ToC generation issue

tecgeo · 09-19-2010, 04:47 PM

I did some conversions recently and then imported the resultant HTML file into Calibre. Converting to epub was fine on several but a few had trouble identifying the Chapter headers. When I look at the HTML source the h1 tags do not contain any text but instead have a title attribute ="xxxxx" value between the tags. I can tediously type in the corresponding text between the h1 tags but this puts that Chapter Title text in the ebook when only a chapter break image existed previously. If I use the ToC filter assistant in calibre and specify h1 for the tag, title for the attribute and leave the value blank it generates the ToC with Unnamed for each of the Chapter names.

Does anyone know if there a filter value entry or Chapter detection Xpath expression to insert the actual text value of each h1 tag's title attribute so that the correct value shows up in the generated ToC and thereby keep the output clean and not introduce new text chapter headings?

jackie_w · 09-19-2010, 04:53 PM

You could have your HTML look something like:

Code:

<h1 class="invisible">Chapter 1</h1>

and your CSS something like:

Code:

.invisible {display: none}

Then "Chapter 1" would appear in the TOC but not the book text.

tecgeo · 09-19-2010, 05:03 PM

Thanks. I get the first part but I am not a programmer by vocation. Where do I find the CSS? Is that in Calibre somewhere?
The other problem is that this doesn't avoid the editing tedium in the HTML. If it works then great but I was hoping there was a way to grab the existing title value and stick it in the ToC.

jackie_w · 09-19-2010, 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tecgeo

Thanks. I get the first part but I am not a programmer by vocation. Where do I find the CSS? Is that in Calibre somewhere?

The CSS, if there is any, may be in your HTML file at the top, in the <head>...</head> section between <style>...</style> tags.

Alternatively, it may be in an external .css file (often in the same dir as the HTML file). If this is the case then there will be a link in the <head>...</head> section at the top of the HTML file looking something like

Code:

<link rel=stylesheet type="text/css" media=all href=xyz.css>

Quote:

Originally Posted by tecgeo

I was hoping there was a way to grab the existing title value and stick it in the ToC.

Do you mean your HTML headings look something like this?

Code:

<h1 title="Chapter 1"></h1>

If so, there may be an easy way for Calibre to deal with them but unfortunately I don't know what it is. Maybe someone more expert will be able to help.

In the meantime, if this was my file, I would open it in a good text editor (e.g. Notepad++) and use mass Find/Replace to convert the old format to the new using simple regular expressions. But this is only an option if you're comfortable with regular expressions. I would then re-import the new HTML into Calibre and convert as usual.

tecgeo · 09-19-2010, 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jackie_w

Do you mean your HTML headings look something like this?

Code:

<h1 title="Chapter 1"></h1>

If so, there may be an easy way for Calibre to deal with them but unfortunately I don't know what it is. Maybe someone more expert will be able to help.

That is exactly how they appear in my HTML source. I am using Wordpad to edit the HTML file to make the Chapter title text visible to Calibre. It is slow. I guess I will have to study about CSS use to see if that can help me.

You've been very helpful. Thanks again.

theducks · 09-19-2010, 07:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tecgeo

That is exactly how they appear in my HTML source. I am using Wordpad to edit the HTML file to make the Chapter title text visible to Calibre. It is slow. I guess I will have to study about CSS use to see if that can help me.

You've been very helpful. Thanks again.

Import with Sigil. It makes H1 top layer TOC H2 next in the nest...
Watch out for wordpad.
Notepad++ is a great replacement for (Windows) Notepad (and it is free)

tecgeo · 09-21-2010, 08:44 PM

That solved the problem nicely "theducks". Thank you. Imported into Sigil and output the epub with ToC like a dream. Now I have another ebook editing program to play with... uh oh.

09-19-2010, 04:47 PM	#1
tecgeo Junior Member Posts: 9 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Vancouver, Canada Device: iphone, iPad and kindle3	ToC generation issue I did some conversions recently and then imported the resultant HTML file into Calibre. Converting to epub was fine on several but a few had trouble identifying the Chapter headers. When I look at the HTML source the h1 tags do not contain any text but instead have a title attribute ="xxxxx" value between the tags. I can tediously type in the corresponding text between the h1 tags but this puts that Chapter Title text in the ebook when only a chapter break image existed previously. If I use the ToC filter assistant in calibre and specify h1 for the tag, title for the attribute and leave the value blank it generates the ToC with Unnamed for each of the Chapter names. Does anyone know if there a filter value entry or Chapter detection Xpath expression to insert the actual text value of each h1 tag's title attribute so that the correct value shows up in the generated ToC and thereby keep the output clean and not introduce new text chapter headings?

09-19-2010, 04:53 PM	#2
jackie_w Wizard Posts: 2,133 Karma: 3391252 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: UK Device: Sony PRS-350/650/T1, PB360, KoboGlo, KoboAuraHD	You could have your HTML look something like: Code: <h1 class="invisible">Chapter 1</h1> and your CSS something like: Code: .invisible {display: none} Then "Chapter 1" would appear in the TOC but not the book text.

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09-19-2010, 05:03 PM	#3
tecgeo Junior Member Posts: 9 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Vancouver, Canada Device: iphone, iPad and kindle3	Thanks. I get the first part but I am not a programmer by vocation. Where do I find the CSS? Is that in Calibre somewhere? The other problem is that this doesn't avoid the editing tedium in the HTML. If it works then great but I was hoping there was a way to grab the existing title value and stick it in the ToC.

09-21-2010, 08:44 PM	#7
tecgeo Junior Member Posts: 9 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Vancouver, Canada Device: iphone, iPad and kindle3	That solved the problem nicely "theducks". Thank you. Imported into Sigil and output the epub with ToC like a dream. Now I have another ebook editing program to play with... uh oh.


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