Sigil to Kindlegen -- No Table of Contents

[Bas]

Many Thanks - won't be able to do it till tomorrow as I look after 2 boys for a few hours.
Get onto it first thing.
Looks like a disaster coming as I added all my tables and a load more in Sigil.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by Bas

Many thanks again - I did run my original document through notepad and I'v now run it ok through threepress epub check plus Calibre where it loads ok including TOC.
I think all I need to do now is make the links between the index menu plus html pages using the info kindly supplied by theducks.
I'm a bit nervous of touching the CSS.toc but needs must.
I wouldn't have been able to get this far without all your help. Thanks

Apols - thought it didn't go

CSS.TOC No such beast.

<somename>.NCX is the overall master (including the TOC) of the EPUB

An 'Inline TOC' is just another page in the book.

[Fabe]

I've been following all the advice here intently. Thanks. I've also been wrangling mobi/ToC for Kindle in Calibre at the same time.

I generated only two levels of ToC in the mobi file. However, I think I've solved this.
In Calibre / Convert Books / Table of Contents, I used the wizards to create the correct syntax for the Toc.

My concern was that I have 4 levels and Calibre offers 3. Well, it turned out okay. All four of my ToC levels appeared in the mobi file when viewed in Kindle Previewer.

My mind is swimming. I need to go for a walk - it's lunch time. When I come back I shall try this all again and report my results.

Thanks to one and all. - Fabe

[Whackatagin]

Nice one Fabe

I would usually have all that sorted before going into Calibre, I completely forgot about the Calibre options. I hope it comes off gremlin free. If you do get any hic-ups you might try epub to epub to build your multi-level TOC first and then use that file for conversion to mobi.

I'm a few time zones ahead of you, so I'm calling it a night. I look forward to hearing how you get on...Good Luck!!!

[Fabe]

I think my trials are over. My ToC in mobi is coming out fine per the procedure described above.

I created a mobi file in Calibre and then uploaded it to Amazon. I then saved the newly uploaded and converted file back to my computer and opened it in Kindle Previewer. The ToC was fine.

My only regret is that the ToC is not collapsable. Mine runs to 5 pages at the smallest text setting.

I have a question out in the Apple forums asking if iBooks generates a ToC automatically or not. This is a new area for me.

Thanks everyone. - Fabe

[Bas]

Hi Whakatagin
I'v brought the original epub into Sigil and it doesn't have a Table of Contents in the bottom left corner.
Maybe because I created the TOC and converted it to epub in QuarkXpress before going to Sigil?

[Bas]

Come to conclusion that going via Quark was a bad idea - so I'v taken my original word doc and converted it to HTML via Save as Web Page Filtered then saved as epub in Sigil.
But it won't open in Kindlegen.
Would it be because I'v not done metadata?
Any help would be appreciated.

[DiapDealer]

But it won't open in Kindlegen.
Would it be because I'v not done metadata?
Any help would be appreciated.

I believe Kindlegen needs at least the title, author, and language metadata set before it will proceed.

[Bas]

Thanks Diap
I'v now used a clean Word doc rather than my Quark and converted it on Calibre but on Kindle it is doing the same as my Quark input eg it says a contents table has not been created.
Mystery is that my Sigil doesn't seem to show the "Switch to table of contents in the bottom left corner to hit general TOC form" that Whakatagin kindly mentioned?

[Bas]

ps I input the meta data you mentioned and it did the trick getting me into Kindle Thanks

[Bas]

Originally Posted by theducks

CSS.TOC No such beast.

<somename>.NCX is the overall master (including the TOC) of the EPUB

An 'Inline TOC' is just another page in the book.

TheDucks
Wondered if you have a feel for how I create the inline page for my inline content?

[theducks]

Originally Posted by Bas

TheDucks
Wondered if you have a feel for how I create the inline page for my inline content?

Calibre or by hand are the only way I know of.
The first runs a risk of other changes.


If the inline TOC does not need to be active (linked), you could cut n paste the code from the NCX and edit-out/Replace the tags with XHTML

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by Bas

Yes when I click the NCX and get up the menu and click it does jump ok but when I click the button next to it it says I'm missing a table of contents.
Don't you have to have a TOC table of contents plus hypelinking the index at the beginning of the book? A lot of books have that.

You're getting that message because, in addition to the ncx that is required in mobi, you do not have an inline TOC (a typed, linked Table of Contents) that is linked via the GUIDE. In Sigil, the easy way to resolve the Guide is to use Semantics for the "typed" TOC, and then when you run that ePUB through KindleGen, (or Calibre) the Guide will be properly set up.

If, however, you don't want to take that extra step and type your own, you can either use epubfixer (I find it very unintuitive, myself, and have abandoned it) or simply use Calibre to make a "typed" inline TOC for you, as others in this thread have discovered.

With regard to the "real world usage" of the ncx, please note that most of the Kindle reading apps now actually display the ncx on a "go to TOC" click, not the inline TOC, although the Fire does not.

And with regard to the iBooks question: NO, it does not. The iBooks TOC is always, in our experience, problematic, as, for reasons best known only to Jobs-ville, uses an INLINE toc, not the ncx as the "Contents" page. Do I know why? Hell, no. The ways of the Jobbleheads are mysterious to me, regardless of the fact that we have hundreds, if not over a thousand, epubs up on that platform.

HTH.
Hitch

[Bas]

Thanks everyone. I'v created the linked Contents by hand and converted ok on Calibre.
On calibre the Epub version looks great but Mobi version is not so great. (2 linked menus inserted plus h1/h2/fonts too large plus tables staggered)
While on Kindle preview the version looks great (does this mean its loading an epub?)
Appreciate it must be painful watching my amateurishness but you have a lot of time when you are out of work.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by Bas

On calibre the Epub version looks great but Mobi version is not so great. (2 linked menus inserted plus h1/h2/fonts too large plus tables staggered)
While on Kindle preview the version looks great (does this mean its loading an epub?)
Appreciate it must be painful watching my amateurishness but you have a lot of time when you are out of work.

KindlePreviewer will automatically convert any epub that you drop on it. If it looks great there (but the mobi version looks bad with other viewers), that's probably because KindlePreviewer defaults to emulating the Kindle Fire device when first started. So you're seeing the new KF8 format—which will pretty much look just like the ePub version. Switch KindlePreviewer's device emulation to the "Kindle" device and it will probably look as bad as it does with the other viewers. That's how it will appear on Kindle eInk devices.