Comics and manga

SumatraPDF can open comic-book archives and folders of images as multi-page documents. This page covers reading modes, manga (right-to-left) layout, zoom tips for double-page spreads, and related advanced settings.

Supported formats #

Kind	Extensions / how to open
Comic book archives	`.cbz`, `.cbr`, `.cbt`, `.cb7` (and `.ora`)
Archives of images	`.zip`, `.rar`, `.7z`, `.tar` that contain images
Image folder	open a directory of images (each file is a page)
Single image	PNG, JPEG, WebP, AVIF, HEIC, GIF (including animation), TIFF, and other image types

Encrypted .cbz / .cbr files are supported (password prompt when needed). Archives opened from a network drive that are 32 MB or smaller are loaded into memory; larger ones may be copied into a local cache (cbx-cache under the settings data directory) so page turns stay fast. Clear that cache with Delete Cached Files in the command palette (CmdDeleteCachedFiles).

Document properties (Ctrl + D) for comic archives list image files and, where present, EXIF and ComicInfo / ComicBookInfo metadata.

Table of contents #

The Bookmarks sidebar lists pages in the archive.

If the archive has a ComicInfo.xml with bookmarks, those names are used.
Otherwise, if images live in chapter folders, the folders appear as nested outline entries (click a folder to jump to its first page). A directory shared by every file is omitted, so a comic whose files are all in one folder stays a flat list of file names.

View layout #

Use the same page layout commands as for PDF:

Action	Shortcut / command
Single page	`Ctrl + 6` (`CmdSinglePageView`)
Facing (two pages)	`Ctrl + 7` (`CmdFacingView`)
Book view (facing, first page alone)	`Ctrl + 8` (`CmdBookView`)
Continuous scroll	`c` (`CmdToggleContinuousView`)

Facing or book view is useful for double-page spreads. A landscape page (wider than it is tall) occupies the whole two-page row instead of sitting next to the following page — comics that store a centerfold as one image show it that way. Turn this off with LandscapeAsSpread = false under ComicBookUI (or ImageUI for image folders) if you want every page in a single-page slot even in double-page mode. Continuous mode is natural for long webtoon-style strips. See Scrolling and zooming.

To turn the page by clicking the left or right edge of the window (like many comic readers), set ClickEdgeToTurnPage = true in advanced settings. In manga mode the sides are reversed so a click on the left still advances.

Manga mode (right-to-left) #

Manga mode displays pages right-to-left in facing and book views (typical for Japanese manga and right-to-left documents).

View menu or command palette: Toggle Manga Mode (CmdToggleMangaMode)
Available for PDF, XPS, DjVu, ebooks, comic books, images and other fixed-page documents
When manga mode is on, Left advances and Right goes back (and horizontal swipe matches that), so navigation follows right-to-left reading

Default for new comic files #

In advanced settings:

ComicBookUI [
    CbxMangaMode = true
]

That sets the default for comic books you have not opened before. Per-file state is stored as DisplayR2L under FileStates when remembering state per document.

Command-line -manga-mode true|false still works but is deprecated in favor of ComicBookUI.CbxMangaMode.

Zoom and double-page spreads #

Comics often mix narrow single pages with wide double-page spreads. If you zoom so singles look good, spreads may be wider than the window; if you fit the spread, singles look too small.

Limit page size to the window (ver 3.7+) #

Advanced settings under ComicBookUI (comics) and ImageUI (images / image folders):

ComicBookUI [
    LimitToWindowWidth = true
    LimitToWindowHeight = false
]

Setting	Effect when using an absolute zoom (e.g. 150%)
`LimitToWindowWidth = true`	No page is drawn wider than the window; each page is capped at Fit Width for that page
`LimitToWindowHeight = true`	No page is drawn taller than the window; each page is capped at Fit Height

Enable both to cap at Fit Page. Caps apply per page, so:

Set zoom with + / -, Ctrl + 1 (100%), or a custom level so single pages are the size you want.
Turn on LimitToWindowWidth (recommended for manga with double spreads).
Wide spreads shrink to the window width; smaller pages stay at your chosen zoom.

Virtual zoom modes (Fit Width, Fit Page, Shrink to Fit, etc.) already size relative to the window; the limit settings only affect percentage zooms.

Landscape pages as spreads (ver 3.7+) #

In facing and book view, a page wider than it is tall is treated as a double-page spread: it takes the full row and is not paired with the next page. Book view still keeps the cover (page 1) alone.

ComicBookUI [
    LandscapeAsSpread = true
]

ImageUI [
    LandscapeAsSpread = true
]

Default is true. Set it to false to keep the old pairing: every page occupies one slot of the two-page row, even if it is landscape (issue #872).

Other useful zoom modes #

Mode	When it helps
Fit Width (`Ctrl + 2`)	Every page fills the window width (spreads and singles both edge-to-edge; singles can become very large)
Fit Page (`Ctrl + 0`)	Whole page(s) visible
Shrink to Fit	Never enlarge past 100%; only shrink pages that are larger than the window (like IrfanView “fit only big images”)
Fit by Orientation	Fit width in landscape viewports, fit page in portrait
Fit Height	Page height fills the window (handy for landscape pages)

Default zoom for single image files is controlled by ImageUI.DefaultZoom (default shrink to fit). Comic archives use ComicBookUI.DefaultZoom on first open (empty uses Fit Page, not the global DefaultZoom); a remembered zoom for that file still wins. Set ComicBookUI.DefaultZoom = fit width to open new comics at Fit Width while PDFs stay at Fit Page.

Background color #

Comics and images use a black canvas by default (unlike PDF’s white). Override it:

ComicBookUI [
    WindowBgCol = #1a1a1a
]

ImageUI [
    WindowBgCol = #1a1a1a
]

Values accept normal colors or checkered for a transparency checkerboard. You can also use Change Background Color (CmdChangeBackgroundColor) from the command palette. UI theme colors are separate — see Customize theme colors.

Margins and page spacing #

ComicBookUI [
    WindowMargin = 0 0 0 0
    PageSpacing = 4 4
]

WindowMargin — top, right, bottom, left gap between the window and the document (default all zeros for comics)
PageSpacing — horizontal and vertical gap between pages (between columns in facing / book view, between rows in continuous view)

Sizes are in pixels at 100% display scaling and are DPI-scaled.

Page info tip #

Press i (CmdTogglePageInfo) for the page-info tip. For comics and image folders it shows the current image file name and size (both pages when two are visible in facing view). For a single open image it can show pixel resolution, file size, and DPI when not the default 96.

Convert to PDF #

File → Convert to PDF… / Document → Convert to PDF… (CmdConvertToPDF) turns a comic, image folder, or single image into a multi-page PDF. Full details: Convert to PDF.

Convert page to PDF on the image context menu (CmdConvertImageToPdf) saves only the current page via the image editor.

Copy image #

Right-click a comic or image page and choose Copy Image (CmdCopyImage) to copy the page image to the clipboard.

Image folders #

Opening a folder of images treats each image as a page (ordered by file name). Bookmarks sidebar lists the files. The same ImageUI settings apply (DefaultZoom, LimitToWindowWidth / Height, LandscapeAsSpread, WindowBgCol).

What is not available for comics / images #

These PDF-oriented features do not apply to comic archives, image folders, or plain images:

In-document text search and text selection (there is no extractable text)
Read Aloud (menu, context menu, toolbar) — no text to speak
Keyboard link following (Shift + F)
AI Chat with document (PDF only)

Quick settings reference #

`ComicBookUI` #

ComicBookUI [
    WindowMargin = 0 0 0 0
    PageSpacing = 4 4
    CbxMangaMode = false
    WindowBgCol =
    LimitToWindowWidth = false
    LimitToWindowHeight = false
    DefaultDisplayMode =
    DefaultZoom =
    LandscapeAsSpread = true
]

`ImageUI` #

ImageUI [
    WindowBgCol =
    DefaultZoom = shrink to fit
    LimitToWindowWidth = false
    LimitToWindowHeight = false
    LandscapeAsSpread = true
]

Full field comments: Advanced options / settings.

Command	Purpose
`CmdToggleMangaMode`	Toggle right-to-left facing/book layout
`CmdConvertToPDF`	Convert comic / image folder / image to a multi-page PDF
`CmdConvertImageToPdf`	Convert the current page via the image editor
`CmdCopyImage`	Copy current page image
`CmdTogglePageInfo`	Show / hide page info tip (`i`)
`CmdDeleteCachedFiles`	Clear local `cbx-cache` copies from network opens
`CmdChangeBackgroundColor`	Pick canvas background
`CmdZoomFitWidth` / `CmdZoomFitPage` / `CmdZoomShrinkToFit`	Zoom modes (see Scrolling and zooming)