How to make a TOC page?

[violent23]

How do I add the page in the beginnig of the book with the blue text that links to each chapter? Chapter one, Chapter two... etc...

I have split the chapters and have a heading 2 for each chapter, all chapters show in TOC editor. I just need to know how to make the chapter summary page link to the chapters

Please help.

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by violent23

How do I add the page in the beginnig of the book with the blue text that links to each chapter? Chapter one, Chapter two... etc...

I have split the chapters and have a heading 2 for each chapter, all chapters show in TOC editor. I just need to know how to make the chapter summary page link to the chapters

Please help.

Epub documents do not normally display the TOC at the front of the book like a paper book does. Instead the readers have a feature to access the TOC which is stored in a different file. This way it can be accessed without having to jump back to the beginning of the book and can support features such as multiple level TOC's. If you want a paper book style TOC in the front of your book you must create it manually as a separate page and then put href hyperlinks in all of the places like you would in standard HTML files. Not all readers support hyperlink jumping within a file and no reader supports jumping to a toc page built in this fashion. The user would have to jump back to a set page or page 1 and then move forward to the page. Any changes will have to be made manually to this page.

Dale

[violent23]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

Epub documents do not normally display the TOC at the front of the book like a paper book does. Instead the readers have a feature to access the TOC which is stored in a different file. This way it can be accessed without having to jump back to the beginning of the book and can support features such as multiple level TOC's. If you want a paper book style TOC in the front of your book you must create it manually as a separate page and then put href hyperlinks in all of the places like you would in standard HTML files. Not all readers support hyperlink jumping within a file and no reader supports jumping to a toc page built in this fashion. The user would have to jump back to a set page or page 1 and then move forward to the page. Any changes will have to be made manually to this page.

Dale

That is what I was afraid of. Guess I will be learning html after all. Thanks for the info, I didn't know about the TOC as a different file. That is helpfull.

[Hitch]

Violent23:

I think you've misunderstood what DaleDe has told you. The TOC generated by Sigil *will* show up in virtually any reader; it's just not a static "page" that sits in the front of the book, like a regular chapter "page." When a user uses the "TOC" button on his reader, or pushes the TOC link in, say, iBooks, the Sigil-generated TOC will show up beautifully, with links to the chapter content.

I really think you should save the ePUB you're working on and sideload it to your reader, so you may see how it works--I think it will save you some trouble, if I understand what you're saying or thinking.

HTH,
Hitch

[violent23]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Violent23:

I think you've misunderstood what DaleDe has told you. The TOC generated by Sigil *will* show up in virtually any reader; it's just not a static "page" that sits in the front of the book, like a regular chapter "page." When a user uses the "TOC" button on his reader, or pushes the TOC link in, say, iBooks, the Sigil-generated TOC will show up beautifully, with links to the chapter content.

I really think you should save the ePUB you're working on and sideload it to your reader, so you may see how it works--I think it will save you some trouble, if I understand what you're saying or thinking.

HTH,
Hitch

I understood what DaleDe said. My goal is to make a "static" toc in the beginning of the book, as it seems I need to learn html to do it. I have since loaded the book I was working on and it does indeed show the toc I made beautifully on my Kindle. The Kindle having no dedicated toc button and having to make 3 button presses to access it, which sucks.
I just wish we had a program that edited epub or mobi that could make links for chapters instead of having to unzip the epub and load into an html editor to make the links.

[Hitch]

@violent23:

Seriously, it's the most basic HTML; nothing more than anchor links to named tags. You'll find it's very easy once you've done it once.

Personally, I find static TOC's tedious in an ebook, and annoying to use. Who wants to have to thumb or jump back to a static TOC page, that isn't easy to find (since it's not linked to the reader's logical TOC "button"), and then click through? It's not like you'd have a "static html HERE" link on every "page," or screen, to make it easy to find; I'd much rather have the logical TOC.

The only program I can think of that automagically makes TOC's is Word--and even then, you still have to go through and identify the headers and other sections, etc., that you want in your TOC via their styles OR use the outline function. I don't believe that there is any program anywhere that makes TOC's for html documents, whether for e-readers, ebooks or otherwise.

Hitch

[neonbible]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Violent23:

I think you've misunderstood what DaleDe has told you. The TOC generated by Sigil *will* show up in virtually any reader; it's just not a static "page" that sits in the front of the book, like a regular chapter "page." When a user uses the "TOC" button on his reader, or pushes the TOC link in, say, iBooks, the Sigil-generated TOC will show up beautifully, with links to the chapter content.

I really think you should save the ePUB you're working on and sideload it to your reader, so you may see how it works--I think it will save you some trouble, if I understand what you're saying or thinking.

HTH,
Hitch

Just out of interest, which eBook readers need the TOC as an actual page? I always take this page out and let Sigil build it on header tags. Works great on both Kindle and iBooks.

[jhempel24]

Can Sigil automatically create headers from key styles or words? I've been trying to make some TOC's for the ePubs, rather than static pages, and when there is a ton of chapters, it's annoying to click on each page and highlight and select a header.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by jhempel24

Can Sigil automatically create headers from key styles or words? I've been trying to make some TOC's for the ePubs, rather than static pages, and when there is a ton of chapters, it's annoying to click on each page and highlight and select a header.

Maybe in Code View

If you can find a pattern to write a REGEX search against and replace term and change the current Tags wrapping the Chapter heading with the "h# tags.
Unfortunately, not all ( about 80% are) are single pass, simple , I recently did a 150 chapter book that had roman numerals in a single pass ("Chapter XI").

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by neonbible

Just out of interest, which eBook readers need the TOC as an actual page? I always take this page out and let Sigil build it on header tags. Works great on both Kindle and iBooks.

Kindle requires an html TOC to link to in the guide, or the in-book TOC via the menu won't work properly. It's a PITA and it is why you can't just convert an epub->Kindle through KindleGen.

HTH,

Hitch

[jhempel24]

Originally Posted by theducks

Maybe in Code View

If you can find a pattern to write a REGEX search against and replace term and change the current Tags wrapping the Chapter heading with the "h# tags.
Unfortunately, not all ( about 80% are) are single pass, simple , I recently did a 150 chapter book that had roman numerals in a single pass ("Chapter XI").

Thanks, I'll give it a shot!!

[KLUTCH]

If you would put your NCX file into pastebin we can generate an HTML page for you that you can add to your book.

---
stunjelly.com
ebook formatting and repairs

[thrawn_aj]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Kindle requires an html TOC to link to in the guide, or the in-book TOC via the menu won't work properly. It's a PITA and it is why you can't just convert an epub->Kindle through KindleGen.

HTH,

Hitch

Kindle books (which I can read in my mobipocket reader on a Palm device) do need these kinds of TOCs, but Calibre automatically generates (a rather good-looking) one when I convert from ePUB to MOBI by using the ePUB's built in TOC (if it has one).

BY the way, to the OP - the latest version of Calibre (0.7.27) has a feature to convert TO html (from anything). If you want to get a basic TOC, you might just steal the main framework from the generated html and just change some links programmatically (or by hand).

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by thrawn_aj

Kindle books (which I can read in my mobipocket reader on a Palm device) do need these kinds of TOCs, but Calibre automatically generates (a rather good-looking) one when I convert from ePUB to MOBI by using the ePUB's built in TOC (if it has one).

BY the way, to the OP - the latest version of Calibre (0.7.27) has a feature to convert TO html (from anything). If you want to get a basic TOC, you might just steal the main framework from the generated html and just change some links programmatically (or by hand).

Yes, thrawn_aj:

I know that Calibre can and does generate an html toc when you convert from ePUB to mobi; but that first-generation mobi isn't saleable on Amazon, as Calibre's mobi's don't leave enough room in the headers for K4PC's second layer of encryption. And the html that Calibre generates is fine, but it is rather crowded with Calibre styles. It could be used, though, no two ways about it.

As I said somewhere--in this thread?--we're putting together a clip in-house to convert toc.ncx to an html toc w/appropriate entries in the spine and guide to facilitate clean conversion w/o all the CSS flattening. (Hopefully. ;-))

Hitch

[thrawn_aj]

Originally Posted by Hitch

Yes, thrawn_aj:

I know that Calibre can and does generate an html toc when you convert from ePUB to mobi; but that first-generation mobi isn't saleable on Amazon, as Calibre's mobi's don't leave enough room in the headers for K4PC's second layer of encryption.

Ah, I understand now. Thanks - handy info to know.