVinescraper downloads eComic information from the Comic Vine online database, and automatically fills
all the metadata fields in the Info dialog. It is a highly recommended ComicRack script. To open the scraper,
select an eComic (or a batch of eComics) and either click the green icon on the library browser toolbar, or Right-
click Automation ComicVineScraper.

1 2

2a

The Comic vine scraper dialog pops up. If you are new to it and wish to pro-
ceed straightaway, just click the Start scraping button and proceed to step 3.
If you wish to tweak the scraper to your taste, click the Settings button.

ii

iii

iv

Clicking the Settings button open up the comic vine scraper set-
tings dialog. It contains 2 tabs: Scraped data and scraper options.
The scraped data tab contains a large number of checkboxes.
These are the metadata fields that you will recognize from the
Info dialog. By default, all fields are selected. You can select the
fields you would like to update. You also have the buttons for
selecting all or no metadata fields.
The scraper options tab contains 4 options:
i. Selecting this would overwrite any metadata fields already filled in the
Info dialog. You also have a sub-option for not overwriting old values
with empty new values
ii. With this option on, every eComic scrape is preceded by a prompt for
the series name. This comes in handy when the eComics that have to
be scraped have misspelt file names.
iii. Use this option to convert imprints (like Vertigo) to parent publisher
(like DC).
iv. Uncheck this option if you have a slow net connection. However, in
usual scenarios, we recommend this option enabled, as it increases the
functionality of the scraper by displaying images of the series/issues
being scraped.

99
 2b
Once you are done with the settings, Click Start scraping to start
the scraper find matches in the Comic Vine database for your
selected eComics.

3
The scraper finds a number of matches
for the series being scraped. Most of the
times, the desired series would be found
at the top of the list. Choose the correct
series, and then, either use the Show
issues button to preview the individual
issues for the desired series, or simply
click Ok to move to the next step. Use
the Search again button used for a fresh
search. Clicking Skip omits the particular
series from the scrape and moves on to
the next in queue. The Cover art can be
toggled off/on at all stages of the scrape.

4 5
The Show Issues but-
ton opens the Choose a
Comic Book Issue dialog,
which provides the is- Watch the
sue list for the chosen scraper gather
comic series. This helps details and
in choosing an individual declare that
issue, if required. The the scrape is
Go Back button takes complete. This
you one step back to is automatized
the series list, where, if metadata at its
needed, a different se- best.
ries may be chosen.

TIPS
The ComicVineScraperProject

The Comic Vine Scraper also has its own project page. Here you
can find the latest version of Comic Vine Scraper in the downloads
section. You can also subscribe to the project feeds, and input your
suggestions or report any bugs encountered in the issues section.
If you like this script, you may show your appreciation by joining
Comic Vine and helping to build their community.

100
 Other Scripts

Pre-loaded Scripts
ComicRack comes pre-loaded with a number of scripts. This sec-
tion briefly discusses these bundled scripts, while the forthcoming
pages discusses scripts downloadable from the ComicRack forum.
Most of the pre-loaded scripts (and also those that you install later)
can be accessed from their respective icons on the browser toolbar.
Some of the scripts require going to Browser context menu Au-
tomation.

AutonumberWizard
This is a script to renumber the selected eComics. To use the script, either click its icon on the browser toolbar, or
right-click the selected eComic(s), and via the Browser context menu go to Automation Autonumber wizard.
Number Series: changes the number field of the series accordingly
Number Alternate Series: helpful in making chronologies (see example below)
Begin at number: the starting issue number of the series being renumbered
Save total number: this will be the total count of the series

Arrange the eComics in the chronological order While keeping all the eComics selected, open the Autonum- The series now has all the alternate number
you want them in. Sort descending by the posi- ber wizard. Choose number alternate series from the drop- fields in order. You can now arrange them by
tion field. down menu. Begin at number 1 & also input the total count. the alternate number field.

SearchandReplace

This is a script to search and replace values in selected eComics.

From the drop-down menu on the top, you can select the metadata
field, the value of which you would like to replace. Input the preex-
isting value (to be changed) in the search box, and the new value in
the replace box. Click Ok and the changes will be done.

101
RenameFiles
This is a script to rename the selected eComic filenames to the format:
Series Volume #Number (of Count) (Year).
To use the script, right-click the selected eComic(s), and via the Brows-
er context menu go to Automation Rename Files to Series Volume
#Number (of Count) (Year). The file name of the selected eComics will
change immediately.

The original eComic file name, as viewed The eComic file name after running
in windows explorer. the rename files script.

CommitProposedvalues
Proposed values are metadata fields that ComicRack auto fills by processing the filename. The commit proposed
values is a script to make the proposed values for the eComics permanent.
To use the script, right-click the selected eComic(s), and via the Browser context menu go to Automation commit
proposed values. A dialog will appear, asking for your confirmation. Clicking Write will make the proposed values
permanent.

Proposed values are generated from the filenames, and are dis- The Commit proposed values The proposed values now appear like any other metadata fields.
played in grey. script dialog

ExportComicList
This is a simple script to export the list of selected eComics (or the entire library) into a csv file. You can open
and edit this csv file with any editor of your choice (like Microsoft Excel).

WebLink
This is a script to display the web link content from the web
metadata field of the selected eComics Info dialog (Details
tab). After enabling this script, switch on the Info Panel from
the Browse menu. On selecting an eComic now, the Info Panel
will display the web page that is set as its internet link. You can
browse this page in the Info Panel just like any ordinary web
page. The Web Link script is described in detail in the section on
the Info Panel in the Browser chapter.

102
 WeeklyComicReleases
Weekly Comic Releases is an add-on script for ComicRack that gets you
the latest RSS feeds about the new comics coming out each week. It is a
recommended ComicRack script.

To open the script, from the Main menu,

go to File menu Automation Week-
ly Comic Releases
You can filter the results as you wish
by date, title or publisher
Covers are optional
Price, Cover and Publisher columns
can be turned off
Blacklist for unwanted publishers is
present. To add a publisher the black-
list you can manually add it or right-
click on an existing title and choose
the add to blacklist option.
Text list export function is present

OrganizeLibraryFiles&Folders
Organize Library Files & Folders is an add-on for ComicRack that lets users organize / standardize their eComic li-
brary naming and structure in windows explorer. It is a recommended ComicRack script.

The user must first manually set the root directory where they want their eComics to reside on the computer. Then,
after selecting the desired comics in the library, the script is run. The script then creates a new subfolder of the Pub-
lisher within the root folder, then an Imprint subfolder if it exists, and finally a Series subfolder. The Series subfolder
also gets the beginning year it was published at the end.

The syntax looks like this:

[root directory] \ [Publisher] \ [Imprint if exist] \ [Series] ([YearBegan] Series) \

Then there is the file naming structure. The syntax for this is:
[Series] Vol. [Volume] # [Number with leading zeros] (of [Count if exist] ) ( [Month in text format] , [Year] )

103
 ArturosNewComicsToolbox
Arturos new comic toolbox is a compilation of many scripts. It is meant
for users who like to keep the name of the scanners in their comics
to give them credit, or choose between c2c, noads or all those many
choices. Install via script manager. Right-click an eComic and go to the
Automation menu to get the toolbox options.

The scripts ScannerTagsFromName and ScanTypeFromName save

the scanner name (if any) and the scan type (c2c, etc...) as tags for
the comic.
All this info, i.e., the scanner type, the scan type and the database
reference, are stored as tags, which are not saved to the comicinfo.
xml file. The next two scripts solve this problem: SaveTagstoNotes
and RetrieveTagsFromNotes move tags to the notes fields & vice
versa, making sure no one is duplicated, all the time respecting ex-
isting tags and notes.
You can also use the Clear Notes & Clear Tags scripts for self-ex-
planatory purposes.

MoveFiles
This script prompts the user for a destination folder and moves all selected eComic files to that folder. It also updates
the file path information in ComicRack for the eComic so you dont have to re-add them. When choosing the desti-
nation, you can elect to create a new folder as well.

If an eComic of the same name already exists in the destination chosen, it wont be overwritten and the next selected
eComic is processed. The selected eComic will remain in its original location with no update to its ComicRack infor-
mation.

1 2 3

At the end of the operation, this status mes-

sage means that your files have been moved
successfully!

From the main menu select File Automation Select the destination folder to which se-
Move eComics lected eComics will be moved. Existing files
in the destination folder will not be affected.

104
 GuidedRename
This 1st generation script allows for a highly customized user-specified file renaming of selected eComics.
1. Install the script by extracting the zip contents to your ComicRack scripts folder (default location is C:\Program
Files\ComicRack\Scripts) and restarting ComicRack. This script can be installed only this way, and not through
the scripts manager.
2. Right click on the selected eComics to rename.
3. Under the Automation menu item, click on the new item named Guided Rename. The script displays a dialog in
which to specify the pattern for renaming files.
This script does not rename files using ComicRacks file renam-
ing limitations. The only illegal characters are \ / : * ? < > |
If any fields are missing for a selected eComic, that comic wont
be renamed using the missing field nor any of the prefix or post-
fix values specified for the field. This allows you to specify things
like ( of <count> ) without have a bunch of files missing a count
being renamed as ( of ).
If the rename cannot be completed, that comic will be skipped.
Remembers the last pattern used for renaming and loads it for
subsequent renames. Just click Reset to start a new pattern. The following fields can be specified to use as part of the new filename: Series, Vol-
Tooltips are displayed when you hover the mouse over a control. ume, Number, Count, Alternate Series, Alternate Number, Alternate Count, Year,
Month, Publisher, Imprint, and Title. Numeric fields that have numeric values can
be left-padded with zeroes to ensure a minimum width.

FindGapsinseries
This is a SmartlistScript. The EditSmartList dialog box contains a metadata field called User Scripts. Scripts used in
accordance with this field are called SmartlistScripts. This script finds the missing issues in a series and displays the
start and end of the gap.
1. Create a new smart list and name it whatever you want.
2. In the Edit Smart List dialog box, set the metadata field (first drop-down menu) to User Scripts and set the instruc-
tion field (second drop-down menu) to Find missing issue gaps.
3. Next to the instruction field are the two option text boxes. In the first Text Box, write the name of the series (not

case-sensitive) you wish to find gaps in. The second Text Box is for the Volume number and is optional.
a. If series is left empty, the script will now go through the entire library and find any missing issues. This requires
a well organized library to work really well.
b. If series is specified but the volume is left empty the script will now go through each volume separately.
4. Name the smart list to something like Find Gaps in xyz series or anything you wish, and click Ok.
5. Select the smart list in the sidebar, and you can see the start and the end of the gaps (if any) in the browser.

105
 Extractallpages
This script extracts all the pages of an eComic to a user specified folder. Such a script comes in handy when you need
to unzip an eComic archive for whatever reason. Rather then opening windows explorer & navigating to the folder
containing the eComic to be unzipped, then opening the cbz/cbr file with a zip file manager (WinZip/WinRar) and
extracting the pages, it is far quicker to extract pages of selected eComics using this script.

To install, use the Scripts manager or extract the zip contents to your ComicRack scripts folder (default location is
C:\Program Files\ComicRack\Scripts). Restart ComicRack to complete the installation.

1. Select the eComic(s) you want to extract. Right click on the selections and look under Automation for a new entry
labelled Extract All Pages. There will be a little folder icon with a green arrow next to the entry.
2. For each selected eComic, youll be prompted for a destination folder. If you hit Cancel when prompted for a
folder, the operation will not process any additional extractions. However, you cannot cancel eComic extractions
for which you have already specified a destination folder. Those extractions will complete.
3. The Extraction successfully completed message confirms that the file transfer has successfully completed.

1 2 3

Right-click on the selected eComic(s), and from the Automa- Browse for a folder on your computer to ex- Wait a moment for the Extraction successfully completed
tion menu, select Extract All Pages. port the pages from the selected eComic. message. You can now access the individual eComic pages
Click Ok when done. from the folder you specified in the last step.

Extractfirstpage
This script is a child of the previous script, and is quite similar in operation. This will extract only the first page of all
selected eComics. The file name is generated based on the eComic series name, volume number, and issue number.

1. To install, use the Scripts manager or extract the zip contents to your ComicRack scripts folder. Restart Comic-
Rack to complete the extraction.
2. Select the eComic(s) for which you want the first page extracted.
3. Under the right click Automation menu, select the Extract First Page menu item.
4. Choose the folder in which you want the cover page to be saved, and click Ok.

106
 OpenWithScript
This script allows you to extend ComicRack by adding your own Open With program shortcut to the right click
Automation menu. Add as many items as you need by running it multiple times. When you are choosing file types, be
SURE that the program you select will handle those file types, otherwise the program will probably give you a nasty
error message about not recognizing that file type.
To install, use the Scripts manager or extract the zip contents to your ComicRack scripts folder. Restart ComicRack
to complete the installation.

1 2 3

The script will prompt you for a label and the eComic Browse to the location of the program
file types you want to allow be used with which you would like to open
From the main menu select File Automation eComics from ComicRack. Select the
Build Open With Menu Item... program exe file.

4 5 6

After correctly completing all the previous steps, the

script will flash this message. click Ok and restart Comi-
cRack.

If you ever want to get rid of any generated Menu

Right click on an eComic, select Automation, Items, either uncheck the open with entry from
and youll see Open With Something You the available scripts section of the scripts tab, or
Typed. delete the corresponding files from the \Comic-
Rack\Scripts\ folder.

CreateCombinedScript

Technology breeds technology. So, if you get tired of running script after script,
this create combined script here creates a new script that simply executes sev-
eral scripts one after the other on the selected comics. As usual it is package
manager ready. Find it in the File Automation menu.

It has a selection form that allows you to select what scripts you want and put
them in the order you desire.

107
Web Comics
If you like to read comics
published on a website,
ComicRack can download,
save and update them for
you. Read this chapter to
learn how!
Web Comic Basics 110
Getting Web comics 110
ComicRack forum 110
Create Web comics on your own 110
Using Web comic Templates 111
Working with Web comics 113
Alter a Web comics starting date 114
Save a Web comic for offline reading 114
Updating Web comics 114
 Web Comic Basics

ComicRack supports Web Comic (.cbw) files. With Web Comics, ComicRack can read comics directly from web
pages and display them as if they were standard eComics (CBR, CBZ). Web Comics can be exported to other formats.
If the definition supports it, a Web comic can update itself to add new pages (like for daily or weekly comics).

There are 3 basic elements of a Web comic:

1. Info: This is where ComicRack will store its eComic info (when you edit the
values with the Info Dialog or execute a script to get the values).
2. Variables: This is an optional collection to define textual variables you can reuse
in the image entries.
3. Images / Image: This is a collection of Image entries that define the actual pages
of the Web comic. In the simplest case this can be direct links to images on the
internet or it can be complex scraping definitions.
Heres a look at the XML of an example
Web comic

Getting Web comics

1. ComicRack forum
This is the easiest way. Just login to the ComicRackforum and go to the
Web Comics section. Our developers there have already posted a good col-
lection of Web comics that you can download and use. New Web comics are
regularly posted and requests for specific Web comics are entertained.

2. Create Web comics on your own

Making a Web comic has 3 main steps:
1. Go with the browser of your choice to your Web comic page. Decide if you need to create a Url based (simple) or
a regex based (BrowseScraper, IndexScraper) Web comic.
2. To find the regular expressions, select View Source in your browser and copy the html code into a regex testing
tool of your choice. Play around with the regular expression. If you think youre done, put the expressions into the
Web comic file and open it with ComicRack.
3. Please note that ComicRack works with the .NET implementation of RegEx. If the expression contains a link
group, this one is used. Otherwise the matched expression is used.
For additional information on making Web comics, please read the article on the ComicRack wiki page.

110
3. Using WebcomicTemplates to make Web comics

A Web comictemplate can be easily edited to make the Web comic of your choice, which you can read (with daily up-
dates) from within ComicRack. Here we discuss the Web comic Template for Gocomics.com (a website that contains
a large number of daily comics) and Onemanga.com (a website containing lots of manga). You can freely download the
Gocomicstemplate.cbw & Onemanga.cbw files from the ComicRack forum.

Creating Web comics for the comics at Gocomics.com

2. Now we will choose the date from which we want our Web comic to begin.
1. Goto A-Z comic listing at Gocomics.com. From
For this right-click on the double-backward arrow icon near the date.
quite a large number of comics, choose the comic
3. Click on Copy link location. Now, we have the link for the beginning
you want to create the Web comic for. Click at the
comic strip for our Web comic. The link can be easily changed manually
name of the comic. In this example, we choose
to select any date from which we would like our Web comic to begin. e.g.
Red And Rover. A new page for that comic will
change the date in the link from .../2003/01/01/ to .../2010/01/01/, and
open.
well get the comic from January 2010 onwards.

4. Open the template GoComicsTemplate.cbw with 7. Your Web comic is ready. Double-click to open it with ComicRack,
any text editor you like. In this example we choose and enjoy !
Notepad++. Your simple windows notepad will do
as well. Replace the Image Url in the file with the
link we copied in step 3.
5. To save the Web comic, go to File->Save as, and
replace the name with that of your choice, in this
case, Red And Rover.cbw
6. Dont forget to choose All types in the Save as
type dialog of your text editor.

111
 Creating Web comics for the comics at Onemanga.com

1. Go to the Manga directory at Onemanga.com. Scroll down to choose the
manga you want to create the Web comic for.
2. In this example, we choose Dance in the Vampire Bund. Click on it and a
new page for that manga will open.
3. Now we will choose the date from which we want our Web comic to be-
gin. Usually, this would be the first chapter of the manga. For this, scroll
down the chapter list to reach the first chapter (at the bottom of the
page). Click on it to reach a new page.
4. Find the link titled Begin reading Dance in the Vampire Bund 1 (or
name of your chosen manga) near the bottom of the page. Right-click on
this link and then Copy link location.

5. Open the template Onemangatemplate.cbw with any text editor you like.
In this example we choose Notepad++. Your simple windows notepad will
do as well. Replace the variable key Url value in the file with the link we
7. 7. Your Web comic is ready. Double-click to open it with ComicRack,
copied in step 4.
and enjoy! You have successfully converted ComicRack into an online
6. To save the Web comic, goto File->Save as, and replace the name with that
manga reader!
of your choice, in this case, Dance in the Vampire Bund.cbw. Dont forget to
choose All types in the Save as type dialog of your text editor.

112
 Working with
Web comics
ComicRack treats Web comics just like standard eComics. All features of ComicRack have the same level of func-
tionality for Web comics as well. The only difference is that reading a Web comic is dependent upon the speed of
your internet connection. This also depends upon the total number of Web comics in your collection, the internet
cache size, and the dates from which the Web comics begin (overall size of a Web comic). In most cases, however,
the individual pages of a Web comic are rather small in size & get updated very quickly.

Double-clicking any web comic (.cbw file) opens it directly in Comic-

While a Web comic is updating, clicking on the Pendingbackground tasksindicator
Rack and starts displaying the pages as they are downloaded from
reveals the pages getting downloaded.
the web.

If your file is in the Library, then the page at which you have stopped
reading the web comic should be remembered so the next time you
open the web comic, this last page should be displayed instead of the
first page.
If you have downloaded a cbw file, then either save it in a folder thats added
to your Library or enable the option to add the files to your Library upon first
opening:
Preferences Behavior Add eComics to Library

113
 Updating Web comics
As Web comics link to comics from web pages, they need
to be regularly updated to keep reading the latest pages.
There are 2 ways to update:
1. Manual Updates: From the Main Menu UpdateWeb
comics (or use the keyboard combo Ctrl+Shift+W)
2. Automatic Updates: From Preferences Behavior
Starting ComicRack Select the option Update
Web comics. This way, ComicRack will check & down- Main Menu Preferences
load all updates for all your Web comics on startup.

Alter a Web comics starting date

The date from which the web comic file begins is in the
code shown in the example alongside. So, in this case, the
web comic will begin from 2010/01/01 and move on to the
present day. You can change the date in the code to deter-
mine the last day till which the web comic will be scraped
(or in other words, the day from which the web comic will
begin). Now, you have a web comic that is updated from
today till its last day, and its going to sit like that in the
Right-click the cbw file to open in a notepad or any text editor of your choice. Modify
library. Whenever you update next, the latest page will au- the date accordingly, and save as a cbw file. Reload the file into ComicRack.
tomatically be displayed and you can scroll back to read
previous pages if you wish, going backwards till you reach
the last one.

Save a Web comic for offline reading

If you wish to save a Web comic for offline reading, just export it to a place on your computer. The ExporteComics
function works for Web comics with exactly the same functionality as it does for regular eComics. Please note that
the Web comic would be exported only till the last page that has been retrieved from the net. While exporting Web
comics, it is not recommended to delete the original pages after export, as ComicRack would have to download
them again if you re-update it.

Click the pendingbackgroundtasksindicator during the export to

Right-click the Web comic from the browser and go to the Export eComics option. Choose your note the current state/progress of the export. If you wish to stop
preset, or use options in the export dialog to fine-tune the export process to your choice. the export for some reason, click the abort button.

114
Network Sharing
You can open remote eComic
libraries of your friends and
family using the network
sharing features of Comic-
Rack. Learn more in this
chapter!
Opening Remote Libraries 117
Enabling Network Sharing 119
Allow ComicRack through the firewall 120
Sharing on the LAN 121
Enabling sharing For ComicRack on the LAN 121
Sharing over the Internet 122
Enabling sharing For a PC connecting via a modem 122
Enabling sharing For a PC connecting via a router 122
 Opening Remote
Libraries

Using the networksharing functionality of ComicRack, you can open the sharedlibrary of other ComicRack users
over the internet. In this section, we explain how to work with remotelibraries, while the next section will focus on
sharing your own library with other ComicRack users. Please follow the copyright laws for file sharing in your region.

1
1. Click on the OpenRemoteLibrary option either from the File
menu, or from the Tools menu. Alternatively, you may simply use
the Ctrl+Shift+R keyboard combo.

2. The Open Remote Library dialog will open. The names and de- 2
scription of available libraries could be seen. Also seen are the Edit
and Export properties for the shared libraries. Please note that the
icon indicates a password-protected library, for which youll
have to contact its user through the ComicRack forum.

3. Double-click on any library name, and ComicRack will try to con-

3
nect to the server to get information about the shared library.
4. If the library is password-protected, you will be asked to enter the
password
5. ComicRack will then retrieve the shared library from the server.
In case of an incorrect password or incorrect network configuration
or network timeout, an error dialog may announce the inability to
retrieve the library.
4 5a 5b

117
6. The remote library will open in the Brows- 6
erTabBar next to the Library tab. The re-
mote library supports all the functions of
ComicRack, just like your library.
7. Double-clicking on any eComic will retrieve
it from the users library and open it in the
Reader. The time taken to completely down-
load the eComic depends on your internet
speed and the file size.
8. Once fully retrieved, the eComic can be Ex-
ported / converted just like a regular eComic
of your library. Please note that this function
is possible only when the shared library al-
lows the export facility.

7 8

eComics from shared libraries open just like your regular comics. Here we see an Right-click the eComic from the shared library browser and go to the Export eCom-
eComic open in the reader, with all its pages in the pages browser. Group, arrange, ics option. Choose your preset, or use options in the export dialog to fine-tune the
stack, reorder, recolor shared eComics just like you would do for the regular ones. export process to your choice.

118
 Enabling Network
Sharing
Now that you have learned how to access other users shared libraries, you would definitely like to share your own
library with your family and friends. We will now discuss how you can do this with ComicRack. This functionality
has slightly different set up if used within a LAN or over the Internet. While the differences will be dealt with in the
coming sections, here we discuss the common features.
To enablenetworksharing, go to Edit menu Preferences Libraries tab Sharing section Click AddShare.
Here you can also select if you want to share your complete library or only select lists. You can also select to make
your library password protected (recommended) or editable.

Choose a name & (mean-

ingful) description for your
library. Choose a good
password (recommended).
Decide if you would like to
keep your share private.
Click the Add Share button
to add multiple libraries.
New shares appear in tabs
alongside the open library.
Choose whether you would
like clients to have editing
& export privileges. Please
note that if export is not
allowed, they wont be able
to save the eComics.

Share selected
reading lists or all
your library

Click to get
detailed server
statistics for your
library

Drag the slider to increase

or decrease the page quality
& the thumb quality of the
eComics in your shared
library

TIPS
Keep your shared name same as your ComicRack forum user-
name
There is no way for a client to request you for a password for your shared li-
brary unless he recognizes your shared name. This is only possible if you use
your ComicRack forum username as the name for your shared library. This
way other users can PM you on the forum, and you could reply back your pass-
Get password requests as private meas-
word to those you wish. sages on the ComicRack forum

119
Allow ComicRack through the firewall

A Firewall is a Software/Hardware which checks every information coming from the internet or a
network and depending upon the Firewall settings, it either blocks or allows the information to pass
through to your computer. If necessary, the firewall dynamically opens ports and allows your com-
puter to receive traffic that you have specifically requested.

Typically when ComicRack starts for the first time, youre presented with a pop-
up window asking if you want to allow or block its access. Check Allow access to
allow ComicRack to communicate on both private & public networks.

If you are using a software firewall other than that of windows, the behavior is
almost similar to that of windows firewall. As ComicRack tries to communicate
with a remote computer, most firewalls pop-up a warning message asking for
your permission to allow or deny it
1. While you want to obviously allow ComicRack to communicate with a re-
mote compute, you would not want to repeat the same procedure every time
ComicRack shares its files. Most firewalls allow rule-based firewall access;
click remember action / create rule (or its equivalent on your system).
2. Click Allow (or its equivalent on your system).

This isnt always the case though, and sometimes you have to manually allow ComicRack through the firewall to
access the Internet. In this case, follow the instructions outlined below.
1. goto Control Panel System and security Windows firewall. Here click the option Allow a program through
the firewall
2. This brings up the Allowed programs window. Click the Allow another program button at the bottom of this
window.
3. The Add a program dialog pops up. Scroll down the dialog to select ComicRack (If you dont see ComicRack
in the list, you may have to browse to its installed location & then add it). Click Add & then Click Ok to close the
window.

120
 Sharing on the LAN
LAN stands for Local Area Network. It is a relatively small
network within a small geographic area (like a room, an
office, a building, a campus etc). Most LANs today run un-
der Ethernet. If you connect two computers for sharing
data, you have a LAN. The number of computers connect-
ed on a LAN may be up to several hundreds, but most of
the time, LANs are made up of more or less a dozen ma-
chines. To connect two computers, you may only link them
using a cable. If you want to connect more, then you need
a special device called a hub, which acts like a distribution
and link point. Cables from the different computers LAN
cards meet at the hub. If you want to connect your LAN to
the Internet, then you need a router instead of a hub.

Enabling sharing For ComicRack on the LAN

Enabling network sharing on the LAN requires almost no configuration. Here is what you need to do:
1. Allow ComicRack access to your firewall
2. Enablenetworksharing, via Edit menu Preferences Libraries tab Sharing section Click AddShare
3. Choose from all the options as described earlier, and click Ok.
4. Restart ComicRack
5. Open ComicRack in another computer on the LAN.
6. You will see a new tab with the name of the shared Library on the Browser tab bar. Click on it to access the shared
library

Using the preferences dialog to add a new shared Give your share a name and a password. Choose The shared Library shows up in a separate tab on the
library the lists you want to share. You have the choice to Browser tab bar. Opening multiple libraries simultane-
allow your clients to edit/export your eComics. ously opens each in its own tab.

121
 Sharing over the Internet
The configuration needed for sharing a ComicRack library over the internet depends on how you connect to the
internet. You can, for example, connect to the net simply by attaching an external modem to your desktop. Alterna-
tively, you may be connecting via a router. Here we discuss these scenarios, along with the steps required to share
your library.

Enabling sharing For a PC connecting via a modem

A modem is a device that can connect a computer to other computers
via a conventional telephone line. Traditional modems used in dial-up
networking convert data between the analog form used on telephone
lines and the digital form used on computers. Broadband modems that
are part of cable and DSL Internet service, use more advanced signal-
ling techniques to achieve dramatically higher network speeds than
traditional modems.

The following steps are required for enabling network sharing for ComicRack for a PC connecting to the internet via
a dial-up / DSL / cable modem:
1. Allow ComicRack access to your firewall
2. Enablenetworksharing, via Edit menu Preferences Libraries tab Sharing section Click AddShare
3. Choose from all the options as described earlier, and click Ok.
4. Restart ComicRack
5. Now your ComicRack is ready for sharing your library over the internet. Users who would like to access your
library have to follow the steps outlined in the Opening remote libraries section of this chapter. If your share is
password-protected, interested users may send you private messages on the ComicRack forum, requesting the
password.
Enabling sharing For a PC connecting via a router
Routers are physical devices that join multi-
ple wired or wireless networks together. On
the Internet, routers serve as intermediate
destinations for network traffic. These rout-
ers receive TCP/IP packets, look inside each
packet to identify the source and target IP ad-
dresses, then forward these packets as needed
to ensure the data reaches its final destina-
tion. Routers for home networks (often called
broadband routers) also can join multiple net-
works. These routers are designed specifically
to join the home (LAN) to the Internet (WAN)
for the purpose of Internet connection shar-
ing. Most of the broadband routers also offer
integrated firewalls.

122
The router has two IP addresses. It has the external IP address, and an internal IP address
which acts as the gateway for every computer on the network.

When a computer inside of the network wants to send data to a computer outside of the
network, it sends the data to the router. The router then takes this data and sends it out to
the computer on the internet via the external IP address. The same thing is true of computers
outside of the network. They can only see and send data to the external IP address of the
router. The router must then decide what to do with this data.

Port Forwarding simply tells the router which computer on the local area network to send the
data to. When you have port forwarding rules set up, your router takes the data off of the
external IP address:port number and sends that data to an internal IP address:port number.
Port Forwarding rules are created per port. So a rule set up for port 7612 will only work for
port 7612.

So, if the computer sharing the library is behind a router, you will need to follow these steps:

1. Go to the Router configuration, to a section called PortForwarding (or similar, varies

across brands)
2. Create a new port forwarding for the port 7612 TCP, so that the External port 7612 is
forwarded to the IP of the computer sharing the library. For example, if the IP of the
computer sharing the library behind the router is 192.168.0.5, you will need to forward
port 7612 TCP to 192.168.0.5:7612.
3. Allow ComicRack access to your firewall
4. Enablenetworksharing, via Edit menu Preferences Libraries tab Sharing section
Click AddShare
5. Choose from all the options as described earlier, and click Ok.
6. Restart ComicRack
7. Now your ComicRack is ready for sharing your library over the internet. To connect to
this shared library, other users have to open ComicRack on their computer and go to
File Open Remote Library. Enter the external IP address of the router. If the port for-
ward is done correctly, they should see a new tab appear with the shared library name.
TIPS
Why do my friends get an error message when they try to access my remote library ?

If you have a very large library and a slow connection, your clients may en-
counter errors when they try to access your shared library. If it happens, try
sharing only part of the library instead, by going into Edit menu Prefer-
ences Libraries tab Sharing section Click Share selected lists (instead
of ShareAll).

123
Support
The ComicRack team has
its own forum and facebook
page to help you in the best
possible ways. But, Comic-
Rack also needs your sup-
port to keep on providing
you the very best! Learn
more in this chapter.
Forum 126
Facebook 127
News 128
Donations 129
Why donate ? 129
How to donate ? 129
 Forum

You can always find the ComicRack team hanging out at the forum.
If you also wish to interact, just register yourself at the ComicRack
forum (it is free and takes only a few moments), and login.

You can reach the forum through any of the following:

From the Helpmenu, click the ComicRack User Forum option
Keyboard combo Ctrl+F1
Click me

You can get all the latest news about ComicRack in the News & Announcements section. Here you can
download the latest versions of the ComicRack software and all the scripts. If you are facing any problems
while using ComicRack, post it in the Help section. You may report any bugs that you encounter in the Bugs
section; this helps us improve the software. You can even request any feature you would like to see in the
future versions of ComicRack in the Feature Requests section. Reading Lists and Web Comics can be posted
& downloaded from their own sections, respectively. Apart from all this, you can simply discuss comics, share
user art (icons, wallpapers, etc) and much more.

126
 Facebook

ComicRack is now officially

available also on Facebook and
Twitter. Now you can connect
with ComicRack on the go.. on
your mobile, at your workplace..
Spread the word !
Please share this with all your fa-
cebook friends out there.

Just login to facebook, and sub-

scribe to the ComicRack fa-
cebook page. This would help us
increase our fanbase and sup-
port for ComicRack. Catch all
the latest ComicRack news on
Facebook too!

How to Join ComicRack on Fa-

cebook:
1. Click the Like button above
to join the community (Cant
see a button? Youre already a
member!)
2. Head over to the ComicRack
Wall to join in!

You will get a lot of variety on

the ComicRack facebook page.
ComicRack updates, script up-
dates, polls, cover of the week,
moment of the week, recent
news in the comics world, new
comic previews, ComicRack
screenshots, and much more..

127
 News

To find out when the new builds of ComicRack release and all the
other news, while you can always use the forum or your facebook
page, you also have the option to check all the latest news from with-
in the comfort of ComicRack.
Here is what you need to do:
From the Help menu, choose the News option
The Latest ComicRack News dialog will open
All the latest RSS feeds are present in the left column under the
title heading.
Clicking on a title opens up its news in the right column

Reading the Latest ComicRack

News is the easiest & fastest way
to keep in touch with all the latest
updates to ComicRack. You can
also enable the Check for news on
startup option to open the news
dialog every time ComicRack
starts. This way youll never catch
an update late!

You can also use the Preferences dialog

to enable checking for the latest news at
startup:
Preferences Behavior Check for
the latest news on ComicRack

128
 Donations

Why donate ?
Hundreds of hours of work have been put into ComicRack to make it the best, most ver-
satile and simply the most fun to use comic reader in the world. Starting out as a small fun
project, it has evolved into what you currently see, a multi-language application with its
own web site and support forums; simply put, a place for the ComicRack community.
So if you think ComicRack adds value to your life, give something back. 10,000s of down-
loads and usually an average of 10 donations a month do not really fit together. Its not
about getting rich (as you can estimate from the above value), but it is about justifying the
time and work put into this and also the feeling that there is some worth in it. So please help
to keep this project running.

How to donate ?

Go to the Donate page. You can go there by either by opening the Sup-
portComicRack dialog from the Help menu (or when it opens during
statup) or by going to the Donate page from the ComicRack forum,
or by simply following this link.

All donations are processed securely via PayPal. You dont need to be
subscribed to PayPal to make a donation and you can pay with a credit
card or debit card if you wish.

129
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Index
Symbols Backup 6
Behavior 60
! 41,90 Black&White 72
1stgenerationScripts 96 Bookmarks 81, 82
2ndgenerationScripts 96 Browsemenu 22
3rdgenerationScripts 97 Browser 17, 60
.NETframework 3, 9, 10 Browsercontextmenu 34
BrowserTabBar 19, 26, 27, 118
BrowserToolbar 19, 26, 28
A Browserwindow 26
Additembutton 73
Additemdialog 73
AddShare 119, 121, 122, 123 C
AddtoList 87 Cache 62, 113
AdjustColorToCurrentPage 63 Caption 20
Adjustments 56 cbr 3, 6
Advanced 62 cbw 110
AgeRating 72 cbz 3, 6
Alternatenumber 88 Characters 74
AlternateSeries 72 Chronologies 88
Alt+Shift+F1 64 Colors 76
AnamorphicScaling 56 Columns 32
Application 60 ComicDB.xml 6, 82
Arrange 28, 29 ComicDisplayLayout 66
ArturosNewComicsToolbox 104 ComicDisplaySettings 63, 66
AtoZ 30 Comicinfo.xml 6
Autofitallcolumns 32 ComicRackforum 96, 110
Automation 99, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107 ComicVineScraper 97, 99
AutonumberWizard 101 ComicVineScraperProject 100
autorotatedoublepages 49 Command-lineswitch 68
AutoScrolling 48 CommitProposedvalues 102
Autosizeallcolumns 32 Config.xml 65, 83
Autosizecolumn 32 CopyData 78
AvailableScripts 61 CopyPage 37
Copy/PasteLayouts 65
Covercount 31
B CreateCombinedScript 107
BackgroundColor 63 crplugin 97
BackgroundTasksIndicator 20 Ctrl+F1 126
BackgroundTextures 63 Ctrl+F9 51, 55
 F10 46
Ctrl+I 71 F11 46
Ctrl+O 12 Facebook 127
Ctrl+S 48 Favorites 18, 39, 88
Ctrl+Shift+A 12 Favoriteswindow 26, 42, 79
Ctrl+Shift+C 93 Filemenu 12, 21
Ctrl+Shift+F1 67 FindGapsinseries 105
Ctrl+Shift+R 117 Firewall 11, 120
Ctrl+Shift+V 93 FitWidth(adaptive) 49, 52
Ctrl+Shift+W 114 Flowingmousescrolling 48, 56
Ctrl+W 66 Folders 26
CurrentPageOverlay 51 FoldersBrowser 19, 26, 35
CustomList 79, 86, 87 FoldersSidebartoolbar 39
Folderstab 35
Format 72
D Fullscreen 46
DatabaseBackup 62, 82
DefaultComicRackwindow 11, 17 G
Deleted 37
DeleteWorkspace 67 General 56
Details 30 Ghostscript 3, 14
Detailscontextmenu 32 Greenribbon 23
Detailstab 72 Group 28, 29
Detailsview 32 GuidedRename 105
Displaymenu 22 Guidedrenamescript 96
DockFill 27
DockingGrips 18, 26
Dockmenu 27, 43 H
Dog-ear 30, 31 Hardwareacceleration 56
Donations 11, 22, 129 Helpmenu 22, 126, 129
Double-pageautoscrolling 48 Hiddenmessages 62
Draganddrop 13, 32
Duplicate 29
Duplicate current list 91 I
Import&export 60
E ImportReadinglist 38, 93, 79
Includeallsubfolders 35
eComicdisplayresizeslider 20, 30 Info 34, 71
eComicfolders 59 InfoPanel 18, 27, 43
eComicssection 62 InfoPaneldockinggrip 18, 43
EditListLayout 64 InfoPanelRight 27, 43
Editmenu 21 InstallingComicRack 9
EditSmartList 89, 92, 105
Enablenetworksharing 119 K
ExportComicList 102
ExporteComics 80, 114 Keyboard 56
Exportpresets 80 KeyboardMap 57
ExportReadinglist 38, 93, 79
Extractallpages 106 L
Extractfirstpage 106 LAN 121
Language 72
Languagepacks 3
F Languagessection 62
F3 46 Layoutmenu 34, 65
F9 63 Libraries 59
LibraryBrowser 19, 26, 28
Libraryfolder 12, 26, 38, 86 PagesBrowserContextMenu 36
Librarysidebartoolbar 39 Pagestab 36
Librarytab 28 Pagestabcontextmenu 75
List 87 PageTransitionEffects 63
ListLayout 28, 64, 66 PageType 52
ListOptions 64 PaperEffects 63
Locations 74 PasteData 78
pdf 3, 6, 14
PendingBackgroundTasksDialog 20, 23
M pendingbackgroundtasksindicator 23, 113, 114
Magnifier 49 Plot&notes 74
Mainmenu 12, 17, 21 PortForwarding 123
Manga 72 Preferences 55
Markasdeleted 37 PreviousPage 49
Metadata 6, 40, 71, 72, 78 ProposedValues 72
Modem 122
Mouse 56 Q
MoveFiles 104
MovetoEnd 37 QuickSearch 28
MovetoStart 37
MultipleeComicInformationdialog 77
Multi-touchGestures 58 R
Rating 34, 52
N Reader 17, 19
Readercontextmenu 52
NavigationOverlay 51 Readersetup 51, 56
Networksharing 117 ReaderTabBar 12, 19, 50
NewFolder 39, 92 ReaderToolbar 19, 49
NewList 39, 87 Readerwindow 46
News 128 Reading 60
NewSmartlist 39, 87, 89 ReadingList 38, 79, 86
NextPage 49 Readmenu 22
Notes 74 Redcross 37
Redo 28
Regularlist 87
O Remotelibraries 117
Onlyfitifoversized 49, 52 Remove 91
OpeneComic 12, 50 RemovingDuplicates 29
OpeninganeComic 60 RenameFiles 102
Openinnewtab 91 Reset 37, 75, 76
Openinnewwindow 91 ResetListBackground 34
OpenRemoteLibrary 117 Restoredatabase 82
OpenWithScript 107 Ribbons 23
Optionalwindows 26 Righttoleft 60
OrganizeLibraryFiles&Folders 103 Right-to-left 60
Overlays 51, 56 Rotation 49
Router 122

P
S
PageContextMenu 36, 37, 75
PageFilterMenu 36 SaveWorkspace 66, 67
PageLayout 49, 52 Scan 12, 59
PageRotation 52 ScaneComicfolders 12
Pages 26, 75 ScriptPackages 61
PagesBrowser 19, 26, 36 Scripts 61, 96
ScriptSettings 61 UninstallingScripts 97
Searchactionlogo 12 UpdateWeb Comics 114
SearchandReplace 101
SearchBox 41 V
SearchBrowser 18, 26, 40 Views 28, 29, 33, 36
SelectAll 37 VisiblePagepartOverlay 51
ServerSettings 59
ServerStatistics 20
ShareAll 123 W
Sharedlibrary 117
Sharing 59 Web Comics 110, 111, 112, 113, 114
Shift+F5 38 WebComicTemplates 111
Shift+F7 42 Weblinkscript 43, 102
Shift+F8 40 WeeklyComicReleases 103
Shift+F9 43 Wikipedia 74
Shift+F10 21 WindowLayouts 66
ShowMainMenu 49 Workspaces 66
Sidebar 17, 18, 19, 26, 38, 86
SidebarContextMenu 38 Y
SidebarToolbar 19, 39 Yellow ribbon 23
SinglePage 49, 52
SmallPreview 18, 26, 42
SmartList 38, 79, 86, 87, 89, 90, 91, 92 Z
Smart ListScript 105
SmoothAutoScrolling 48, 56 Zoom 49
Splashscreen 11
Stack 28, 29
StacksLayout 33
Stackstoolbar 33
Stars 23
StartingComicRack 60
StateIndicators 23
Statistics 119
StatusBar 12, 17, 20, 23
StatusIndicatorOverlay 51
Summary 71
Support 22
SupportComicRack 129
SystemRequirements 3

T
TabContextMenu 50
Tags 72
Teams 74
TemporaryLists 38, 93
Thumbnail 30, 58
Thumbnailsview 30
Tilesview 30, 31, 58
Toolsmenu 49
TouchGestures 58
TwoPages 49, 52
TwoPages(Adaptive) 49, 52

U
Undo 28
UnifiedTabbar 27