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scruffy · 01-03-2009, 09:28 PM

Documenting this for others to find, since it took me a while to put the pieces together.

If you'd like thumbnails in your ebook documents when viewing them via Windows, there are methods which will GREATLY help you in this quest.

First of all, CDisplayEx - http://sourceforge.net/projects/cdisplayex
Installing this, and using the included batchfile adds CDispShell.dll to your system. This will generate thumbnails of .cbr and .cbz files (which are comic formats, but really are rar and zip formats with images inside)

Now, let's add real zip and rar archives:

Create a file named thumbs.reg and put into it

Code:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CompressedFolder\ShellEx\{BB2E617C-0920-11d1-9A0B-00C04FC2D6C1}]
@="{EF7605D6-C512-4F90-827B-5DE32DAB94F7}"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\WinRAR\ShellEx\{BB2E617C-0920-11d1-9A0B-00C04FC2D6C1}]
@="{EF7605D6-C512-4F90-827B-5DE32DAB94F7}"

This adds .zip and .rar, but let's take a step further, because .epub is really a zip file too:

Code:

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.epub\ShellEx\{BB2E617C-0920-11d1-9A0B-00C04FC2D6C1}]
@="{EF7605D6-C512-4F90-827B-5DE32DAB94F7}"

(obviously, you see the pattern, if you have other extensions you wish to "cover", which are really 'hidden in a zip' formats, such as .odt, just use the above, changing the .epub)

Clicking on the .reg file will ask you if you want to install these entries into your registry. Be warned, you could hurt your windows install doing the wrong thing if you don't know what you are doing. Not that the above will, but a disclaimer is in order here!!!! All the above does is point Windows to the DLL above (installed by CDisplayEx) for each of these extensions. (If you don't have winrar, but use 7zip for example, you might want to also do .rar instead of Winrar in the above)

The net effect is that the 'first' image will now be the thumbnail... so make sure the cover image is named with 00Cover, or otherwise numerically+alphabetically first.

Magically: covers when looking at the files in explorer!

Other thumbnails:

PDF: Adobe screwed a lot of people re thumbnails when they 'upgraded' from Reader/Acrobat V8 to v8.1+ (See http://www.adobeforums.com/webx/.3c05718d)
While Reader 9 is supposed to fix this, the best answer seems to be installing V7 of Reader, and then PDF thumbnails of the 'cover' or first page appear correctly. Feedback (good or bad) for later versions is welcome.

If you are using a reader (FBReader for example) that will read inside a zip file, you can easily include a cover image in your zip, so even the formats otherwise 'unthumbable' will gain one: RTF or HTML for instance.

Still looking for PRC, LIT, and other formats... anyone out there doing something with them?

01-03-2009, 09:28 PM	#1
scruffy Enthusiast Posts: 29 Karma: 324 Join Date: Mar 2008 Device: ebookwise, n800, tablet, etc	Thumbnails in Windows Explorer Documenting this for others to find, since it took me a while to put the pieces together. If you'd like thumbnails in your ebook documents when viewing them via Windows, there are methods which will GREATLY help you in this quest. First of all, CDisplayEx - http://sourceforge.net/projects/cdisplayex Installing this, and using the included batchfile adds CDispShell.dll to your system. This will generate thumbnails of .cbr and .cbz files (which are comic formats, but really are rar and zip formats with images inside) Now, let's add real zip and rar archives: Create a file named thumbs.reg and put into it Code: Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00 [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CompressedFolder\ShellEx\{BB2E617C-0920-11d1-9A0B-00C04FC2D6C1}] @="{EF7605D6-C512-4F90-827B-5DE32DAB94F7}" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\WinRAR\ShellEx\{BB2E617C-0920-11d1-9A0B-00C04FC2D6C1}] @="{EF7605D6-C512-4F90-827B-5DE32DAB94F7}" This adds .zip and .rar, but let's take a step further, because .epub is really a zip file too: Code: [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.epub\ShellEx\{BB2E617C-0920-11d1-9A0B-00C04FC2D6C1}] @="{EF7605D6-C512-4F90-827B-5DE32DAB94F7}" (obviously, you see the pattern, if you have other extensions you wish to "cover", which are really 'hidden in a zip' formats, such as .odt, just use the above, changing the .epub) Clicking on the .reg file will ask you if you want to install these entries into your registry. Be warned, you could hurt your windows install doing the wrong thing if you don't know what you are doing. Not that the above will, but a disclaimer is in order here!!!! All the above does is point Windows to the DLL above (installed by CDisplayEx) for each of these extensions. (If you don't have winrar, but use 7zip for example, you might want to also do .rar instead of Winrar in the above) The net effect is that the 'first' image will now be the thumbnail... so make sure the cover image is named with 00Cover, or otherwise numerically+alphabetically first. Magically: covers when looking at the files in explorer! Other thumbnails: PDF: Adobe screwed a lot of people re thumbnails when they 'upgraded' from Reader/Acrobat V8 to v8.1+ (See http://www.adobeforums.com/webx/.3c05718d) While Reader 9 is supposed to fix this, the best answer seems to be installing V7 of Reader, and then PDF thumbnails of the 'cover' or first page appear correctly. Feedback (good or bad) for later versions is welcome. If you are using a reader (FBReader for example) that will read inside a zip file, you can easily include a cover image in your zip, so even the formats otherwise 'unthumbable' will gain one: RTF or HTML for instance. Still looking for PRC, LIT, and other formats... anyone out there doing something with them?