Adding "folders/categories" in a TOC

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Hitch

I'll have to give those a go. I severely limit my video-time. Otherwise...you know. Rabbit-hole, meet wasted time. It's far, far too easy to start watching cute or funny or hell, even informative videos and go straight to hell.

I believe I'm helped in this because I don't really do the "smartphone thing." I never developed the habit (thank Odin) because they didn't work here, at my newer home, happily; we're surrounded by mountains or high-ground on all 4 sides, so our physical home--the 4 walls--is a dead spot. When smartphones were really taking off, at the end of the aughts through now, mine was a paperweight, used only when I left to go shopping or whatever. (As I have my office here). And as I loathe social media...meh. I spend quite enough time in front of screens, anyway.

Hitch

WiFi /Cell means you can waste lots of time.

[Renate]

Let's say (for the sake of argument) you wanted to have some divisions and you didn't want a big blank page saying "Part 2", but you wanted "Part 2" in the toc.ncx.

Please correct me on the following:

You want text, so give it your navLabel text.

You can't have a navPoint without content, so set the content to the next occuring viable content (which could be multiple levels down).

You can't have a navPoint without an id, so, alright give it something.

You (apparently?) can have a navPoint without a playOrder, so leave that out.

        <navPoint id="p2">
          <navLabel><text>Part 2</text></navLabel>
          <content src="chapter20.htm"/>
          <navPoint id="np021" playOrder="21">
            <navLabel><text>Chapter 20</text></navLabel>
            <content src="chapter20.htm"/>
          </navPoint>

I see that RMSDK accepts navPoints without content and gives them a getChapterPagePositionFromIndex of -1.

Edit: I guess that you could just have a big stupid blank "Part 2" page and just leave it out of the spine.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Renate

Let's say (for the sake of argument) you wanted to have some divisions and you didn't want a big blank page saying "Part 2", but you wanted "Part 2" in the toc.ncx.

Please correct me on the following:

You want text, so give it your navLabel text.

You can't have a navPoint without content, so set the content to the next occuring viable content (which could be multiple levels down).

You can't have a navPoint without an id, so, alright give it something.

You (apparently?) can have a navPoint without a playOrder, so leave that out.

        <navPoint id="p2">
          <navLabel><text>Part 2</text></navLabel>
          <content src="chapter20.htm"/>
          <navPoint id="np021" playOrder="21">
            <navLabel><text>Chapter 20</text></navLabel>
            <content src="chapter20.htm"/>
          </navPoint>

I see that RMSDK accepts navPoints without content and gives them a getChapterPagePositionFromIndex of -1.

Edit: I guess that you could just have a big stupid blank "Part 2" page and just leave it out of the spine.

Just have the page that shows Part 2 and be done with it. Don't make a mess of the eBook because you don't like Part 2.

[MicroDrie]

Originally Posted by Jellby

I think the idea could be something like:

Spine order:
- Day 1
- Day 2
- Day 3
- Day 4
- Day 5

"Folder" TOC:
* Fun days
- Day 1
- Day 4
* Boring days
- Day 2
- Day 3
- Day 5

Where "-" are real links to actual sections in the book, and "*" are just TOC items that can be expanded/collapsed, but don't point anywhere in the book, because there's no appropriate place.

It's not meant to be rude, but you organize a book with chapters in a certain order that you rearrange in the table of contents? Why can't you just split the book into two parts, namely (Part 1) Boring and (Part 2) Fun Days? By giving the current chapters and higher tag (title = <h1>, part 1 or part2 = <h2> and chapters like <h3>, it all goes automatically. Or are you afraid to tell the punchline why you have a chapter division in the two parts of Boring and Fun Days?

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by MicroDrie

It's not meant to be rude, but you organize a book with chapters in a certain order that you rearrange in the table of contents? Why can't you just split the book into two parts, namely (Part 1) Boring and (Part 2) Fun Days? By giving the current chapters and higher tag (title = <h1>, part 1 or part2 = <h2> and chapters like <h3>, it all goes automatically. Or are you afraid to tell the punchline why you have a chapter division in the two parts of Boring and Fun Days?

Don't be silly. It's a bit like a topic index. You have the TOC--chapter 1, 2, 3...and so on and then a cross-referended index that selects from within the content, not necessarily and in fact, deliberately not, in the same sequential order.

The simplest answer (in eBooks and everything else in life) is Occam's Razor meets a straight line--just make a SECOND "TOC" or "Topic Index" or cross-referenced whatever. All this Sturm und Drang over making the NCX do this or that seems unwarranted.

I haven't gone back and re-read this entire thread--presumably, someone somewhere (vis the Part II thing above) suggested just putting HIDDEN text in the content and pointing the NCX to it? We used to do that all the time with Sigil. When I was new, wet behind the ears and just learnin' mah letters (ePUB) I used to LUV that I could easily create non-displaying content that I could slap in a TOC. Why not simply use a hidden heading, on page whatever and point the NCX to it? Happily, the NCX doesn't care about the text formatting, so...is there some reason that this wouldn't work? (n.b.: this is a different question in this discussion than the random sequencing question that MicroDrie was talking about...I'm speaking to Renate's question.) Or have I forgotten something?

Hitch