What is a DjVu file?
DjVu stands for DjVu document. It was created by AT&T Labs and first released in 1998. DjVu was designed at AT&T Labs for scanned pages. It separates the crisp black text from the paper and pictures behind it and compresses each its own way, so a scanned book is often several times smaller as DjVu than as a PDF of the same scans.
DJV is the same format under another extension.
| Type | document |
|---|---|
| Compression | Lossy or lossless |
| Colour | scanned pages split into a sharp text layer and a compressed colour background |
| In a browser | does not open in browsers; DjVuLibre, Okular, SumatraPDF and many reading apps open it |
| Common uses | scanned books, old manuals and digital library archives |
| MIME type | image/vnd.djvu |
How to open a DjVu file
A DjVu file does not open in a web browser, and only some devices have a program for it. Here is what works on each. If none of these is to hand, converting the file to PDF here makes it open on any device.
| Windows | SumatraPDF and WinDjView (both free) open it. |
|---|---|
| Mac | DjView, from the free DjVuLibre project, opens it. |
| iPhone and iPad | A few reading apps open DjVu; converting it to PDF here makes it open in Books and Files. |
| Android | ReadEra and other reading apps open it. |
Want the technical details? See what a .djvu file is, with its MIME type, file signature and a viewer.
DjVu compared with other document and image formats
How DjVu stacks up against the formats people most often convert it to or from:
| Format | Compression | Transparency | Released | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DjVu | Either | No | 1998 | scanned books, old manuals and digital library archives |
| Either | No | 1993 | documents, forms, invoices and print-ready files | |
| JPG | Lossy | No | 1992 | camera photos, web images and email attachments |
| PNG | Lossless | Yes | 1996 | screenshots, logos, diagrams and anything with transparency |
How to use the DjVu converter
- Choose the format you want in the Convert to menu.
- Drop your DjVu files on the box, or press Choose DjVu files. Several files can go in at once.
- Adjust the settings if you need to; the defaults suit most people.
- Press Convert and save each file with its Download button. The file is converted on our server and deleted as soon as the result is sent back.
Tips for converting DjVu files without losing quality
DjVu can be lossy or lossless depending on how the file was saved. Either way, converting to a lossless format keeps exactly what is there, and converting to a lossy one trades a little detail for a much smaller file.
- Convert to PDF to keep every page as text and vectors; it opens on every device.
- Choose images only when a page must be a picture: PNG for text, JPG for photos.
- Several pages made into images come back as one ZIP with an image per page.
- The server accepts files up to 25 MB and converts at most the first 100 pages to images.
Convert DjVu files from the command line
DjVuLibre does the same on your own computer:
ddjvu -format=pdf -quality=85 input.djvu output.pdfConverting on your own computer keeps the file entirely local, which is worth it for very large or very sensitive documents. For everything else, the converter on this page does it without installing anything.
DjVu converter FAQ
What is a DjVu file?
DjVu stands for DjVu document, a document format created by AT&T Labs in 1998. DjVu was designed at AT&T Labs for scanned pages. It separates the crisp black text from the paper and pictures behind it and compresses each its own way, so a scanned book is often several times smaller as DjVu than as a PDF of the same scans.
How do I open a DjVu file?
DjVu does not open in browsers; DjVuLibre, Okular, SumatraPDF and many reading apps open it. If the program you need will not open it, convert it to a more widely supported format above.
What is the most common DjVu conversion?
DjVu to PDF is the conversion people search for most. Every page of the DjVu is decoded by DjVuLibre, the open-source DjVu toolkit, on our conversion server and written into the PDF as an image, at the page's own resolution, in page order.
Does converting DjVu files here upload them?
Yes. DjVu conversions need DjVuLibre, an open-source program that cannot run in a browser, so they run on our conversion server. The file is uploaded, converted, and deleted together with the result as soon as the result has been sent back to you. Nothing is kept.
Is the DjVu converter free?
Yes. There is no sign-up and no watermark. Conversions that use our server accept files up to 25 MB, with a fair-use limit per hour. The site is supported by advertising.
Can I convert DjVu files on iPhone or Android?
Yes. Open this page in Safari on iPhone and iPad, or in Chrome on Android, choose your DjVu files and download the results to your Downloads folder.
Can I convert several DjVu files at once?
Yes. Drop as many as you like; they are converted one after another, each with its own download button.