Supported file formats
Audiobooks and audio
Anansi Studio plays all of these, and you can edit any of them in the app:
| Format | Extensions | Edits written back into the file |
|---|---|---|
| MPEG-4 audiobook / audio | .m4b, .m4a, .mp4 | Yes |
| MP3 | .mp3 | Yes |
| AAC | .aac | No: edits stay in the app |
| Opus | .opus | No: edits stay in the app |
| Ogg Vorbis | .ogg | No: edits stay in the app |
| FLAC | .flac | No: edits stay in the app |
| WAV | .wav | No: edits stay in the app |
For formats that can't be written, your edits work in the app (and are backed up and synced) but other players won't see them. The editor tells you before you try to write. See Editing a book.
What is written into M4B/M4A/MP4 and MP3 files
| M4B, M4A, MP4 | MP3 | |
|---|---|---|
| Title, author, narrator | Yes | Yes |
| Chapters | Yes | Yes |
| Subchapters | Kept by Anansi Studio; other players see a flat list | Yes: other players see them too |
| Cover art | Yes (JPEG or PNG) | Yes (JPEG or PNG) |
| Plain lyrics | Yes | Yes |
| Timed lyrics | Yes, as LRC text in the lyrics tag | Yes |
Some MP4 files are "fragmented" (common in streamed recordings). The app plays them, but won't write to them, because guessing their layout could damage the audio.
Documents
Documents can be made into audiobooks:
| Format | Extensions | Read along with |
|---|---|---|
.pdf | The PDF's own pages | |
| Word | .docx | The document's text |
| Markdown | .md, .markdown | The document's text |
| EPUB | .epub | The lyrics |
| Plain text | .txt | The lyrics |
Lyrics files
The lyrics editor imports .lrc files (lyrics
with times) and .txt files (plain lyrics), and copies lyrics out as LRC.
Cover pictures
Covers can be JPEG or PNG pictures. Large pictures are scaled down when they are saved.
Background pictures
The library's background image can be any common picture format your device can show.
Files Anansi Studio makes
| File | Made by |
|---|---|
.m4a (or .wav) parts | Making an audiobook with an on-device voice: one file per part. WAV only where the device can't make M4A. |
.m4b | Sharing an audiobook: one file with chapters, cover and timed lyrics, plus what Anansi Studio needs to restore reading along. |
| Backup snapshots | Backup: snapshot-… folders, and a shared files folder. |
Opening files from other apps
Anansi Studio offers itself to open .m4b, .m4a, .mp3, .aac, .opus,
.ogg, .flac and .wav files. See
Open a file with Anansi Studio.