I used to write small pieces of software for my own businesses and give them away to anyone who could use them. These days I build them with AI. For a long time they lived as files I uploaded by FTP to our own websites, which works when you are the one maintaining the server and not much otherwise.
So I am rewriting the useful ones as proper plugins for WordPress and PrestaShop, the kind a shop owner can install from the back office without touching code. They are free to download and use. They come as they are, without support.
Open Flipbook
Turns a PDF, or a set of numbered page images, into a page-turning catalogue on any PrestaShop CMS page. You upload the file in the back office, copy a shortcode such as [flipbook id="1"], paste it into Design → Pages, and the book appears in its place. Everything runs from your own shop: no subscription, no outside service, no tracking.
- Upload a PDF, individual page images (JPG, PNG, WebP) or one ZIP of images, up to 1,000 pages per book
- Realistic page turns, a cover page, two-page spreads on desktop and single pages on phones
- Zoom by click, pinch or double-tap, plus black-and-white mode and fullscreen
- Downloads can be switched on or off for each book
- Long catalogues open quickly: only the pages being read are loaded (in testing, an 80 MB PDF showed its first page after downloading 0.4 MB)
- Replace a catalogue and visitors see the new edition straight away
Install the first file.
Works with
| PrestaShop | 8.0 and later, including 9.x. Tested on 8.2.3 and 9.0.2 |
|---|---|
| PHP | 7.2.5 or later, as your PrestaShop version allows. Tested on 8.1, 8.3 and 8.4 |
| Web server | Apache or Nginx, including PrestaShop’s recommended Nginx set-up |
| Themes | Any theme. Tested with Classic and Hummingbird |
| Visitors’ browsers | Image catalogues: current Safari, Chrome, Edge, Firefox and Samsung Internet. PDF catalogues: Safari 18+, Chrome or Edge 125+, Firefox ESR+; older browsers see a short notice instead |
| Limits | 1,000 pages per book · PDF up to 80 MB · images up to 20 MB each · ZIP up to 256 MB |
How to install
- In your PrestaShop back office, open Modules → Module Manager → Upload a module and choose
openflipbook.zip. - Click Configure, create a book and upload your PDF or page images. Image files are numbered
0001.jpg,0002.jpgand so on. - Click Copy next to the book’s shortcode.
- Paste the shortcode on its own line in a page under Design → Pages and save.
To upgrade, upload the newer zip the same way and open the module’s Configure page once. Your books are kept, including if you uninstall. Try it on a staging copy of your shop first and keep a backup.
Good to know
- Turning downloads off removes the button and blocks the download link. It is not copy protection: anything shown in a browser can still be saved by a determined visitor.
- Password-protected PDFs cannot be shown.
- On iPhone, browsers do not allow true fullscreen for web pages, so the reader opens on a page of its own instead.
- Books are shared across all shops in a multistore installation.
- On Nginx, large uploads may need a higher
client_max_body_size.
Terms. Each program is free software under the licence stated with it. You may use it on any number of sites, commercial or not, and copy, modify or share it as long as the copyright notice and licence are kept. It is provided as is, without warranty of any kind and without support: there is no obligation to answer questions, fix problems or release updates, and you use it at your own risk. Test on a staging site and keep backups before installing or upgrading.