toc & kindle chapter markers

almayer · 07-04-2013, 12:06 PM

Hello everyone,
here is my question:

my epub has a toc with different headings (h1 h2 h3) and I'd like to have for my kindle the same toc but only the h1 chapter markers in the progress bar.

Is it possible in Sigil or is something I can get only with the software I use to convert the epub into mobi ?

I hope I've made myself clear.
Thanks.

crutledge · 07-04-2013, 12:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by almayer

Hello everyone,
here is my question:

my epub has a toc with different headings (h1 h2 h3) and I'd like to have for my kindle the same toc but only the h1 chapter markers in the progress bar.

Is it possible in Sigil or is something I can get only with the software I use to convert the epub into mobi ?

I hope I've made myself clear.
Thanks.

Edit the TOC in Sigle and remove the unwanted headers.

PS; This only nremoves the headers from the TOC and not the document.

almayer · 07-04-2013, 01:12 PM

thanks crutledge but I'm afraid I haven't made myself clear.
I meant to keep the toc with h1 h2 h3 ... but to have at the same time only the h1 chapter markers in the kindle progress bar.
Maybe I could create in Sigil an html TOC and then edit the toc.ncx removing the h2 and h3, but it's a little bit long and I don't know if it would work.

Jeff L · 07-05-2013, 02:32 PM

The Kindle derives its marks on the progress bar from the toc.ncx file. Edit that as you want. The rest of the epub can stay as it is.

At present, or at least the last time I checked, the Kindle only pays attention to the top level of the toc.ncx. That is, it doesn't pay attention to the lower levels of a nested toc. So you could keep the h1 chapters at the top level and the others nested beneath it and kindle will ignore them. However, this may change in the future (or it may already have as I don't have the latest Kindles).

almayer · 07-05-2013, 03:31 PM

thanks Jeff L
I've just tried but all the levels (top and lower) of a nested toc are marks on the kindle progress bar.

P.S. I have a "kindle 3" and I use Calibre to convert the epub into an "old mobi".

crutledge · 07-05-2013, 03:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by almayer

thanks Jeff L
I've just tried but all the levels (top and lower) of a nested toc are marks on the kindle progress bar.

P.S. I have a "kindle 3" and I use Calibre to convert the epub into an "old mobi".

Try Kindle Previewer

almayer · 07-05-2013, 04:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crutledge

Try Kindle Previewer

thanks but nothing changes

crutledge · 07-05-2013, 05:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by almayer

thanks but nothing changes

I think your stuck but you might get better answers at:

https://kdp.amazon.com/community/forumindex.jspa

Jeff L · 07-05-2013, 05:56 PM

If you're making your mobi with Calibre, there are a few complications, the answers to which I'm not sure of, but here goes.

First, you'll need to tell Calibre not to add it's own Table of Contents because this ToC functions like the toc.ncx. That is, Calibre calls it a metadata ToC. If your epub has a toc.ncx, then Calibre makes its metadata ToC from this toc.ncx. Since your NCX has all the entries (h1, h2, etc), then the metadata ToC that Calibre makes will have them all as well.

So when you convert, in the "Mobi Output" section, check "Do not add Table of Contents to book".

Additionaly, your internal HTML ToC needs to have a pointer for it in the <guide> section of your OPF file. That creates the proper entry in the display when the Menu button on the Kindle is pressed.

Something like this:

<manifest>
.
.
.
</manifest>
<spine toc="ncx">
.
.
.
</spine>
<guide>
<reference href="filename.html" title="Table of Contents" type="toc"/>
<reference href="cover.html" title="Cover" type="cover"/>
.
.
.
</guide>
</package>

almayer · 07-06-2013, 01:35 PM

thanks crutledge I'll have a look at your link

thanks Jeff L, I've followed your instructions but with Calibre it doesn't work, I can bypass the creation of its toc but anyway Calibre creates the marks on the progress bar starting from my (nested) toc.ncx
At this point I think that the solution is to generate with Sigil two Tocs :
- HTML ToC
- "standard" ToC (to be edited removing h2 and h3)
then with Calibre I will check "Do not add ToC to book".

Notjohn · 07-06-2013, 04:39 PM

Note that if you are publishing this book, as opposed to tweaking it for your personal use, you can upload the epub to the KDP. Indeed, adding Calibre to the mix has been reported to cause problems, including (this was some months ago) having the book rejected by the KDP.

In my experience, epubs convert wonderfully well on the KDP.

07-04-2013, 12:06 PM	#1
almayer Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2013 Device: kindle	toc & kindle chapter markers Hello everyone, here is my question: my epub has a toc with different headings (h1 h2 h3) and I'd like to have for my kindle the same toc but only the h1 chapter markers in the progress bar. Is it possible in Sigil or is something I can get only with the software I use to convert the epub into mobi ? I hope I've made myself clear. Thanks.

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07-04-2013, 01:12 PM	#3
almayer Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2013 Device: kindle	thanks crutledge but I'm afraid I haven't made myself clear. I meant to keep the toc with h1 h2 h3 ... but to have at the same time only the h1 chapter markers in the kindle progress bar. Maybe I could create in Sigil an html TOC and then edit the toc.ncx removing the h2 and h3, but it's a little bit long and I don't know if it would work.

07-05-2013, 02:32 PM	#4
Jeff L Zealot Posts: 117 Karma: 584308 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: San Francisco Device: Kindle	The Kindle derives its marks on the progress bar from the toc.ncx file. Edit that as you want. The rest of the epub can stay as it is. At present, or at least the last time I checked, the Kindle only pays attention to the top level of the toc.ncx. That is, it doesn't pay attention to the lower levels of a nested toc. So you could keep the h1 chapters at the top level and the others nested beneath it and kindle will ignore them. However, this may change in the future (or it may already have as I don't have the latest Kindles).

07-05-2013, 03:31 PM	#5
almayer Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2013 Device: kindle	thanks Jeff L I've just tried but all the levels (top and lower) of a nested toc are marks on the kindle progress bar. P.S. I have a "kindle 3" and I use Calibre to convert the epub into an "old mobi".

07-05-2013, 05:56 PM	#9
Jeff L Zealot Posts: 117 Karma: 584308 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: San Francisco Device: Kindle	If you're making your mobi with Calibre, there are a few complications, the answers to which I'm not sure of, but here goes. First, you'll need to tell Calibre not to add it's own Table of Contents because this ToC functions like the toc.ncx. That is, Calibre calls it a metadata ToC. If your epub has a toc.ncx, then Calibre makes its metadata ToC from this toc.ncx. Since your NCX has all the entries (h1, h2, etc), then the metadata ToC that Calibre makes will have them all as well. So when you convert, in the "Mobi Output" section, check "Do not add Table of Contents to book". Additionaly, your internal HTML ToC needs to have a pointer for it in the <guide> section of your OPF file. That creates the proper entry in the display when the Menu button on the Kindle is pressed. Something like this: <manifest> . . . </manifest> <spine toc="ncx"> . . . </spine> <guide> <reference href="filename.html" title="Table of Contents" type="toc"/> <reference href="cover.html" title="Cover" type="cover"/> . . . </guide> </package>

07-06-2013, 01:35 PM	#10
almayer Junior Member Posts: 5 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2013 Device: kindle	thanks crutledge I'll have a look at your link thanks Jeff L, I've followed your instructions but with Calibre it doesn't work, I can bypass the creation of its toc but anyway Calibre creates the marks on the progress bar starting from my (nested) toc.ncx At this point I think that the solution is to generate with Sigil two Tocs : - HTML ToC - "standard" ToC (to be edited removing h2 and h3) then with Calibre I will check "Do not add ToC to book".

07-06-2013, 04:39 PM	#11
Notjohn mostly an observer Posts: 1,518 Karma: 987654 Join Date: Dec 2012 Device: Kindle	Note that if you are publishing this book, as opposed to tweaking it for your personal use, you can upload the epub to the KDP. Indeed, adding Calibre to the mix has been reported to cause problems, including (this was some months ago) having the book rejected by the KDP. In my experience, epubs convert wonderfully well on the KDP.

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