Which can be read on almost every computer are doc, txt or pdf. However, when reading fiction and technical literature, you often come across other popular extensions. Trying to read such books for the first time, users wonder what fb2 is, what format it is, what program opens it. After all, this cannot be done using ordinary office applications, as well as built-in resources of Windows and other operating systems. And automatically searching for programs that can open books with the fb2 extension does not always give positive results.

Advantages of the format

Created back in the 1990s, the fb2 (Fiction Book) standard is intended for creating electronic versions of documents and books in which each element has its own tag (informative label). And among the features that distinguish it from other formats, it is worth noting:

• ease of creating an electronic document;
• a wide range of programs for reading literature in this format on a computer and on a mobile phone;
• the presence of structural markup with information about the book and attachments in the form of quotes, illustrations and book covers.

Another advantage that is worth noting when answering the question, fb2 - what is the format and how to open it, is the lack of a specific appearance document. The file will be displayed as specified by the program settings for viewing it. This means that the user can customize the design of the e-book to his taste (for example, make a large font, a yellow background and blue letters - this combination allows for less eye strain) without changing the document itself.

Programs for working with fb2 on a Windows PC

One of the first programs to answer the question, what is fb2 format, was the free Cool Reader application. It is noteworthy that it first appeared for Android platforms, but then gained popularity on PC. The differences between the “reader” and the others are its simplified design and a significant number of supported electronic document formats.

Another simple and free reading program is FBReader. An almost completely absent interface consisting of several buttons is combined with the ability to open most popular book formats. In addition, with this application, books can be read directly from the archive.

Allows you to answer the question, fb2 - what is the format and how to open it on a computer, and the STDU Viewer application. Among the advantages of using it:

• the ability to easily select and copy text to save interesting moments;
• a system of bookmarks that do not change the document itself, but can be imported onto another PC with the STDU Viewer program installed;
• the presence of a Portable version of the application, which allows you not to install it on your computer for reading books.

How to open the format on other OS?

Users of devices running other operating systems can also open the fb2 format. For computers with MAC OS, this opportunity is provided by the Caliber program, with which you can open e-books with almost any popular extension. Moreover, using the application you can directly connect to online libraries like Amazon.

If the user has a question: fb2 - what is the format and how to open it on an Android phone, you should use the same Cool Reader program, which is easy to find in the store Play Market. If the functionality of the application is not enough, you can download another “reader” for Android - Esi Reader. With its help, you can change the display of information, save bookmarks and read almost all popular e-book formats.

For smartphones with IOS, the Total Reader application, which has approximately the same functionality as Cool Reader, allows you to answer the question: fb2 - what is the format and how to open it. And the owners mobile phones running on Windows Mobile OS, you should pay attention to the Faction Book Reader program.

Read fb2 online

Having found out what fb2 format is and what programs should be used to read books saved in it, you can view files on the Internet. There is no need to download and install any applications, but you will need a constant connection to the Internet. Among the services that allow you to read directly in your browser, it is worth noting the sites Magazon, ChitaiKnigi and BooksGid. Moreover last option offers not only to read books in fb2 format, but also to connect to a free library.

FBReader is a free computer program for reading e-books in various formats. The program works in the operating systems Android, Linux, Mac OS X, Microsoft Windows, BlackBerry OS and others. FBReader is software open source.

FBReader was originally written to run on the Sharp Zaurus, and was later ported to many platforms, including Siemens SIMpad, Archos PMA430, Motorola (E680i, A780, A1200, E8/Em30, Zn5, u9), Nokia Internet Tablet, Familiar, Microsoft Windows XP and Linux on computers and e-readers. The desktop version uses libraries (version 3 or 4) or to create the user interface.

The FBReader program can create virtual libraries in which you can group books into thematic sections. The advantage of such libraries is that there is no need to wander through the file system directories in search of the desired publication.

FBReader supports most common e-book formats: ePub, FB2 (not containing tables), PalmDoc, zTXT, TCR, TXT. Version 1.6.1 (Android) introduced support for the Microsoft Word doc format. Support for HTML, CHM and RTF is declared. PDF formats and DjVu are not supported. FBReader can open book files inside zip, tar, and . Distinctive feature The program is the lack of support for tables for all formats.

There is no traditional menu, only a toolbar with buttons is presented. At the bottom of the window, by default, an indicator is displayed showing the total number of pages and the current page, as well as the system time. Customization options include control over text formatting and page turning, the ability to mark text, and set the amount of text indentation from the edge.

Main features of FBReader

• Working with texts inside zip, tar, .
• Encoding support:

UTF-8, US-ASCII, Windows-1251, Windows-1252, KOI8-R, IBM866, ISO 8859, Big5, GBK.

• Hyperlink support.
• Remembers the last opened book.
• List of recently opened files.
• Text search.
• Full screen mode.
• Rotate the screen 90°, 180° and 270° degrees.

FBReader supported formats

• FictionBook (.fb2 .fb2.zip)
• plucker (.pdb)
• Palmdoc/AportisDoc (.doc.prc)
• OpenReader
• Unprotected DRM mobipocket format
• Simple text

How to open fb2 file to read an e-book on a computer.

Date: 2015-12-20

How to open an e-book in fb2 format?

Information technologies bring a lot of useful and enjoyable things into our lives, for example, reading e-books on various computer devices: desktop personal computers, laptops, tablet computers (tablets), smartphones, etc.

Of course, because now a small smartphone or tablet can fit great amount books, a whole library of several hundred thousand volumes and you can read them anywhere. Agree this is very convenient. And on a desktop computer, I’m even afraid to imagine how many books will fit in in electronic format. To be honest, I myself have been reading for the last few years fiction mostly on a tablet running operating system Android.

But there are also some problems: there is a wide variety of formats in which e-books are published. Today we will talk about one of the popular formats, namely the fb2 format.

fb2 format

Format FictionBook(abbreviated as fb2) is the most common xml format for storing and reading e-books. Please note, it is fiction books, because... it has its own specific markup tags for each element of the book. This format is not very suitable for technical literature due to the complexity inherent in technical literature. For reading fb2 There are a lot of free programs (software). Books can be simply read, converted to other formats, formatted and modified to your liking.

There are a huge number of libraries on the Internet, both free and paid, from where you can download almost any book in electronic form. Therefore, I will not bore you with technical details, the main purpose of this article is to tell how and how to open e-books in FictionBook format (fb2 format) so that you can fully enjoy reading books.

How to open fb2 file on a smartphone or tablet?

As a rule, opening files in the fb2 format on smartphones and tablet computers does not cause any difficulties. In most cases, manufacturers mobile gadgets, install special programs to read this format (also called e-readers). All that remains is to download the book you need and read.

If suddenly you, for some reason, still don’t have such a “reader” on your smartphone or tablet, it’s also not a problem, go Play Store(you need to register first) and download the e-book reading application completely free of charge. There are a great many such readers. Personally, my favorite free program is: AIReader. Enter the program name: AIReader in search Play Store(Google Play). Download and install. It will take no more than 3-4 minutes.

Why did I choose AIReader?? Because the program is very simple, intuitive, in Russian, absolutely free. Excellently opens not only files with the extension .fb2, but also many other popular formats in which e-books are published, such as: .rtf , .rb , .txt , .doc etc. Therefore, I see no point in installing other “readers”.

How to open a fb2 file on a laptop and desktop computer?

The situation is somewhat more complicated if you want to read e-books in fb2 format on a desktop computer or laptop running operating room Windows systems . Although there are no big problems here either.

AIReader is a program for reading electronic books.

For reading e-books in fb2 format on a laptop or desktop computer I recommend the same "reader" AIReader, only version for the Windows operating system. As I mentioned above, the program is absolutely free, simple and at the same time very functional. Opens many different formats. Perfectly customizable individual characteristics and requirements. Opens many different formats and files with different extensions: .fb2 , .rtf , .rb , .txt , .doc etc.

What I especially like is AIReader program does not require installation on a computer. This means that you can keep this program on a USB drive (USB FLASH DRIVE, flash drive) and can connect it to absolutely any computer or laptop. For example, I put the books I need on my flash drive in the root folder with the program and sometimes I read books on various desktop computers.

In my opinion, AIReader is by far the best of all e-readers!
You can download the AIReader program for free from the official website or here on our website by clicking on the button below: Download AIReader.

FBReader is a program for reading electronic books.

Another, a free program designed to read e-books on a computer running the Windows operating system - FBReader.

FBReader is similar to the program described above, with the only difference being that it is installed on a specific computer and has slightly fewer capabilities. But this doesn't make FBReader any worse. The FBReader program is also Russified and intuitive, so I think there is nothing special to tell here.

On the website of the popular service " Google Play Books" you can add and read texts online. At the same time, the project has an extension for the Google Chrome browser, which allows you to read downloaded books on your computer even without an Internet connection.

The plugin's interface almost completely replicates the design of the web version. You can open from your library, view their contents, search the text, customize fonts and layout. To read offline, you need to first download the books you need into your computer’s memory. Bookmarks, reading positions, and other data are synchronized across all devices connected to your Google Account.

• Supported formats: EPUB.

Microsoft has built an EPUB file viewer into its browser, so you can use both free reader. The program has settings for text display, bookmarks, a book search function, and even a mode for reading text with a robot. You can also highlight words and attach comments to them. This is where the functionality of the reader ends.

To add a book to Edge, just right-click on the corresponding EPUB file and select “Open with” → Microsoft Edge. After this, the book will open in a new tab.

• Supported formats: FB2, EPUB.

This service, like Google Play Books, offers computer owners to read books on the site. Besides, Windows users can install the Bookmate desktop client, which allows you to add texts to your personal library and read them offline.

In both versions of Bookmate, you can customize the font, background, padding, and other visual elements. Bookmarks, reading positions and other metadata are synced across devices. The application may slow down slightly, but overall it is comfortable to read.

Texts you added to the service can be . Bookmate also offers paid subscriptions to books from its online library, but you can opt out.

• Supported formats: FB2, EPUB, DJVU, DOCX, HTML, AZW, AZW3, AZW4, CBZ, CBR, CBC, CHM, HTMLZ, LIT, LRF, MOBI, ODT, PDF, PRC, PDB, PML, RB, RTF, SNB , TCR, TXT, TXTZ.

Caliber is best known as a powerful free software. With Caliber, you can edit metadata, text, and other elements of book files, as well as convert documents from one format to another. But the program allows you to simply read books added to it. The built-in reader has background and text settings, a content viewer, a search form and other tools for easy reading.

• Supported formats: EPUB, PDF.

Book-loving Mac users are in luck: they get one of the best desktop readers out of the box. iBooks looks stylish, supports data synchronization between iOS devices, and offers only the most necessary tools- for those who like to read rather than delve into settings.

On the other hand, iBooks does not support the very popular FB2 format, which may not suit some users. But you can always convert.

Despite the fact that epub and mobi formats are becoming increasingly popular on mobile devices, it is still too early to bury fb2 (FictionBook). Today we will look under our microscope at the best fb2 readers that provide maximum comfort for the eyes and without unnecessary frills. These applications should not only open e-books, but also be highly customizable.

The list of mobile fb2 readers for Android includes the following free applications:

All applications are available for download on Google Play, links to them are available next to the description of each fb2 reader. So, let's start testing.

FBReader - a cute fb2 reader for Android

How to open a file? FBReader is the first thing that comes to mind

Perhaps not a single review is complete without mentioning. If you don’t know how to open a fb2 file, then this is the application that first comes to mind, regardless of the platform. The fact is that FBReader is available everywhere:

• for desktop OS (Windows / Mac OS / Linux)
• mobile phones and tablets (Android, Windows Phone, Blackberry 10)

Only iOS is missing from this list - but, of course, there are quite a few “native” reader applications for reading in this mobile OS.

In addition to fb2, the FBreader application for Android successfully opens the following document formats: ePub, azw3, Word documents, HTML, simple text documents, PDF and (via the module). True, the last of these are available after installing the plugins, which are available for free download on the application website.

Let's see why the FBReader project was developed, what are the main features of the reader and why it should be used to read books on Android? Let's list the three main features of the reader (highlighted in bold).

Synchronizing books on your phone using a network library. FBReader provides cloud service for storing books. You can (follow the link - list electronic libraries), easily upload documents and books in fb2 format (they can be compressed into a zip archive) to the cloud, and then access and read them on any device. The position (where you are in the document) will be saved. By the way, synchronization can be configured in a couple of clicks; by default it is disabled.

How to open fb2 using FBReader?

In addition to your own library, you can connect additional online catalogs and bookstores. As for me, I don’t use the network functions of the FBReader reader at all, I just download books from popular online libraries to my Android in fb2 format. This is a standard way to download books, which works like a charm.

Setting up the display of fb2 books. In addition to the fact that FBReader has a pleasant user interface, it is nice to be able to fine-tune the display of text in the book. In this regard, it should be noted color schemes, night and day reading mode, screen brightness, changing the background background, text color, font size and typeface. You can download your favorite fonts to Android in TrueType or OpenType format and specify them in the reader settings.

Finally, the third feature of this fb2 reading program for Android will appeal to those who read books on foreign languages- namely, easy connection of dictionaries for translating words in the text of books. Take the same Kindle: you can connect there English-Russian dictionary and quickly find out the translation of a word when it is highlighted. This feature is often not available on Android readers, but FBReader is a pleasant exception. You add ColorDict, Fora Dictionary, FreeDictionary.org dictionaries to your phone, tell FBReader where to get the words from - and you can read FictionBook books and .

AlReader - old fb2 reader with good functionality

AlReader is a fairly old reader for fb2, which appeared at the dawn of the heyday of mobile phones. When opening the application, there is even a feeling of nostalgia: AlReader is too reminiscent of its earlier versions. That is, the interface has not changed much since then. This can be approached in two ways: on the one hand, if you have already opened books in FB Reader and similar readers, then you most likely will not like the interface of the AlReader application. On the other hand, we advise you to still evaluate other aspects of this mobile application.

The AlReader application boasts support not only for the Fb2 format, but also for reading books in epub, mobi, doc, including from archives. You can use a local or online library to navigate your document. Actually, inside the book you can also navigate through sections (one of fb2’s features, by the way), create bookmarks and notes as you read. The app recognizes many gestures, which makes sense. primarily for adjusting brightness and navigation.

The appearance and style of displaying the book on the phone screen is conveniently customizable: indents, background and font color, typeface size, flipping effects - in general, everything that can be found in any developed program for reading e-books on Android.

In short, we would advise you to pay attention to the AlReader mobile reader already because it is a proven reader among users not only of Android, but also of other mobile platforms. And the unsightly shell is partly compensated by skins and excellent functionality.

Moon+ Reader - fb2 “lunar” reader for night owls

Reading fb2 using Moon Reader

"Lunar Reader" is not much inferior to the same FBReader; it can be used with the same success for reading books in FB2 format, not only. The list of supported book formats includes popular mobile formats epub, txt, html, pdf, mobi, fb2 and others. Books can be packaged in rar and zip archives and opened without problems on Android via Moon+ Reader.

Similar to the FBReader reader, Moon Reader has the ability to connect online libraries with books. You can also download e-books in the above formats to an SD card or internal memory, and then open them in the application.

Reading convenience is excellent: adjusting font sizes, colors, backgrounds, indents, shadows, transparency and other beauties that in one way or another affect the perception of color. Returning to the name of the application - Moon Reader - yes, reading at night in this reader is quite convenient, there are a dozen design themes, as well as night and day reading modes.

When reading, it is worth noting the following features: auto-scrolling, smooth scrolling of text, adjusting screen brightness when sliding, optimization for long reading, flipping effects, adjusting text alignment, hyphenation, display modes for both tablets and small screens of Android devices.

If we talk about unique features fb2 programs, then this is an unusually wide support for gestures. You can customize literally any command by assigning a specific gesture for its execution. And if Kindle or another e-ink reader beats the screen in terms of reading pleasure, then in terms of gestures Android is ahead of the rest. You can configure actions for taps, volume control buttons, search, camera button and others. You have 24 operations at your disposal that you can assign these gestures to.

Good news for lovers of foreign literature and for attentive readers who like to scribble in the margins: Moon Reader is very convenient for highlighting fragments of text, you can connect dictionaries to translate text, popular translator dictionaries ColorDict, Fora, ABBYY Lingvo and others are supported. In this aspect, Moon Reader surpasses even the authoritative reader FBReader.

Prestigio Reader - a good phone reader for book formats

Prestigio Reader can open many book formats, but primarily focuses on mobile ones: these are FB2, ePub, DjVU, etc. If you prefer to listen to audiobooks, then the reader will satisfy these needs without any problems.

Prestigio Reader is a truly “prestigious” program for reading fb2 books

Prestigio Reader is, frankly, a very pleasant discovery for us. At the first steps, when working with the reader, everything is intuitive. First, the guide illustrates where and what elements should be used in the application.

Fb2 books are added to the library automatically through intelligent search. Which is incredibly convenient, because... you don’t need to search for files on your phone yourself, although Prestigio Reader has a file manager for these purposes. In addition, more than 5 thousand books are available for download in the online library.

The interface of the Prestigio Reader application is very pleasant and fresh. By default, everything should be fine, but in any case, you can customize the design of the fb2 book to suit you. IN quick settings– font sizes, indents, typeface. By going to the advanced settings, you will see settings for styles, colors, panels, animations - even more than what the user needs when reading files in fb2 format.

PocketBook - FB2 and PDF reader for Android

The PocketBook program is designed for reading fb2 books on mobile device on the Android platform. It’s hardly worth listing the book formats this reader works with - it covers all popular extensions, essentially duplicating both Moon Reader and FBReader.

Hand on heart, we have to admit that among fb2 readers for Android there are not so many pleasant programs in which a) the interface looks modern b) it’s pleasant to read books. Unfortunately, on Google Play there are pdf and fb2 readers with a frankly poor shell. You open them and think: well, all hope is that the pages in the book will look normal, at least the program won’t let you down in this regard. But no, and the fonts match the interface.

As for the PocketBook application for Android, the opposite is true: it is one of the most successful applications for reading books in the FictionBook format. The developers achieved this through convenient navigation through the library and the implementation of a radial menu.

At first, such a device for the main menu in PocketBook requires some getting used to, which is understandable: it’s rare to see such know-how in any mobile fb2 reader. But then it becomes clear that through this menu you can carry out almost all the necessary actions: change font sizes, adjust brightness, go to the menu, etc. In the main menu of the application, a standard set of parameters is available for customizing the display of text in the book: indents, colors, themes.

In a word, the developers of the PocketBook application tried their best and released a high-quality product for reading on Android. Interestingly, the same team is developing e-books using e-ink ink and related accessories.

EBookDroid - FB2 and PDF reader

The EBookDroid reader focuses on two book formats - PDF and Deja Vu, but fb2 books can also be read with the same convenience on a phone or tablet. However, what about this very convenience?

After a quick test of the EBookDroid, the feeling is twofold. On the one hand, all the basic reading functions are in place. You can open books, navigate through pages and sections, leave bookmarks and comment different ways, customize the display of fonts and even add your own typefaces.

However, as for the shell itself, it is not very pleasing to the eye. Although the EBookDroid application is updated quite regularly, these innovations affect the visual shell to a small extent. The FictionBook reading application looks as if the year is not 2016, but 2006.

We hope that soon we will be able to download the fb2 program in material design version. And this is not a matter of taste, but a simple requirement from most Android OS users.

Cool Reader - old-fashioned reader for Android

The free old-school fb2 reader for Android called Cool Reader supports almost all popular e-book formats (PDF, MOBI, RTF, FictionBook itself, etc.), although, for example, DOC and AZW3 are not on the list.

Old school - because the interface, as in the previous case, is a little outdated. This creates certain inconveniences: firstly, bookshelf not as effective as in the case of PocketBook (it could simply be replaced with a simple list); secondly, you immediately have to rearrange everything “to suit you”: background, color, font size and alignment.

If you close your eyes to the user shell, then, as the developer notes on the program description page, Cool Reader at the same time has similarities with FBReader, Aldiko, AlReader, Moon reader and other representatives of fb2-readers for Android. Therefore, the list of functions is similar to all of the above.

Summary. We have mentioned, in our opinion, the best fb2 readers for Android. As you can see, there is always something to open both fb2 and pdf, epub, mobi. The following reviews will look at these mobile formats for storing books on your phone. Good luck!