diff --git a/frontend/apps/filemanager/filemanagerbookinfo.lua b/frontend/apps/filemanager/filemanagerbookinfo.lua
index 7fb6b009c..565d44f5f 100644
--- a/frontend/apps/filemanager/filemanagerbookinfo.lua
+++ b/frontend/apps/filemanager/filemanagerbookinfo.lua
@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ This module provides a way to display book information (filename and book metada
 local BD = require("ui/bidi")
 local ButtonDialog = require("ui/widget/buttondialog")
 local DocSettings = require("docsettings")
+local Document = require("document/document")
 local DocumentRegistry = require("document/documentregistry")
 local InfoMessage = require("ui/widget/infomessage")
 local UIManager = require("ui/uimanager")
@@ -17,6 +18,15 @@ local _ = require("gettext")
 local Screen = require("device").screen
 
 local BookInfo = WidgetContainer:extend{
+    props = {
+        "title",
+        "authors",
+        "series",
+        "series_index",
+        "language",
+        "keywords",
+        "description",
+    },
 }
 
 function BookInfo:init()
@@ -34,6 +44,7 @@ function BookInfo:addToMainMenu(menu_items)
     }
 end
 
+-- Shows book information.
 function BookInfo:show(file, book_props, metadata_updated_caller_callback)
     self.updated = nil
     local kv_pairs = {}
@@ -55,20 +66,20 @@ function BookInfo:show(file, book_props, metadata_updated_caller_callback)
     -- book_props may be provided if caller already has them available
     -- but it may lack "pages", that we may get from sidecar file
     if not book_props or not book_props.pages then
-        book_props = self:getBookProps(file, book_props)
+        book_props = BookInfo.getDocProps(nil, file, book_props)
     end
     local values_lang
-    local props = {
-        { _("Title:"), "title" },
-        { _("Authors:"), "authors" },
-        { _("Series:"), "series" },
-        { _("Pages:"), "pages" },
-        { _("Language:"), "language" },
-        { _("Keywords:"), "keywords" },
-        { _("Description:"), "description" },
+    local prop_text = {
+        title        = _("Title:"),
+        authors      = _("Authors:"),
+        series       = _("Series:"),
+        series_index = _("Series index:"),
+        pages        = _("Pages:"), -- not in document metadata
+        language     = _("Language:"),
+        keywords     = _("Keywords:"),
+        description  = _("Description:"),
     }
-    for _i, v in ipairs(props) do
-        local prop_text, prop_key = unpack(v)
+    for _i, prop_key in ipairs(self.props) do
         local prop = book_props[prop_key]
         if prop == nil or prop == "" then
             prop = _("N/A")
@@ -84,16 +95,6 @@ function BookInfo:show(file, book_props, metadata_updated_caller_callback)
             else
                 prop = BD.auto(prop)
             end
-        elseif prop_key == "series" then
-            -- If we were fed a BookInfo book_props (e.g., covermenu), series index is in a separate field
-            if book_props.series_index then
-                -- Here, we're assured that series_index is a Lua number, so round integers are automatically
-                -- displayed without decimals
-                prop = prop .. " #" .. book_props.series_index
-            else
-                -- But here, if we have a plain doc_props series with an index, drop empty decimals from round integers.
-                prop = prop:gsub("(#%d+)%.0+$", "%1")
-            end
         elseif prop_key == "language" then
             -- Get a chance to have title, authors... rendered with alternate
             -- glyphs for the book language (e.g. japanese book in chinese UI)
@@ -102,7 +103,10 @@ function BookInfo:show(file, book_props, metadata_updated_caller_callback)
             -- Description may (often in EPUB, but not always) or may not (rarely in PDF) be HTML
             prop = util.htmlToPlainTextIfHtml(prop)
         end
-        table.insert(kv_pairs, { prop_text, prop })
+        table.insert(kv_pairs, { prop_text[prop_key], prop })
+        if prop_key == "series_index" then
+            table.insert(kv_pairs, { prop_text["pages"], book_props["pages"] or _("N/A") })
+        end
     end
     -- cover image
     local is_doc = self.document and true or false
@@ -150,7 +154,7 @@ function BookInfo:show(file, book_props, metadata_updated_caller_callback)
                     local ReaderUI = require("apps/reader/readerui")
                     ui = ReaderUI.instance
                 end
-                if ui and ui.coverbrowser then
+                if ui and ui.coverbrowser then -- refresh cache db
                     ui.coverbrowser:deleteBookInfo(file)
                 end
                 if fm_ui then
@@ -169,7 +173,36 @@ function BookInfo:show(file, book_props, metadata_updated_caller_callback)
     UIManager:show(self.kvp_widget)
 end
 
-function BookInfo:getBookProps(file, book_props, no_open_document)
+-- Returns customized metadata.
+function BookInfo.customizeProps(original_props, filepath)
+    local custom_props = {} -- stub
+    original_props = original_props or {}
+
+    local props = {}
+    for _i, prop_key in ipairs(BookInfo.props) do
+        props[prop_key] = custom_props[prop_key] or original_props[prop_key]
+    end
+    props.pages = original_props.pages
+    -- if original title is empty, generate it as filename without extension
+    props.display_title = props.title or filemanagerutil.splitFileNameType(filepath)
+    return props
+end
+
+-- Returns document metadata (opened document or book (file) metadata or custom metadata).
+function BookInfo.getDocProps(ui, file, book_props, no_open_document, no_customize)
+    local original_props, filepath
+    if ui then -- currently opened document
+        original_props = ui.doc_settings:readSetting("doc_props")
+        filepath = ui.document.file
+    else -- from file
+        original_props = BookInfo.getBookProps(file, book_props, no_open_document)
+        filepath = file
+    end
+    return no_customize and original_props or BookInfo.customizeProps(original_props, filepath)
+end
+
+-- Returns book (file) metadata, including number of pages.
+function BookInfo.getBookProps(file, book_props, no_open_document)
     if DocSettings:hasSidecarFile(file) then
         local doc_settings = DocSettings:open(file)
         if not book_props then
@@ -184,9 +217,8 @@ function BookInfo:getBookProps(file, book_props, no_open_document)
             -- the fact that stats.page = 0)
             local stats = doc_settings:readSetting("stats")
             if stats and stats.pages ~= 0 then
-                -- Let's use them as is (which was what was done before), even if
-                -- incomplete, to avoid expensive book opening
-                book_props = stats
+                -- title, authors, series, series_index, language
+                book_props = Document:getProps(stats)
             end
         end
         -- Files opened after 20170701 have an accurate "doc_pages" setting.
@@ -229,26 +261,20 @@ function BookInfo:getBookProps(file, book_props, no_open_document)
     return book_props or {}
 end
 
+-- Shows book information for currently opened document.
 function BookInfo:onShowBookInfo()
-    if not self.document then return end
-    -- Get them directly from ReaderUI's doc_settings
-    local doc_props = self.ui.doc_settings:readSetting("doc_props")
-    -- Make a copy, so we don't add "pages" to the original doc_props
-    -- that will be saved at some point by ReaderUI.
-    local book_props = { pages = self.ui.doc_settings:readSetting("doc_pages") }
-    for k, v in pairs(doc_props) do
-        book_props[k] = v
+    if self.document then
+        self.ui.doc_props.pages = self.ui.doc_settings:readSetting("doc_pages")
+        self:show(self.document.file, self.ui.doc_props)
     end
-    self:show(self.document.file, book_props)
 end
 
 function BookInfo:onShowBookDescription(description, file)
     if not description then
         if file then
-            description = self:getBookProps(file).description
-        elseif self.document then
-            description = self.ui.doc_settings:readSetting("doc_props").description
-                       or self.document:getProps().description
+            description = BookInfo.getDocProps(nil, file).description
+        elseif self.document then -- currently opened document
+            description = self.ui.doc_props.description
         end
     end
     if description and description ~= "" then
diff --git a/frontend/apps/filemanager/filemanagerfilesearcher.lua b/frontend/apps/filemanager/filemanagerfilesearcher.lua
index f7d2153e9..5f63f8db2 100644
--- a/frontend/apps/filemanager/filemanagerfilesearcher.lua
+++ b/frontend/apps/filemanager/filemanagerfilesearcher.lua
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-local ButtonDialogTitle = require("ui/widget/buttondialogtitle")
+local ButtonDialog = require("ui/widget/buttondialog")
 local CheckButton = require("ui/widget/checkbutton")
 local CenterContainer = require("ui/widget/container/centercontainer")
 local DocumentRegistry = require("document/documentregistry")
@@ -182,14 +182,6 @@ function FileSearcher:getList()
 end
 
 function FileSearcher:isFileMatch(filename, fullpath, keywords, is_file)
-    local metadata_keys = {
-        "authors",
-        "title",
-        "series",
-        "description",
-        "keywords",
-        "language",
-    }
     if keywords == "*" then
         return true
     end
@@ -201,11 +193,14 @@ function FileSearcher:isFileMatch(filename, fullpath, keywords, is_file)
     end
     if self.include_metadata and is_file and DocumentRegistry:hasProvider(fullpath) then
         local book_props = self.ui.coverbrowser:getBookInfo(fullpath) or
-                           FileManagerBookInfo:getBookProps(fullpath, nil, true)
+                           FileManagerBookInfo.getDocProps(nil, fullpath, nil, true)
         if next(book_props) ~= nil then
-            for _, key in ipairs(metadata_keys) do
+            for _, key in ipairs(FileManagerBookInfo.props) do
                 local prop = book_props[key]
                 if prop and prop ~= "" then
+                    if key == "series_index" then
+                        prop = tostring(prop)
+                    end
                     if not self.case_sensitive then
                         prop = Utf8Proc.lowercase(util.fixUtf8(prop, "?"))
                     end
@@ -252,8 +247,6 @@ function FileSearcher:showSearchResults(results)
         dimen = Screen:getSize(),
     }
     self.search_menu = Menu:new{
-        width = Screen:getWidth(),
-        height = Screen:getHeight(),
         is_borderless = true,
         is_popout = false,
         show_parent = menu_container,
@@ -312,7 +305,7 @@ function FileSearcher:onMenuSelect(item)
             end,
         },
     })
-    dialog = ButtonDialogTitle:new{
+    dialog = ButtonDialog:new{
         title = item.path,
         buttons = buttons,
     }
diff --git a/frontend/apps/filemanager/filemanagerutil.lua b/frontend/apps/filemanager/filemanagerutil.lua
index 8c12275bc..220a2e2ef 100644
--- a/frontend/apps/filemanager/filemanagerutil.lua
+++ b/frontend/apps/filemanager/filemanagerutil.lua
@@ -33,7 +33,8 @@ function filemanagerutil.abbreviate(path)
     return path
 end
 
-function filemanagerutil.splitFileNameType(filename)
+function filemanagerutil.splitFileNameType(filepath)
+    local _, filename = util.splitFilePathName(filepath)
     local filename_without_suffix, filetype = util.splitFileNameSuffix(filename)
     filetype = filetype:lower()
     if filetype == "zip" then
diff --git a/frontend/apps/reader/modules/readerdictionary.lua b/frontend/apps/reader/modules/readerdictionary.lua
index 30bbefbbc..a48f9fa3d 100644
--- a/frontend/apps/reader/modules/readerdictionary.lua
+++ b/frontend/apps/reader/modules/readerdictionary.lua
@@ -937,13 +937,7 @@ function ReaderDictionary:stardictLookup(word, dict_names, fuzzy_search, boxes,
         return
     end
 
-    local book_title = self.ui.doc_settings and self.ui.doc_settings:readSetting("doc_props").title or _("Dictionary lookup")
-    if book_title == "" then -- no or empty metadata title
-        if self.ui.document and self.ui.document.file then
-            local directory, filename = util.splitFilePathName(self.ui.document.file) -- luacheck: no unused
-            book_title = util.splitFileNameSuffix(filename)
-        end
-    end
+    local book_title = self.ui.doc_props and self.ui.doc_props.display_title or _("Dictionary lookup")
 
     -- Event for plugin to catch lookup with book title
     self.ui:handleEvent(Event:new("WordLookedUp", word, book_title))
diff --git a/frontend/apps/reader/modules/readerfooter.lua b/frontend/apps/reader/modules/readerfooter.lua
index b59d67a7f..84b8746e2 100644
--- a/frontend/apps/reader/modules/readerfooter.lua
+++ b/frontend/apps/reader/modules/readerfooter.lua
@@ -384,24 +384,19 @@ local footerTextGeneratorMap = {
         end
     end,
     book_title = function(footer)
-        local doc_info = footer.ui.document:getProps()
-        if doc_info and doc_info.title then
-            local title = doc_info.title:gsub(" ", "\u{00A0}") -- replace space with no-break-space
-            local title_widget = TextWidget:new{
-                text = title,
-                max_width = footer._saved_screen_width * footer.settings.book_title_max_width_pct * (1/100),
-                face = Font:getFace(footer.text_font_face, footer.settings.text_font_size),
-                bold = footer.settings.text_font_bold,
-            }
-            local fitted_title_text, add_ellipsis = title_widget:getFittedText()
-            title_widget:free()
-            if add_ellipsis then
-                fitted_title_text = fitted_title_text .. "…"
-            end
-            return BD.auto(fitted_title_text)
-        else
-            return ""
+        local title = footer.ui.doc_props.display_title:gsub(" ", "\u{00A0}") -- replace space with no-break-space
+        local title_widget = TextWidget:new{
+            text = title,
+            max_width = footer._saved_screen_width * footer.settings.book_title_max_width_pct * (1/100),
+            face = Font:getFace(footer.text_font_face, footer.settings.text_font_size),
+            bold = footer.settings.text_font_bold,
+        }
+        local fitted_title_text, add_ellipsis = title_widget:getFittedText()
+        title_widget:free()
+        if add_ellipsis then
+            fitted_title_text = fitted_title_text .. "…"
         end
+        return BD.auto(fitted_title_text)
     end,
     book_chapter = function(footer)
         local chapter_title = footer.ui.toc:getTocTitleByPage(footer.pageno)
diff --git a/frontend/apps/reader/modules/readerhighlight.lua b/frontend/apps/reader/modules/readerhighlight.lua
index 3ba30f196..760b48f44 100644
--- a/frontend/apps/reader/modules/readerhighlight.lua
+++ b/frontend/apps/reader/modules/readerhighlight.lua
@@ -1436,15 +1436,6 @@ dbg:guard(ReaderHighlight, "translate",
             "translate must not be called with nil selected_text!")
     end)
 
-function ReaderHighlight:getDocumentLanguage()
-    local doc_props = self.ui.doc_settings:readSetting("doc_props")
-    local doc_lang = doc_props and doc_props.language
-    if doc_lang == "" then
-        doc_lang = nil
-    end
-    return doc_lang
-end
-
 function ReaderHighlight:onTranslateText(text, page, index)
     Translator:showTranslation(text, true, nil, nil, true, page, index)
 end
@@ -1473,7 +1464,7 @@ function ReaderHighlight:onTranslateCurrentPage()
         self.ui.document.configurable.text_wrap = is_reflow
     end
     if res and res.text then
-        Translator:showTranslation(res.text, false, self:getDocumentLanguage())
+        Translator:showTranslation(res.text, false, self.ui.doc_props.language)
     end
 end
 
diff --git a/frontend/apps/reader/modules/readerstatus.lua b/frontend/apps/reader/modules/readerstatus.lua
index b8463f701..876100510 100644
--- a/frontend/apps/reader/modules/readerstatus.lua
+++ b/frontend/apps/reader/modules/readerstatus.lua
@@ -200,7 +200,7 @@ end
 function ReaderStatus:onShowBookStatus(before_show_callback)
     local status_page = BookStatusWidget:new {
         thumbnail = FileManagerBookInfo:getCoverImage(self.document),
-        props = self.document:getProps(),
+        props = self.ui.doc_props,
         document = self.document,
         settings = self.settings,
         ui = self.ui,
diff --git a/frontend/apps/reader/modules/readertypography.lua b/frontend/apps/reader/modules/readertypography.lua
index 8a4cf7fd7..9e9c15a5c 100644
--- a/frontend/apps/reader/modules/readertypography.lua
+++ b/frontend/apps/reader/modules/readertypography.lua
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 local BD = require("ui/bidi")
 local Device = require("device")
 local Event = require("ui/event")
+local FileManagerBookInfo = require("apps/filemanager/filemanagerbookinfo")
 local InfoMessage = require("ui/widget/infomessage")
 local MultiConfirmBox = require("ui/widget/multiconfirmbox")
 local UIManager = require("ui/uimanager")
@@ -776,7 +777,8 @@ end
 function ReaderTypography:onPreRenderDocument(config)
     -- This is called after the document has been loaded,
     -- when we know and can access the document language.
-    local doc_language = self.ui.document:getProps().language
+    local props = self.ui.document:getProps()
+    local doc_language = FileManagerBookInfo.customizeProps(props, self.ui.document.file).language
     self.book_lang_tag = self:fixLangTag(doc_language)
 
     local is_known_lang_tag = self.book_lang_tag and LANG_TAG_TO_LANG_NAME[self.book_lang_tag] ~= nil
diff --git a/frontend/apps/reader/modules/readerwikipedia.lua b/frontend/apps/reader/modules/readerwikipedia.lua
index 5c50ea7e5..a38c21a85 100644
--- a/frontend/apps/reader/modules/readerwikipedia.lua
+++ b/frontend/apps/reader/modules/readerwikipedia.lua
@@ -371,7 +371,7 @@ function ReaderWikipedia:initLanguages(word)
         end
         -- use book and UI languages
         if self.view then
-            addLanguage(self.view.document:getProps().language)
+            addLanguage(self.ui.doc_props.language)
         end
         addLanguage(G_reader_settings:readSetting("language"))
         if #self.wiki_languages == 0 and word then
@@ -427,13 +427,7 @@ function ReaderWikipedia:lookupWikipedia(word, is_sane, box, get_fullpage, force
     local display_word = word:gsub("_", " ")
 
     if not self.disable_history then
-        local book_title = self.ui.doc_settings and self.ui.doc_settings:readSetting("doc_props").title or _("Wikipedia lookup")
-        if book_title == "" then -- no or empty metadata title
-            if self.ui.document and self.ui.document.file then
-                local directory, filename = util.splitFilePathName(self.ui.document.file) -- luacheck: no unused
-                book_title = util.splitFileNameSuffix(filename)
-            end
-        end
+        local book_title = self.ui.doc_props and self.ui.doc_props.display_title or _("Wikipedia lookup")
         wikipedia_history:addTableItem("wikipedia_history", {
             book_title = book_title,
             time = os.time(),
diff --git a/frontend/apps/reader/readerui.lua b/frontend/apps/reader/readerui.lua
index 3bec5a614..cef2d032f 100644
--- a/frontend/apps/reader/readerui.lua
+++ b/frontend/apps/reader/readerui.lua
@@ -457,6 +457,8 @@ function ReaderUI:init()
     -- (so that filemanager can use it from sideCar file to display
     -- Book information).
     self.doc_settings:saveSetting("doc_props", self.document:getProps())
+    -- And have an extended and customized copy in memory for quick access.
+    self.doc_props = FileManagerBookInfo.getDocProps(self)
 
     -- Set "reading" status if there is no status.
     local summary = self.doc_settings:readSetting("summary")
@@ -656,15 +658,8 @@ function ReaderUI:doShowReader(file, provider, seamless)
         document = document,
     }
 
-    local title = reader.doc_settings:readSetting("doc_props").title
-
-    if title ~= "" then
-        Screen:setWindowTitle(title)
-    else
-        local _, filename = util.splitFilePathName(file)
-        Screen:setWindowTitle(filename)
-    end
-    Device:notifyBookState(title, document)
+    Screen:setWindowTitle(reader.doc_props.display_title)
+    Device:notifyBookState(reader.doc_props.display_title, document)
 
     -- This is mostly for the few callers that bypass the coroutine shenanigans and call doShowReader directly,
     -- instead of showReader...
diff --git a/frontend/document/credocument.lua b/frontend/document/credocument.lua
index 48ab86bff..a3bc0d1c2 100644
--- a/frontend/document/credocument.lua
+++ b/frontend/document/credocument.lua
@@ -213,6 +213,10 @@ function CreDocument:getDocumentFormat()
     return self._document:getDocumentFormat()
 end
 
+function CreDocument:getDocumentProps()
+    return self._document:getDocumentProps()
+end
+
 function CreDocument:setupDefaultView()
     if self.loaded then
         -- Don't apply defaults if the document has already been loaded
diff --git a/frontend/document/djvudocument.lua b/frontend/document/djvudocument.lua
index 84bdc84a4..dad444f1d 100644
--- a/frontend/document/djvudocument.lua
+++ b/frontend/document/djvudocument.lua
@@ -51,23 +51,6 @@ function DjvuDocument:updateColorRendering()
     end
 end
 
-function DjvuDocument:getProps()
-    local props = self._document:getMetadata()
-    local _, _, docname = self.file:find(".*/(.*)")
-    docname = docname or self.file
-
-    -- According to djvused(1), the convention is that
-    -- BibTex keys are always lowercase and DocInfo capitalized
-    props.title = props.title or props.Title or docname:match("(.*)%.")
-    props.authors = props.author or props.Author
-    props.series = props.series or props.Series
-    props.language = props.language or props.Language
-    props.keywords = props.keywords or props.Keywords
-    props.description = props.description or props.Description
-
-    return props
-end
-
 function DjvuDocument:comparePositions(pos1, pos2)
     return self.koptinterface:comparePositions(self, pos1, pos2)
 end
diff --git a/frontend/document/document.lua b/frontend/document/document.lua
index 785ded438..a65c9625b 100644
--- a/frontend/document/document.lua
+++ b/frontend/document/document.lua
@@ -207,8 +207,51 @@ function Document:getNativePageDimensions(pageno)
     return page_size
 end
 
-function Document:getProps()
-    return self._document:getDocumentProps()
+function Document:getDocumentProps()
+    -- pdfdocument, djvudocument
+    return self._document:getMetadata()
+    -- credocument, picdocument - overridden by a document implementation
+end
+
+function Document:getProps(cached_doc_metadata)
+    local function makeNilIfEmpty(str)
+        if str == "" then
+            return nil
+        end
+        return str
+    end
+    local props = cached_doc_metadata or self:getDocumentProps()
+    local title = makeNilIfEmpty(props.title or props.Title)
+    local authors = makeNilIfEmpty(props.authors or props.author or props.Author)
+    local series = makeNilIfEmpty(props.series or props.Series)
+    local series_index
+    if series and string.find(series, "#") then
+        -- If there's a series index in there, split it off to series_index, and only store the name in series.
+        -- This property is currently only set by:
+        --   * DjVu, for which I couldn't find a real standard for metadata fields
+        --     (we currently use Series for this field, c.f., https://exiftool.org/TagNames/DjVu.html).
+        --   * CRe, which could offer us a split getSeriesName & getSeriesNumber...
+        --     except getSeriesNumber does an atoi, so it'd murder decimal values.
+        --     So, instead, parse how it formats the whole thing as a string ;).
+        local series_name
+        series_name, series_index = series:match("(.*) #(%d+%.?%d-)$")
+        if series_index then
+            series = series_name
+            series_index = tonumber(series_index)
+        end
+    end
+    local language = makeNilIfEmpty(props.language or props.Language)
+    local keywords = makeNilIfEmpty(props.keywords or props.Keywords)
+    local description = makeNilIfEmpty(props.description or props.Description or props.subject)
+    return {
+        title        = title,
+        authors      = authors,
+        series       = series,
+        series_index = series_index,
+        language     = language,
+        keywords     = keywords,
+        description  = description,
+    }
 end
 
 function Document:_readMetadata()
diff --git a/frontend/document/pdfdocument.lua b/frontend/document/pdfdocument.lua
index 63b7dfb35..aeed635ef 100644
--- a/frontend/document/pdfdocument.lua
+++ b/frontend/document/pdfdocument.lua
@@ -313,24 +313,6 @@ function PdfDocument:close()
     Document.close(self)
 end
 
-function PdfDocument:getProps()
-    local props = self._document:getMetadata()
-    if props.title == "" then
-        local startPos = util.lastIndexOf(self.file, "%/")
-        if startPos > 0  then
-            props.title = string.sub(self.file, startPos + 1, -5) --remove extension .pdf
-        else
-            props.title = string.sub(self.file, 0, -5)
-        end
-    end
-    props.authors = props.author
-    props.series = ""
-    props.language = ""
-    props.keywords = props.keywords
-    props.description = props.subject
-    return props
-end
-
 function PdfDocument:getLinkFromPosition(pageno, pos)
     return self.koptinterface:getLinkFromPosition(self, pageno, pos)
 end
diff --git a/frontend/document/picdocument.lua b/frontend/document/picdocument.lua
index a55c25901..7c09ff7fc 100644
--- a/frontend/document/picdocument.lua
+++ b/frontend/document/picdocument.lua
@@ -42,12 +42,8 @@ function PicDocument:getUsedBBox(pageno)
     return { x0 = 0, y0 = 0, x1 = self._document.width, y1 = self._document.height }
 end
 
-function PicDocument:getProps()
-    local _, _, docname = self.file:find(".*/(.*)")
-    docname = docname or self.file
-    return {
-        title = docname:match("(.*)%."),
-    }
+function PicDocument:getDocumentProps()
+    return {}
 end
 
 function PicDocument:getCoverPageImage()
diff --git a/frontend/languagesupport.lua b/frontend/languagesupport.lua
index ce237905a..a4886ad64 100644
--- a/frontend/languagesupport.lua
+++ b/frontend/languagesupport.lua
@@ -194,7 +194,7 @@ function LanguageSupport:improveWordSelection(selection)
         return
     end
 
-    local language_code = self.document:getProps().language or "unknown"
+    local language_code = self.ui.doc_props.language or "unknown"
     logger.dbg("language support: improving", language_code, "selection", selection)
 
     -- Rather than requiring each language plugin to use document: methods
@@ -250,7 +250,7 @@ end
 function LanguageSupport:extraDictionaryFormCandidates(text)
     if not self:hasActiveLanguagePlugins() then return end -- nothing to do
 
-    local language_code = self.document and self.document:getProps().language or "unknown"
+    local language_code = (self.ui.doc_props and self.ui.doc_props.language) or "unknown"
     logger.dbg("language support: convert", text, "to dictionary form (marked as", language_code..")")
 
     return self:_findAndCallPlugin(
diff --git a/frontend/ui/screensaver.lua b/frontend/ui/screensaver.lua
index bfa63d885..b87f888c8 100644
--- a/frontend/ui/screensaver.lua
+++ b/frontend/ui/screensaver.lua
@@ -154,6 +154,7 @@ function Screensaver:expandSpecial(message, fallback)
     local time_left_chapter = _("N/A")
     local time_left_document = _("N/A")
     local batt_lvl = _("N/A")
+    local props
 
     local ReaderUI = require("apps/reader/readerui")
     local ui = ReaderUI.instance
@@ -173,12 +174,7 @@ function Screensaver:expandSpecial(message, fallback)
             time_left_document = self:_calcAverageTimeForPages(doc:getTotalPagesLeft(currentpage))
         end
         percent = Math.round((currentpage * 100) / totalpages)
-        local props = doc:getProps()
-        if props then
-            title = props.title and props.title ~= "" and props.title or title
-            authors = props.authors and props.authors ~= "" and props.authors or authors
-            series = props.series and props.series ~= "" and props.series or series
-        end
+        props = ui.doc_props
     elseif DocSettings:hasSidecarFile(lastfile) then
         -- If there's no ReaderUI instance, but the file has sidecar data, use that
         local doc_settings = DocSettings:open(lastfile)
@@ -186,14 +182,21 @@ function Screensaver:expandSpecial(message, fallback)
         percent = doc_settings:readSetting("percent_finished") or percent
         currentpage = Math.round(percent * totalpages)
         percent = Math.round(percent * 100)
-        local doc_props = doc_settings:readSetting("doc_props")
-        if doc_props then
-            title = doc_props.title and doc_props.title ~= "" and doc_props.title or title
-            authors = doc_props.authors and doc_props.authors ~= "" and doc_props.authors or authors
-            series = doc_props.series and doc_props.series ~= "" and doc_props.series or series
-        end
+        props = FileManagerBookInfo.customizeProps(doc_settings:readSetting("doc_props"), lastfile)
         -- Unable to set time_left_chapter and time_left_document without ReaderUI, so leave N/A
     end
+    if props then
+        title = props.display_title
+        if props.authors then
+            authors = props.authors
+        end
+        if props.series then
+            series = props.series
+            if props.series_index then
+                series = series .. " #" .. props.series_index
+            end
+        end
+    end
     if Device:hasBattery() then
         local powerd = Device:getPowerDevice()
         if Device:hasAuxBattery() and powerd:isAuxBatteryConnected() then
@@ -644,7 +647,7 @@ function Screensaver:show()
         local doc_settings = ui.doc_settings
         widget = BookStatusWidget:new{
             thumbnail = FileManagerBookInfo:getCoverImage(doc),
-            props = doc:getProps(),
+            props = ui.doc_props,
             document = doc,
             settings = doc_settings,
             ui = ui,
diff --git a/frontend/ui/translator.lua b/frontend/ui/translator.lua
index 1a951787a..527fd443e 100644
--- a/frontend/ui/translator.lua
+++ b/frontend/ui/translator.lua
@@ -308,14 +308,10 @@ end
 
 function Translator:getDocumentLanguage()
     local ui = require("apps/reader/readerui").instance
-    if not ui or not ui.document then
-        return
-    end
-    local props = ui.document:getProps()
-    if not props or not props.language or props.language == "" then
+    local lang = ui and ui.doc_props and ui.doc_props.language
+    if not lang then
         return
     end
-    local lang = props.language
     lang = lang:match("(.*)-") or lang
     lang = lang:lower()
     local name, supported = self:getLanguageName(lang, "")
diff --git a/frontend/ui/widget/bookstatuswidget.lua b/frontend/ui/widget/bookstatuswidget.lua
index c28f02724..0c4dbc90c 100644
--- a/frontend/ui/widget/bookstatuswidget.lua
+++ b/frontend/ui/widget/bookstatuswidget.lua
@@ -299,16 +299,13 @@ function BookStatusWidget:genBookInfoGroup()
 
     -- Get a chance to have title and authors rendered with alternate
     -- glyphs for the book language
-    local lang = nil
-    if self.props.language and self.props.language ~= "" then
-        lang = self.props.language
-    end
+    local lang = self.props.language
     -- title
     local book_meta_info_group = VerticalGroup:new{
         align = "center",
         VerticalSpan:new{ width = height * 0.2 },
         TextBoxWidget:new{
-            text = self.props.title,
+            text = self.props.display_title,
             lang = lang,
             width = width,
             face = self.medium_font_face,
diff --git a/plugins/coverbrowser.koplugin/bookinfomanager.lua b/plugins/coverbrowser.koplugin/bookinfomanager.lua
index 6be7246cc..d8205a5ee 100644
--- a/plugins/coverbrowser.koplugin/bookinfomanager.lua
+++ b/plugins/coverbrowser.koplugin/bookinfomanager.lua
@@ -492,37 +492,13 @@ function BookInfoManager:extractBookInfo(filepath, cover_specs)
         end
         if loaded then
             dbrow.pages = pages
-            local props = document:getProps()
+            local props = FileManagerBookInfo.customizeProps(document:getProps(), filepath)
             if next(props) then -- there's at least one item
                 dbrow.has_meta = 'Y'
             end
-            if props.title and props.title ~= "" then dbrow.title = props.title end
-            if props.authors and props.authors ~= "" then dbrow.authors = props.authors end
-            if props.series and props.series ~= "" then
-                -- NOTE: If there's a series index in there, split it off to series_index, and only store the name in series.
-                --       This property is currently only set by:
-                --         * DjVu, for which I couldn't find a real standard for metadata fields
-                --           (we currently use Series for this field, c.f., https://exiftool.org/TagNames/DjVu.html).
-                --         * CRe, which could offer us a split getSeriesName & getSeriesNumber...
-                --           except getSeriesNumber does an atoi, so it'd murder decimal values.
-                --           So, instead, parse how it formats the whole thing as a string ;).
-                if string.find(props.series, "#") then
-                    dbrow.series, dbrow.series_index = props.series:match("(.*) #(%d+%.?%d-)$")
-                    if dbrow.series_index then
-                        -- We're inserting via a bind method, so make sure we feed it a Lua number, because it's a REAL in the db.
-                        dbrow.series_index = tonumber(dbrow.series_index)
-                    else
-                        -- If the index pattern didn't match (e.g., nothing after the octothorp, or a string),
-                        -- restore the full thing as the series name.
-                        dbrow.series = props.series
-                    end
-                else
-                    dbrow.series = props.series
-                end
+            for k, v in pairs(props) do
+                dbrow[k] = v
             end
-            if props.language and props.language ~= "" then dbrow.language = props.language end
-            if props.keywords and props.keywords ~= "" then dbrow.keywords = props.keywords end
-            if props.description and props.description ~= "" then dbrow.description = props.description end
             if cover_specs then
                 local spec_sizetag = cover_specs.sizetag
                 local spec_max_cover_w = cover_specs.max_cover_w
diff --git a/plugins/statistics.koplugin/main.lua b/plugins/statistics.koplugin/main.lua
index bdcae3526..4b4cbb56f 100644
--- a/plugins/statistics.koplugin/main.lua
+++ b/plugins/statistics.koplugin/main.lua
@@ -174,23 +174,18 @@ function ReaderStatistics:initData()
     if not self.data then
         self.data = { performance_in_pages= {} }
     end
-    local book_properties = self:getBookProperties()
-    self.data.title = book_properties.title
-    if self.data.title == nil or self.data.title == "" then
-        self.data.title = self.document.file:match("^.+/(.+)$")
-    end
-    self.data.authors = book_properties.authors
-    if self.data.authors == nil or self.data.authors == "" then
-        self.data.authors = "N/A"
-    end
-    self.data.language = book_properties.language
-    if self.data.language == nil or self.data.language == "" then
-        self.data.language = "N/A"
-    end
-    self.data.series = book_properties.series
-    if self.data.series == nil or self.data.series == "" then
-        self.data.series = "N/A"
+    local book_properties = self.ui.doc_props
+    self.data.title = book_properties.display_title
+    self.data.authors = book_properties.authors or "N/A"
+    self.data.language = book_properties.language or "N/A"
+    local series
+    if book_properties.series then
+        series = book_properties.series
+        if book_properties.series_index then
+            series = series .. " #" .. book_properties.series_index
+        end
     end
+    self.data.series = series or "N/A"
 
     self.data.pages = self.view.document:getPageCount()
     if not self.data.md5 then
@@ -921,15 +916,6 @@ function ReaderStatistics:getPageTimeTotalStats(id_book)
     return total_pages, total_time
 end
 
-function ReaderStatistics:getBookProperties()
-    local props = self.view.document:getProps()
-    if props.title == "No document" or props.title == "" then
-        --- @fixme Sometimes crengine returns "No document", try one more time.
-        props = self.view.document:getProps()
-    end
-    return props
-end
-
 function ReaderStatistics:getStatisticEnabledMenuItem()
     return {
         text = _("Enabled"),
@@ -2691,7 +2677,7 @@ function ReaderStatistics:onReadingResumed()
 end
 
 function ReaderStatistics:onReadSettings(config)
-    self.data = config.data.stats or {}
+    self.data = config:readSetting("stats", {})
 end
 
 function ReaderStatistics:onReaderReady()
diff --git a/plugins/vocabbuilder.koplugin/main.lua b/plugins/vocabbuilder.koplugin/main.lua
index 0d181f306..b9e6be9bf 100644
--- a/plugins/vocabbuilder.koplugin/main.lua
+++ b/plugins/vocabbuilder.koplugin/main.lua
@@ -77,14 +77,7 @@ local function resetButtonOnLookupWindow()
                 text = _("Add to vocabulary builder"),
                 font_bold = false,
                 callback = function()
-                    local book_title = obj.ui.doc_settings and obj.ui.doc_settings:readSetting("doc_props").title or _("Dictionary lookup")
-                    if book_title == "" then -- no or empty metadata title
-                        if obj.ui.document and obj.ui.document.file then
-                            local util = require("util")
-                            local directory, filename = util.splitFilePathName(obj.ui.document.file) -- luacheck: no unused
-                            book_title = util.splitFileNameSuffix(filename)
-                        end
-                    end
+                    local book_title = obj.ui.doc_props.display_title or _("Dictionary lookup")
                     obj.ui:handleEvent(Event:new("WordLookedUp", obj.word, book_title, true)) -- is_manual: true
                     local button = obj.button_table.button_by_id["vocabulary"]
                     if button then
diff --git a/tools/wbuilder.lua b/tools/wbuilder.lua
index a8a5b7595..7f1105b2f 100755
--- a/tools/wbuilder.lua
+++ b/tools/wbuilder.lua
@@ -390,7 +390,7 @@ function testBookStatus()
 
     local status_page = require("ui/widget/bookstatuswidget"):new {
         thumbnail = doc:getCoverPageImage(),
-        props = doc:getProps(),
+        props = reader.doc_props,
         document = doc,
         ui = reader,
     }