How do I get rid of Table of Contents?

[bookman156]

It seems the BibiReader emulator in Sigil doesn't even display the nav.xhtml file even if it's at the front.

Crikey, this is so much working in the dark, you'd have thought ereaders would be a bit better after the EPUB3 standard has been around so long.

[bookman156]

My mistake, BibiReader puts it in its hamburger menu, and even Landmarks even though that's set to no display automatically in Sigil. However, I see that simply striping out the Landmarks code from nav.xhtml that epubcheck has no problem with that.

Getting there...

[Tex2002ans]

Originally Posted by bookman156

<p class="toc"><a href="../Text/Example.Article.xhtml">“Example Article” by Tex</a></p>

Apparently not allowed in nav.xhtml:

lol. Yeah. That's basic EPUB2 code I gave.

EPUB3 code is slightly different.

I wouldn't really manually mess too much with the nav.xhtml, because it requires proper nesting.

Again, it's pretty hard to see because you're working on a short/simple book, but the details become easier to see on more complicated documents (parts/chapters/subchapters).

* * *

Best Way to Generate Table of Contents?

In Sigil, you can use:

1. Tools > Table of Contents > Generate Table of Contents.

This will update your:

• toc.ncx (EPUB2)
• nav.xhtml (EPUB3)

2. Tools > Table of Contents > Create HTML Table of Contents.

This will create a:

• TOC.xhtml
  
  • Especially helpful for EPUB2.

Where Do These Tools Get Their Information?

The Headings (<h1> -> <h6>) in your book:

<h1>Part 1</h1>

<h2>Chapter 1: The Beginning</h2>

<h3>The Calm Before the Storm</h3>

[...]

<h1>Part 2</h1>

This will create a TOC like this:

- Part 1
-- Chapter 1: The Beginning
--- The Calm Before the Storm
- Part 2

What If I Want the TOC to Display Something Different?

You can take advantage of title:

<h2 title="1. The Beginning">Chapter 1: The Beginning</h2>

Now, when you generate your TOC, Sigil will put:

- Part 1
-- 1. The Beginning
--- The Calm Before the Storm

The TOC text changes, while your actual text in your book looks the same!

What If My Book Doesn't Have Headings?

Then you can use:

• Tools > Table of Contents > Edit Table of Contents

You can manually rename entries + point them to specific files.

But, warning, these changes can easily be overwritten + will need to manually be done each time.

(Better to rely on the automatic tools as much as you can!)

How Do I Know My Changes Are Working?

Press:

• View > Table of Contents (Alt+F3)

This will show you the current ebook Table of Contents as Sigil sees it.

For EPUB2, this is what's in the toc.ncx file.

For EPUB3, this is what's in the nav.xhtml file.

- - - -

Note: There are many other "hidden" TOC tricks you can do in Sigil. For more information, see my posts from earlier this year:

• 2022: "How to generate a Nav or TOC w/Pictures"

and all the linked threads.

(All that info was for EPUB2, but it's all relevant for EPUB3 too.)

Originally Posted by bookman156

However, I see that simply striping out the Landmarks code from nav.xhtml that epubcheck has no problem with that.

Don't do that. The landmarks section is important for Accessibility.

[bookman156]

Thanks for the details, I'll start again from scratch and try it that way.

On my Kindle Paperwhite even if I change 'Table of Contents' to the book title and put it at the front it still puts it at the back. Though that may be something to do with using Calibre to send the epub to the Kindle.

[bookman156]

Am I right in thinking some of my problem would be solved by making an EPUB2 rather than 3? If so, that seems a bit of a pity. I was under the impression that EPUB2 was kinda obsolete now, yet it seems people are saving themselves trouble by using it. I wonder why EPUB3 should be such a tortuous process for a simple book. I'd probably find it easier if I had a complex book, there's the irony...

[KevinH]

No, epub2 will have an ncx that would show the same info. Epub3 can do the exact same by removing the nav from the spine as I explained earlier.

[JSWolf]

You don't need an HTML ToC in ePub as ePub 2 as NCX and ePub 3 has NAV which is easier to get to from any place in the eBook. I have seen some ePub with no HTML ToC.

If you are making an ePub 3, you do also need the NCX for ePub 2 compatibility.

Personally, I don't use the HTML ToC if there is one. I use the ToC that's displayed when I want to see the ToC and that is not the HTML ToC.

[bookman156]

If you are making an ePub 3, you do also need the NCX for ePub 2 compatibility.

On my Kindle Paperwhite, which is fairly old, the EPUB3 works without NCX. How come Sigil doesn't create an NCX if it is necessary, or is this to cater for extremely old readers?

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by bookman156

On my Kindle Paperwhite, which is fairly old, the EPUB3 works without NCX. How come Sigil doesn't create an NCX if it is necessary, or is this to cater for extremely old readers?

A Kindle is not displaying the ePub. It's displaying something converted from the ePub.

There are still a lot of programs/devices that need the NCX to display the ToC. It's not much effort to make the NCX. As to Sigil, you'd have to ask the developers why such a decision was made.

[bookman156]

I'll look more into NCX.

I'm starting to think hardly anyone makes EPUB3 files.

All the epubs I've looked at from Random House are EPUB2 and not a single one of them validates.

Epub is starting to feel like something broken. But I'll persevere!

[bookman156]

I see Sigil has can generate an NCX for EPUB3, which I hadn't noticed. But is there a list anywhere of what readers/programs actually need NCX in EPUB3? Even the book EPUB 3 Best Practices, which I've just read finding nothing else on the subject, is ten years old.

How come Firefox and Chrome can use such things as font variant for small caps but for an EPUB I'll either have to ignore it or make a less good span class? Even WOFF fonts are ignored in Kobo. Forgive me for finding all this very strange. Why don't ereaders just use a vastly superior web browser engine, all we're paying for really is the e-ink screen.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by bookman156

I see Sigil has can generate an NCX for EPUB3, which I hadn't noticed. But is there a list anywhere of what readers/programs actually need NCX in EPUB3? Even the book EPUB 3 Best Practices, which I've just read finding nothing else on the subject, is ten years old.

How come Firefox and Chrome can use such things as font variant for small caps but for an EPUB I'll either have to ignore it or make a less good span class? Even WOFF fonts are ignored in Kobo. Forgive me for finding all this very strange. Why don't ereaders just use a vastly superior web browser engine, all we're paying for really is the e-ink screen.

Because there are programs and devices that do not work with small-caps (CSS) such a RMSDK used in Kobo Readers to display ePub. That's the most major place this happens. And you do need the NCX for ePub on a Kobo.

[bookman156]

And you do need the NCX for ePub on a Kobo.

Really? Crikey, I thought that was one of the better ones. Thanks for the info.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by bookman156

Really? Crikey, I thought that was one of the better ones. Thanks for the info.

Kobo is not using the current version of RMSDK.

[bookman156]

Kobo is not using the current version of RMSDK.

I honestly wonder how someone finds out useful information like that and what it's ramifications are. I used to think designing for web browsers was a pain but that's improved considerably and they're free to test in. Here it seems one has no idea what the terrain is really like without asking a stack of pointed questions of people who've been looking at it for a long long time.