TOC Shortcut?

runtmms · 11-12-2010, 03:54 PM

I've looked to no avail... Is there a K3 keyboard shortcut to get to the table of contents? I have a book where I refer back to the TOC frequently, and it always feels like a lot of navigation to get there.

Thanks, Merlynn

tomsem · 11-12-2010, 04:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by runtmms

I've looked to no avail... Is there a K3 keyboard shortcut to get to the table of contents? I have a book where I refer back to the TOC frequently, and it always feels like a lot of navigation to get there.

Thanks, Merlynn

I share your observation, and no, there is no shortcut. This is something most other ereaders are better at: they have a dedicated button to go to TOC. And the TOC itself (in epub format) is a separate structure that you can browse without losing your place. The hyperlinked TOC we have is really inefficient especially with technical books, where the TOC entries can run over dozens of pages.

I suggest sending a note to 'kindle-feedback@amazon.com'

JeremyR · 11-12-2010, 04:43 PM

The lack of this puzzled me, until I noticed how many books from Amazon don't even have a TOC...

TheKindleWorm · 11-13-2010, 11:28 AM

It would be nice to get a shortcut to the table of contents instead of Menu / Go To / Table of Contents

But navigating back to where you were originally reading is easy because it's just a case of pressing the back button (perhaps more than once if you've clicked onto a different chapter as well)

The Back button is my friend - sometimes while reading I'll hit the Home button by mistake but pressing back takes me straight back to where I was reading.

OakIris · 11-13-2010, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeremyR

The lack of this puzzled me, until I noticed how many books from Amazon don't even have a TOC...

Hmmm, I think you have a good point there, JeremyR. It would be nice to have a Kindle shortcut to the TOC - and it would be nice if TOCs would be routinely included for Kindle eBooks (that benefit from them) in the first place!

Holly

jswinden · 11-13-2010, 01:52 PM

The Sony Readers do not have a dedicated TOC button either.

Whether a book has a TOC is totally under the control of the publisher. I suspect most publishers of ebooks are still very clueless to the features they can implement in ebooks, like linkable TOCs. The big name publishers are still stuck in the pre-digital world where typesetting was the standard.

TenaciousBadger · 11-14-2010, 03:13 AM

for books bought from amazon, there might be an option, namely while you're reading and you want to go back to the TOC press Menu, select Go To and a little window opens where you have several options: location, cover, beginning and contents, if i'm not mistaken.
however, books you convert from other sources don't have this possibility.
books from amazon also allow you to jump from chapter to chapter using the 5-way. i've tried to find how to do that with non-amazon books but so far no luck.

HarryT · 11-14-2010, 03:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TenaciousBadger

for books bought from amazon, there might be an option, namely while you're reading and you want to go back to the TOC press Menu, select Go To and a little window opens where you have several options: location, cover, beginning and contents, if i'm not mistaken.
however, books you convert from other sources don't have this possibility.

This is really not true, I'm afraid. Any book can have a TOC - it simply requires a "toc" entry in the "Guide" section of the OPF. All the Mobi books that I create, for example, have working TOCs.

ATDrake · 11-14-2010, 03:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TenaciousBadger

books from amazon also allow you to jump from chapter to chapter using the 5-way. i've tried to find how to do that with non-amazon books but so far no luck.

That's done via the NCX in the source files, which is dependent upon the competence of the ebook-producer to include and nothing particularly limited to Amazon provenance.

Any decent ePub will have one already and convert with its chapter marks usable on Kindle. For non-DRM Mobi books you can unpack and add one yourself.

JeremyR · 11-14-2010, 03:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TenaciousBadger

for books bought from amazon, there might be an option, namely while you're reading and you want to go back to the TOC press Menu, select Go To and a little window opens where you have several options: location, cover, beginning and contents, if i'm not mistaken.
however, books you convert from other sources don't have this possibility.

Yeah, but I think there should really be a dedicated button for that function (which I think the OP was saying as well).

If you do it a lot, it gets old having to press menu, then goto , then move it over to TOC and press enter.

Maybe they didn't think there was room? (They could map the function maybe to Shift+Menu?)

TenaciousBadger · 11-14-2010, 08:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

This is really not true, I'm afraid. Any book can have a TOC - it simply requires a "toc" entry in the "Guide" section of the OPF. All the Mobi books that I create, for example, have working TOCs.

and how can i create such TOC in the opf? i've been trying to work it out but any instructions have really left me chasing my tail.

HarryT · 11-14-2010, 08:58 AM

Open the OPF file in Mobi Creator. Go to the "Guide" page, and add an entry as follows:

Title: Table of Contents
Type: toc
Filename: mybook.html#toc

where the last entry is the address of wherever in your book you've put the TOC. In my case, I'd an an anchor in my book of the form:

<a name="toc"></a>

to mark the position.

runtmms · 11-14-2010, 05:36 PM

Thanks for the responses. It just seems that if Alt-B can add a bookmark, Alt-T should be able to take you to the TOC. I did send email to Kindle-Feedback. They confirmed there was no shortcut and said they'd pass the suggestion along.

BTW HarryT puts together beautifully formatted books, I've been enjoying some of the public domain gems he made available here. Thanks.

-M

11-12-2010, 03:54 PM	#1
runtmms Connoisseur Posts: 70 Karma: 509194 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: Kindle 3 WiFi, Kindle Fire HD 8.9, Google Nexus 4	TOC Shortcut? I've looked to no avail... Is there a K3 keyboard shortcut to get to the table of contents? I have a book where I refer back to the TOC frequently, and it always feels like a lot of navigation to get there. Thanks, Merlynn

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11-12-2010, 04:43 PM	#3
JeremyR Guru Posts: 973 Karma: 2458402 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: St. Louis Device: Kindle Keyboard, Nook HD+	The lack of this puzzled me, until I noticed how many books from Amazon don't even have a TOC...

11-13-2010, 11:28 AM	#4
TheKindleWorm Guru Posts: 860 Karma: 177868 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: East Anglia UK Device: Kindle 3G, iPhone 3G, iPod 4G, PB 360, Sony 600 sold, Kindle 2i sold	It would be nice to get a shortcut to the table of contents instead of Menu / Go To / Table of Contents But navigating back to where you were originally reading is easy because it's just a case of pressing the back button (perhaps more than once if you've clicked onto a different chapter as well) The Back button is my friend - sometimes while reading I'll hit the Home button by mistake but pressing back takes me straight back to where I was reading.

11-13-2010, 01:52 PM	#6
jswinden Nameless Being	The Sony Readers do not have a dedicated TOC button either. Whether a book has a TOC is totally under the control of the publisher. I suspect most publishers of ebooks are still very clueless to the features they can implement in ebooks, like linkable TOCs. The big name publishers are still stuck in the pre-digital world where typesetting was the standard.

11-14-2010, 03:13 AM	#7
TenaciousBadger Mrawr? Posts: 1,109 Karma: 15039064 Join Date: Aug 2010 Device: kindle 3 wifi	for books bought from amazon, there might be an option, namely while you're reading and you want to go back to the TOC press Menu, select Go To and a little window opens where you have several options: location, cover, beginning and contents, if i'm not mistaken. however, books you convert from other sources don't have this possibility. books from amazon also allow you to jump from chapter to chapter using the 5-way. i've tried to find how to do that with non-amazon books but so far no luck.

11-14-2010, 08:58 AM	#12
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Open the OPF file in Mobi Creator. Go to the "Guide" page, and add an entry as follows: Title: Table of Contents Type: toc Filename: mybook.html#toc where the last entry is the address of wherever in your book you've put the TOC. In my case, I'd an an anchor in my book of the form: <a name="toc"></a> to mark the position.

11-14-2010, 05:36 PM	#13
runtmms Connoisseur Posts: 70 Karma: 509194 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: Kindle 3 WiFi, Kindle Fire HD 8.9, Google Nexus 4	Thanks for the responses. It just seems that if Alt-B can add a bookmark, Alt-T should be able to take you to the TOC. I did send email to Kindle-Feedback. They confirmed there was no shortcut and said they'd pass the suggestion along. BTW HarryT puts together beautifully formatted books, I've been enjoying some of the public domain gems he made available here. Thanks. -M

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