Possible to use <title> tags as TOC headings?

playful · 07-11-2020, 10:47 AM

Hi there,

A bit of a Sigil-noobie question.

Working with 1000+ html files.
Each has a proper title tag such as <title>1 - it all began here</title> but no h1, h2 etc. tags.

Out of the box, when generating the TOC, is there a way to make Sigil take the <title> tags into account?

As a workaround, I've added some <h1> tags to the 1000+ pages with a simple regex-replace, but that's not really my first choice.

Thanks!

p.s.
For reference if someone on the same track needs that workaround:
Search: (?s)(<title>([^<]+).*?<body>)
Replace: \1\n<h1>\2</h1>\n

JSWolf · 07-11-2020, 10:49 AM

The title tags would normally have the book's title and not the chapter title.

playful · 07-11-2020, 11:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The title tags would normally have the book's title and not the chapter title.

Alright, let me explain. I'm converting a website to an ebook. The website has 1000+ pages. It's standard for the html pages of websites to each have their own <title> tag.

Looking at toc.ncx, I can easily generate that in Python.
After generating the <h1> tags as mentioned above, now that I have the TOC, I can easily strip the <h1> tags again.

Just wondering if there is a way to do it out of the box, for future reference.

Thanks!

Turtle91 · 07-11-2020, 11:32 AM

No, I don't think Sigil has a built-in function for that. However, you can save that regex and easily have access to it in the future (under Tools/Saved Searches).

As for the regex in your example. It is more complex than my reg-fu can easily decipher...I have some homework to do!

DiapDealer · 07-11-2020, 11:43 AM

No out of the box functionality like that, no.

If you know python, you could probably do a quick plugin to build an ncx from title tag values. Or you could have it insert nodisplay h tags into the top of all html files with the title tag values added as content (or title attributes) with your above regexp. The latter would allow you to use Sigil's built-in ncx generator.

playful · 07-11-2020, 11:50 AM

@Turtle91, @DiapDealer,

Thank you for the great ideas! (saving the search, the no-display h tags…)

Solved!

Tex2002ans · 07-12-2020, 07:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by playful

A bit of a Sigil-noobie question.

Working with 1000+ html files.
Each has a proper title tag such as <title>1 - it all began here</title> but no h1, h2 etc. tags.

Out of the box, when generating the TOC, is there a way to make Sigil take the <title> tags into account?

You could do this with 2 Find/Replaces. One to insert the <title> as <h1>, and one to remove the <h1>.

Note: Make sure you turn Sigil into Regex mode, and make sure you check the box for Dot All.

* * *

Step 1: Convert <title> into an <h1>:

Find: <title>(.+?)</title>(.+)<body>
Replace: <title>\1</title>\2<body><h1>\1</h1>

Step 2: Press Tools > Table of Contents > Generate Table of Contents, then create your TOC.

Step 3: Do the opposite. Remove the <h1> we just created:

Find: <body><h1>(.+?)</h1>
Replace: <body>

If you do this often, you can even create a Saved Search for both of those fixes.

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The title tags would normally have the book's title and not the chapter title.

No. For more extensive discussion on best practices for <title>, see discussion in the 2018 thread "Two questions", especially my Post #2.

playful · 07-12-2020, 09:13 PM

@Tex2002ans

Hey there, it looks to me that you missed this entire part of my original post:

Quote:

Originally Posted by playful

Hi there,
As a workaround, I've added some <h1> tags to the 1000+ pages with a simple regex-replace, but that's not really my first choice.

Thanks!

p.s.
For reference if someone on the same track needs that workaround:
Search: (?s)(<title>([^<]+).*?<body>)
Replace: \1\n<h1>\2</h1>\n

But thanks for your kind message anyway!

07-11-2020, 10:47 AM	#1
playful Mammal Posts: 126 Karma: 21380 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Right Here Device: Onyx Note Pro, Kindle DXG	[SOLVED] Possible to use <title> tags as TOC headings? Hi there, A bit of a Sigil-noobie question. Working with 1000+ html files. Each has a proper title tag such as <title>1 - it all began here</title> but no h1, h2 etc. tags. Out of the box, when generating the TOC, is there a way to make Sigil take the <title> tags into account? As a workaround, I've added some <h1> tags to the 1000+ pages with a simple regex-replace, but that's not really my first choice. Thanks! p.s. For reference if someone on the same track needs that workaround: Search: (?s)(<title>([^<]+).?<body>) Replace: \1\n<h1>\2</h1>\n Last edited by playful; 07-11-2020 at 11:50 AM. Reason: Solved*

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07-11-2020, 10:49 AM	#2
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 79,136 Karma: 144284184 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	The title tags would normally have the book's title and not the chapter title.

07-11-2020, 11:32 AM	#4
Turtle91 A Hairy Wizard Posts: 3,312 Karma: 20171571 Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Charleston, SC today Device: iPhone 15/11/X/6/iPad 1,2,Air & Air Pro/Surface Pro/Kindle PW & Fire	No, I don't think Sigil has a built-in function for that. However, you can save that regex and easily have access to it in the future (under Tools/Saved Searches). As for the regex in your example. It is more complex than my reg-fu can easily decipher...I have some homework to do!

07-11-2020, 11:43 AM	#5
DiapDealer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 28,358 Karma: 203720150 Join Date: Jan 2010 Device: Nexus 7, Kindle Fire HD	No out of the box functionality like that, no. If you know python, you could probably do a quick plugin to build an ncx from title tag values. Or you could have it insert nodisplay h tags into the top of all html files with the title tag values added as content (or title attributes) with your above regexp. The latter would allow you to use Sigil's built-in ncx generator.

07-11-2020, 11:50 AM	#6
playful Mammal Posts: 126 Karma: 21380 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Right Here Device: Onyx Note Pro, Kindle DXG	@Turtle91, @DiapDealer, Thank you for the great ideas! (saving the search, the no-display h tags…) Solved!

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