How to open EPUB file on computer
Let's start with a couple of free software that allow you to read - and in some cases even organize or convert - ebooks in ePub format on Windows PCs, Macs and computers equipped with Linux.
caliber
I have already told you about Caliber several times in the past. The reason is that it is the best open source software for ebook management: it allows you to read, catalog, convert and synchronize them with various types of devices (ebook readers and tablets). It is also localized entirely in cittàn and is compatible with all major computer operating systems: Windows, OS X and Linux.
To download it to your computer, connected to its official website, select the logo of your operating system installed on your PC and click on the item Download Caliber present on the page that if you press.
When the download is complete, if you are using a Windows PC, open the file caliber – xx.exe, metti il segno di spunta accanto alla voce I accept the terms in the License Agreement and complete the setup by pressing on first install and then Yes e Finish. If you are using a Mac instead, open the package dmg that contains the software and drag the icon with the books into the folder Applications in OS X.
At this point, for open ePub files with Caliber, drag them into the program window and double click on their titles (which will automatically appear in the main list). Using the buttons located in the left sidebar you can increase or decrease the zoom level (^A e vA), view the index of the book (le three lines blue), go back and forth between pages (le arrows with the background violets) and more.
Cool Reader
If you are looking for a more essential solution for reading ebooks on your computer, you can consider Cool Reader as well. This is another completely free and open source application that does not include all the extra features of Caliber (it does not convert, does not synchronize and does not allow you to manage books) but still does its job optimally. It is compatible with Windows - where it requires no installation to work - and with Linux.
To download it to your computer, connect to its official website and click on the link CoolReader3.0.51 for Win32: cr3-qt-win32-xx.zip. When the download is complete, open the ZIP archive you just downloaded, extract the contents to any folder and start the executable cr3.exe.
At this point, click on the icon of folder located at the top left and select the ePub file to view. To change the size of the text, click on the icons with the magnifying glass which are located at the top, in the center; while if you want to change the font for reading ebooks (ePub files allow you to resize and change the writing character freely) click on the wrench and select the font of your preference from the drop-down menu Text font.
How to open ePub files on tablets and smartphones
Now let's see instead how to open ePub file on portable devices, such as smartphones and tablets. Again, fortunately, there is a lot of freedom of choice.
iPad / iPhone
If you are using an Apple portable device - I have great news to tell you -, you don't need to download any third party applications. You can easily read your ebooks with iBooks, the reading app included “standard” in all the latest versions of iOS.
To transfer your books in ePub format to the iBooks application of iPhone and iPad, you can use the sync feature included in iTunes (on Windows only, by selecting the book icon from the top left menu) or the application iBooks for Mac. Find out more about it in my tutorial on how to transfer files to iPad.
Android
If, on the other hand, you are using an Android device, I suggest you try the free Universal Book Reader application which also supports Adobe DRM protected ebooks.
To open the books with the latter, copy the ePub files on the memory of your smartphone / tablet or on the microSD card inserted in the device, press the button Import of the app (below) and that's it.
How to open EPUB files on Kindle
Amazon's Kindles, unlike other brands' ebook readers, do not support ePub books. To overcome this limitation you can take advantage of the conversion functions included in Caliber: just select the title of the book to convert, click on the button Convert books and select MOBI o AZW3 as the output format from the drop-down menu at the top right.
How to open EPUB
