Utilities

Excellent Utilities: KOReader – versatile document viewer

Last Updated on January 6, 2023

In Operation

The software has 2 interfaces consisting of a reading screen and a file browser. The most important thing to learn about the reading screen is where to tap/click. This is neatly illustrated in the user guide. We’ve reproduced the relevant page below.

KOReader - reading screen

It’s worth reading the user manual as it’s well written and structured.

The software supports a wide range of formats including fixed layout documents such as PDF, DjVu and images. It also supports reflowable documents such as EPUB, HTML, DOCX, RFT, TXT, CHM, and others. There’s also support for ZIP files.

Other features include:

  • Dictionary integration in EPUB and scanned PDF and DjVu documents.
  • Wikipedia lookups.
  • Define custom margins.
  • Set your own fonts (TrueType and OpenType formats), change the size, formats, invert, and other formatting options.
  • Sync with Calibre to manage your ebooks.
  • Different ways to traverse through documents:
    • Skim widget.
    • Book map – provides a useful overview of a book. It can show which parts of the book you have already read, and more.
    • Page browser.
  • Night mode.
  • Bookmarks.
  • Autoturn.
  • News downloader (RSS/Atom).
  • Define Custom DPI to change the size of the interface.
  • Bottom bar offering tons of customization.
  • Two methods of highlighting text – normal highlight mode, and select and highlight mode. Export highlights with a plugin or external program.
  • Plugins.
  • Internationalization support

Summary

KOReader is a wonderfully responsive document reader. It’s fast, brimming with features, and highly customizable. The fact that it supports a wide variety of devices is the icing on the cake.

While it faces stiff competition in the document viewer category, it earns our strong recommendation.

It’s a welcome addition to our Excellent Utilities feature.

Website: koreader.rocks
Support: User Guide, Wiki, GitHub Code Repository
Developer:
License: GNU Affero General Public License v3.0

KOReader is written in Lua. Learn Lua with our recommended free books and free tutorials.

Pages in this article:
Page 1 – Introduction / Installation
Page 2 – In Operation / Summary


Complete list of articles in this series:

Excellent Utilities
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AnanicyShell daemon created to manage processes’ IO and CPU priorities
brootNext gen tree explorer and customizable launcher
CerebroFast application launcher
cheat.shCommunity driven unified cheat sheet
CopyQAdvanced clipboard manager
crocSecurely transfer files and folders from the command-line
DeskreenLive streaming your desktop to a web browser
dufDisk usage utility with more polished presentation than the classic df
ezaA turbo-charged alternative to the venerable ls command
Extension ManagerBrowse, install and manage GNOME Shell Extensions
fdWonderful alternative to the venerable find
fkillKill processes quick and easy
fontpreviewQuickly search and preview fonts
horcruxFile splitter with encryption and redundancy
KoohaSimple screen recorder
KOReaderDocument viewer for a wide variety of file formats
ImagineA simple yet effective image optimization tool
LanguageToolStyle and grammar checker for 30+ languages
Liquid PromptAdaptive prompt for Bash & Zsh
lnavAdvanced log file viewer for the small-scale; great for troubleshooting
lsdLike exa, lsd is a turbo-charged alternative to ls
Mark TextSimple and elegant Markdown editor
McFlyNavigate through your bash shell history
mdlessFormatted and highlighted view of Markdown files
naviInteractive cheatsheet tool
notiMonitors a command or process and triggers a notification
NushellFlexible cross-platform shell with a modern feel
nvitopGPU process management for NVIDIA graphics cards
OCRmyPDFAdd OCR text layer to scanned PDFs
Oh My ZshFramework to manage your Zsh configuration
PaperworkDesigned to simplify the management of your paperwork
pastelGenerate, analyze, convert and manipulate colors
PDF Mix ToolPerform common editing operations on PDF files
pecoSimple interactive filtering tool that's remarkably useful
ripgrepRecursively search directories for a regex pattern
RnoteSketch and take handwritten notes
scrcpyDisplay and control Android devices
StickySimulates the traditional “sticky note” style stationery on your desktop
tldrSimplified and community-driven man pages
tmuxA terminal multiplexer that offers a massive boost to your workflow
TuskAn unofficial Evernote client with bags of potential
UlauncherSublime application launcher
WatsonTrack the time spent on projects
Whoogle SearchSelf-hosted and privacy-focused metasearch engine
ZellijTerminal workspace with batteries included
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