Documentation
Documentation
Please note that this site is an ongoing effort to create a somewhat usable user manual for MComix. Since content is close to zero at the moment, feel free to direct questions to the support request tracker at the moment.
Installation
Instructions for installing MComix can be found on the [Installation] page. Since MComix is mostly self-contained, simply extracting the source archive and running mcomixstarter.py is sufficient for testing purposes.
The main window
In the default configuration, MComix' user interface will look somewhat similar to the following screenshot. The main areas of interest are the tool- and menubar, the thumbnail sidebar on the left, and the display port in the center.
This configuration is normally acceptable for general image viewing purposes. For reading comics, you will likely want a more uncluttered interface. This can be archived either by pressing the "F" key to enter fullscreen mode, or by hiding various UI elements by disabling them with "View → Toolbars". The "I" key also hides all user interface elements. Normally, you will also want to switch from "Best fit" mode to "Fit to width" mode by pressing the "W" key. This way, images will only be scaled down to fit the screen width, not both width and height.
Paging and scrolling from one image to the next works similarly to most other image viewers. The arrow keys scroll the page, while PageDown and PageUp will switch to the next and previous pages.
Fit modes
MComix has several automatic fit modes that scale down images by certain criteria. Those are:
- Best fit - Images are scaled down to fit within the window.
- Fit to width - Images are scaled down to fit the screen width. If an image is higher than the screen, it can be scrolled up and down.
- Fit to height - Images are scaled down to fit the screen height. If an image is wider than the screen,
it can be scrolled left and right. - Fit to size - Resize images to either a certain height or a certain width. Size in pixel and width or height can be set up in the preferences dialog. In the default configuration, this mode resizes an image to 1200px in height.
- Manual zoom mode - No scaling is performed on the image.
Normally, no mode (except for "Fit to size") will scale an image up. If such behavior is desired, "View → Stretch small images" enables scaling in both directions, up and down.
Double page mode and manga mode
Normally, MComix will only show one image at a time. For reading comics, especially on widescreen monitors, it can be desirable to display two images at once next to each other. This way, reading comics becomes more natural and double-page spreads can be viewed without having to edit the image files. Double-page mode is toggled by pressing "D". Unless set up otherwise, the first page of an archive or directory will always be displayed alone (representing the book cover). Pages with width exceeding height will also be displayed alone.
When changing pages in double-page mode, MComix will automatically forward or backward two pages at once. To forward only one page, hold the CTRL key while switching pages.
By default, MComix will arrange pages left-to-right, and also scroll in this direction. For manga, MComix has a special "Manga mode" activated by pressing "M". This mode lays out pages right-to-left, and changes scrolling accordingly.
Slideshow mode
MComix can automatically scroll and switch pages by activating slideshow mode, using CTRL+S. Conceptually, this works the same way as pressing the "Down" arrow key repeatedly with a certain interval between each keypress. The delay and amount of pixels scrolled can be customized in the preferences dialog.
By default, MComix will scroll down 50 pixels every three seconds. For a smoother experience, the following settings might be worth a try:
- Slideshow delay: 0.05 seconds
- Slideshow step: 1 px
Keybindings
For all key bindings available, please refer to [Keybindings].
Preferences
To customize MComix, you can press the "F12" key to open the preferences dialog. All options are documented on the [Preferences] page.
The book library
A description of all library features is still pending.