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Attention: WinRAR/.cbr no longer viable


kitsunebi

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The latest release of WinRAR by default uses RAR5 compression format which is not compatible with most comic readers at this time.  Any .rar or .cbr file created with the current release of WinRAR will be unreadable on .cbr readers.  (Files created with older versions of WinRAR will still be readable.)

I recommend anyone not still using an older version of WinRAR to instead use 7-zip .zip compression and create a .cbz file instead.

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I don't know, I haven't had any problems. Did you read this bit about the release?

 Version 5.50

   1. WinRAR and command line RAR use RAR 5.0 archive format by default.
      You can change it to RAR 4.x compatible format with "RAR4" option
      in archiving dialog or -ma4 command line switch.
      
      If you prefer RAR 4.x format by default, use "Create default..."
      button on "Compression" page of WinRAR settings and set "RAR4"
      in the displayed dialog.

      This change affects only new clean installs. If you already saved
      RAR format in the default compression profile in previous versions,
      WinRAR respects stored settings.
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I already deleted WinRAR from my system, so I can't confirm how intuitive or easy that is to do, but it's beside the point.

As I said in the OP, WinRAR by default no longer creates files that are readable by .cbr readers.  While there may be command line workarounds, a far simpler solution is to recommend to our users that they use 7zip, which unlike WinRAR is a completely free program that by default creates readable files. 

People in love with WinRAR or people who want to use it because they already paid money for a licensed copy are free to continue using it so long as they are aware that if they've updated their program recently they will have to take extra steps to make readable files from now on.  But if Retromags is going to recommend just one data compression program from now on, it's going to be the one that works straight out of the box (so to speak).

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  • 3 weeks later...

You know what?  I take back what I said.  7Zip is generally better compression than WinRAR and is great if you're just compressing/decompressing the odd file here and there.  But if you work with archived images a lot and are constantly moving images in/out of archives or renaming files within archives, WinRAR is a much better program.  I hereby renounce my former endorsement of 7Zip.

So here's what you've gotta do to make sure your files created in WinRAR are compatible with CBR readers (as Trinity posted above).  First, set the archive format to RAR4 when creating an archive (as seen below).  I would advise you to then click the "profiles" button and save this as your default profile so you don't accidentally create unreadable files in the future.

2018-03-18_08h49_33.png

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So...as you haven't paid for it, are you now saying you're in the only other category out there, that being "people who are in love with WinRAR"? Lol

At any rate, it really is a non-issue. Like you said, if you install it for the first time all you have to do is check "RAR4"(it's in the version notes); if you are upgrading, it's already on RAR4. I don't mind 7zip, I used to use StuffIt(back on the Mac), but WinRAR won me over with their Aladdin icon pack..

https://www.rarlab.com/themes.htm

The "Wizard" icon cracks me up!

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6 hours ago, Trinity said:

At any rate, it really is a non-issue. Like you said, if you install it for the first time all you have to do is check "RAR4"(it's in the version notes); if you are upgrading, it's already on RAR4. I don't mind 7zip, I used to use StuffIt(back on the Mac), but WinRAR won me over with their Aladdin icon pack..

I wouldn't call it a non-issue.  First of all, who reads release notes?  Not your average user.  And even if they did, I doubt the release notes say "by the way, the default setting will make your archived files unreadable in comic book readers and the solution is to set the archive format to RAR4."  So many people would be oblivious to both the problem and the solution.  Which is why it needs to be addressed here.

So WinRAR is still (for our purposes) broken out-of-the-box, and I'd still like to be able to recommend 7zip as the preferred alternative.  But I just got so frustrated with it's limitations I had to go back to WinRAR.

I work with comic book files...A LOT.  OMG A LOT.  I don't even play games anymore (or read gaming mags) - this site is just a compulsive time-waster for me.  But comic archives are something I tend to deal with every day, which is why flexibility and comic reader compatibility outweigh any advantages 7zip may have for me.

EDIT: I guess that doesn't make sense - it makes it sound like 7zip can't create files readable by comic readers, which of course it can.  What I meant was, I need comic reader capability AND flexibility with editing/rearranging files from within the archives, and WinRAR better meets those requirements.

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