FAQ
Q. Where is the Windows version?
A. There is no Windows version yet. In theory it could be ported to the Windows platform since it supports bash shell scripting and the programs Comixer “talks” to are cross-platform and also available for Windows. Porting it to Mac OS X, however, was easier since it is UNIX-based.
Q. Who created Comixer and why?
A. Comixer was created by Kris Hansen. She is a Web & Graphic Designer, not a programmer. Comixer was created to help independent comic book creators to assemble PDF files of their work suitable for uploading to a Print On Demand service or other printer – without having to know how to use image editing or PDF creation software. The idea behind it was to create a program that does all the heavy lifting for the artist so he or she can produce a higher quality end product.
Q. Is Comixer Free?
A. YES! Comixer is being released under the GPL license. That means you’re free to redistribute it, change it, and improve it.
Q. Why haven’t you released the source code for Comixer?
A. It’s just a bash shell script. If you download it, you already have the source code. You can edit it in any text editor. In fact, it was written entirely in Gedit.
Q. I noticed some of the formats and presets have company names of Print On Demand services. Did they contribute to this project?
A. No. They are not affiliated in any way. Information was taken from their web sites and settings were created based on that information, but there was no direct involvement. The use of a company name for a format or preset is no guarantee that company will accept a file created with Comixer. However, if you make one and they DO accept it, leave feedback here so others know with what companies users have had success.
Q. Where can I download the older versions of Comixer?
A. They are no longer posted online as the current version is much more stable and feature-rich. Version 0.6 will be the base version moving forward with development.
Q. I’m sick of answering all those questions over and over again, especially things that don’t apply to my project. Can’t it be made simpler?
A. If you’re comfortable editing the code, you can either create a “Preset” for the settings you normally use OR you can comment out the input dialogs you don’t use and set their variables to what your usual answer(s) would be.
Q. Can you make me a custom version of Comixer that does ____________?
A. No, you’ll need to customize it yourself. However, if your customization may be useful to others you should release your modifications back to the community so everyone can benefit.
Q. Can Comixer be set to process in the background? The progress dialogs can get annoying if I’m trying to do other stuff.
A. Comixer doesn’t currently have a function to turn the progress dialogs off. It may be added in a future version, but until that happens you could try to edit the script yourself to suppress or remove them.
Q. Didn’t I see something like this somewhere before?
A. Maybe. Comixer started life as “Right+Click Comix” which was posted online a couple years ago. The name was changed in anticipation that future versions or ports to other platforms may not use a “right click” in a file browser window – and because “Comixer” sounds a lot more cool! There are, no doubt, other comic formatting utilities out there, but it’s unlikely they offer ALL the features of Comixer.
Q. Is this related to the iPad app of the same name?
A. No. This program was created (and named) before that iPad app existed. The two programs do entirely different things on different platforms and have different target users.