E-book viewer taks ages to open a simple ebook

Bigo2 · 11-06-2021, 10:25 PM

One has to wonder - what was the reason to replace the original, old Calibre E-book viewer which had much better features and was much, much faster?
This current ridiculous Calibre E-book viewer program often takes over 1 minute to open an ebook while the epub editing program Sigil with all its features opens the same file in 1 second!!!
So I have two questions:
1. Is there any simple way how to add the old Calibre E-book viewer to the current Calibre program?
2. Do you anybody know about some other universal viewer program with common reader features which would quickly open the common ebook formats?
Thanks and Regards

Karellen · 11-06-2021, 10:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bigo2

This current ridiculous Calibre E-book viewer program often takes over 1 minute to open an ebook while the epub editing program Sigil with all its features opens the same file in 1 second!!!

Did you ever consider it may be an issue at your end?
All my books open in a few seconds.

Also, try to be more respectful when asking for advice here.

Bigo2 · 11-07-2021, 12:09 AM

As compared with yours I can't see any unrespectful words in my asking.
Also I can see two very respectful words at the end of my - Thanks and Regards.
You should know that this problem with the viewer is nothing new and nothing unique and many users reported it, so why should I consider that it is an issue at my end?
I have no problem with other programs running on my PC (win10 AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 32GB RAM)

davidfor · 11-07-2021, 01:28 AM

The use of "One has to wonder" and "This current ridiculous" is in no way "respectful". They set the tone that you do not think much of the creator of this application. And adding "Thanks and Regards" is such an automatic thing, that many people don't realise they have done that.

But, the whys and wherefores of the current viewer were discussed to death in the months after it was released. Including how to use the viewer from an older version of calibre. A search should find them.

BetterRed · 11-07-2021, 03:05 AM

No disrespect to Sigil, but it's a one trick pony - only handles one format - EPUB.

IMO the simplest way to access the old viewer on a Windows machine is to install an old version of Calibre Portable, e.g. 3.48 or 4.23, and make the viewer in it the default viewer for your most often viewed formats and tell calibre not to use its viewer for those file types. You can use calibre's Open With feature to access the new viewer as required.

If you're looking for a snappy EPUB only viewer try Aquile.

Added: Quite a few people use Sumatra as their 'universal' viewer.

BR

Bigo2 · 11-07-2021, 04:10 AM

Thank you BetterRed for your helpful answers.
OK for clicking the file e.g. from the file explorer I'm going to organise the old version as a default viewer as you suggest – good idea!
But from the current version of Calibre, do you suggest that bypassing this new version is possible and if I search here I should be able to find how to do it?
I would like to do it, because the current one as compared with the old one seems to me ridiculously slow and user unfriendly and therefore I don't have much respect for it, which is my personal opinion and it was not meant to offend other people here?

BetterRed · 11-07-2021, 02:37 PM

In Preferences->Behaviour->Use internal viewer for: uncheck the formats that you want to read with the Windows default program.

BR

Bigo2 · 11-07-2021, 04:59 PM

Thank you BetterRed very much for your straightforward answers.

meghane_e · 05-09-2022, 01:59 PM

Thank you for the extensive information on alternative viewers, BR!

Anyone know if there are plans in the near future to make improvements to the Viewer? The super slow issues still exist in the Calibre 5.42 viewer with some books, primarily older ones but not always. The problems range from slow initial loading to extreme lag (more than a couple of minutes) moving past 0% or 1%. It largely tends to be older books but not always.

I've tried re-downloading and re-adding some of my books from Amazon to Calibre, which hasn't really made a difference so far. I also tried converting some of the older MOBI books to AZW3, which helped a small handful but not nearly as many as I hoped for. I just wish there was some way to address a large quantity of books. Yes, it's unrealistic. Too many books from too many sites over many, many years just aren't going to magically optimize themselves, darn it.

tym · 06-13-2022, 10:29 AM

Have you tried converting to Epub to see if that does not fix the slow issue?

11-06-2021, 10:25 PM	#1
Bigo2 Zealot Posts: 129 Karma: 48786 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Australia - Adelaide Device: Kindle3	E-book viewer taks ages to open a simple ebook One has to wonder - what was the reason to replace the original, old Calibre E-book viewer which had much better features and was much, much faster? This current ridiculous Calibre E-book viewer program often takes over 1 minute to open an ebook while the epub editing program Sigil with all its features opens the same file in 1 second!!! So I have two questions: 1. Is there any simple way how to add the old Calibre E-book viewer to the current Calibre program? 2. Do you anybody know about some other universal viewer program with common reader features which would quickly open the common ebook formats? Thanks and Regards

11-07-2021, 03:05 AM	#5
BetterRed null operator (he/him) Posts: 20,568 Karma: 26954694 Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Sydney Australia Device: none	No disrespect to Sigil, but it's a one trick pony - only handles one format - EPUB. IMO the simplest way to access the old viewer on a Windows machine is to install an old version of Calibre Portable, e.g. 3.48 or 4.23, and make the viewer in it the default viewer for your most often viewed formats and tell calibre not to use its viewer for those file types. You can use calibre's Open With feature to access the new viewer as required. If you're looking for a snappy EPUB only viewer try Aquile. Added: Quite a few people use Sumatra as their 'universal' viewer. BR Last edited by BetterRed; 11-07-2021 at 03:11 AM.

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11-07-2021, 12:09 AM	#3
Bigo2 Zealot Posts: 129 Karma: 48786 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Australia - Adelaide Device: Kindle3	As compared with yours I can't see any unrespectful words in my asking. Also I can see two very respectful words at the end of my - Thanks and Regards. You should know that this problem with the viewer is nothing new and nothing unique and many users reported it, so why should I consider that it is an issue at my end? I have no problem with other programs running on my PC (win10 AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 32GB RAM)

11-07-2021, 01:28 AM	#4
davidfor Grand Sorcerer Posts: 24,907 Karma: 47303748 Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Sydney, Australia Device: Kobo:Touch,Glo, AuraH2O, GloHD,AuraONE, ClaraHD, Libra H2O; tolinoepos	The use of "One has to wonder" and "This current ridiculous" is in no way "respectful". They set the tone that you do not think much of the creator of this application. And adding "Thanks and Regards" is such an automatic thing, that many people don't realise they have done that. But, the whys and wherefores of the current viewer were discussed to death in the months after it was released. Including how to use the viewer from an older version of calibre. A search should find them.

11-07-2021, 04:10 AM	#6
Bigo2 Zealot Posts: 129 Karma: 48786 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Australia - Adelaide Device: Kindle3	Thank you BetterRed for your helpful answers. OK for clicking the file e.g. from the file explorer I'm going to organise the old version as a default viewer as you suggest – good idea! But from the current version of Calibre, do you suggest that bypassing this new version is possible and if I search here I should be able to find how to do it? I would like to do it, because the current one as compared with the old one seems to me ridiculously slow and user unfriendly and therefore I don't have much respect for it, which is my personal opinion and it was not meant to offend other people here?

11-07-2021, 02:37 PM	#7
BetterRed null operator (he/him) Posts: 20,568 Karma: 26954694 Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Sydney Australia Device: none	In Preferences->Behaviour->Use internal viewer for: uncheck the formats that you want to read with the Windows default program. BR

11-07-2021, 04:59 PM	#8
Bigo2 Zealot Posts: 129 Karma: 48786 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Australia - Adelaide Device: Kindle3	Thank you BetterRed very much for your straightforward answers.

05-09-2022, 01:59 PM	#9
meghane_e Connoisseur Posts: 73 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2016 Device: Kindle	Thank you for the extensive information on alternative viewers, BR! Anyone know if there are plans in the near future to make improvements to the Viewer? The super slow issues still exist in the Calibre 5.42 viewer with some books, primarily older ones but not always. The problems range from slow initial loading to extreme lag (more than a couple of minutes) moving past 0% or 1%. It largely tends to be older books but not always. I've tried re-downloading and re-adding some of my books from Amazon to Calibre, which hasn't really made a difference so far. I also tried converting some of the older MOBI books to AZW3, which helped a small handful but not nearly as many as I hoped for. I just wish there was some way to address a large quantity of books. Yes, it's unrealistic. Too many books from too many sites over many, many years just aren't going to magically optimize themselves, darn it.

06-13-2022, 10:29 AM	#10
tym Connoisseur Posts: 66 Karma: 37732 Join Date: Jan 2012 Device: nook touch	Have you tried converting to Epub to see if that does not fix the slow issue?

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