TOC problem with Calibre 3.44

[VirgoGirl]

Hi. When I try and create TOC's with the calibre editor now, it will not add all the headings. If I have an 8 chapter story, it may TOC chapters 3-6, but the others don't show up - even though the headings are EXACTLY the same. I know it's a problem with the program because I have an older version on a different latop and that works, also every epub I edited since upgrading has that problem where the other ones don't.

I have to figure out how to roll back to 3.18, its the last version I knew worked.

[VirgoGirl]

Rolled back to 3.18 - I still had the install file - problem solved, all the headings show up in the TOC, on teh same file that didn't work on 3.44.

It happened when I created anthologies of several multichaptered stories. As I added more xhtml files (maybe 70+?), links stopped being created in the TOC. Sometimes a few would show up, other times all, and then sometimes NO TOC entries for that story would show up.

[theducks]

Originally Posted by VirgoGirl

Hi. When I try and create TOC's with the calibre editor now, it will not add all the headings. If I have an 8 chapter story, it may TOC chapters 3-6, but the others don't show up - even though the headings are EXACTLY the same. I know it's a problem with the program because I have an older version on a different latop and that works, also every epub I edited since upgrading has that problem where the other ones don't.

I have to figure out how to roll back to 3.18, its the last version I knew worked.

I have not had issues with either the TOC tool inside the editor) or the standalone from the main GUI (W10 x64). I use the from major headings mode to detect.

What mode (method) are you using to create your NCX TOC (the HTML one is generated fom the NCX entries only)?

[jackie_w]

More anecdotal evidence ...

I've had no problem whatsoever creating an TOC (NCX or NAV) from 100+ files in the TOC editor in calibre v3.44 (or any other version of calibre for that matter).

[VirgoGirl]

Originally Posted by theducks

I have not had issues with either the TOC tool inside the editor) or the standalone from the main GUI (W10 x64). I use the from major headings mode to detect.

What mode (method) are you using to create your NCX TOC (the HTML one is generated fom the NCX entries only)?

I used the TOC button in the editor, "generate ToC form all headings" - I use h4 headings in my files. It's supposed to catch all the h headings, but it didn't.

[VirgoGirl]

Originally Posted by jackie_w

More anecdotal evidence ...

I've had no problem whatsoever creating an TOC (NCX or NAV) from 100+ files in the TOC editor in calibre v3.44 (or any other version of calibre for that matter).

Well, I can't argue with that, but I know on my own computer what happened. I tried it several different times, with several epubs, I had the same problem. When I loaded a "problem" epub into an older version on a different computer, I was able to make a complete ToC. After I rolled back to 3.18, I took those same "problem" epubs, reedited them, they ToC'd fine. So I have no idea what to say. Quite often I've run across problems other don't have, I can't explain it. I'm running a Windows 10 OS, upgraded to 3.44 on June 1st. EVERY epub I made since then had the problem, yet I was able to fix it once I went back to 3.18.

I still have a copy of those epubs from before I fixed them, one of them is 147 xhtml files. So I don't know if the number makes a difference.

I tried creating those epubs in different ways, same problem. So I don't know what to tell you.

[VirgoGirl]

The software developer I live with suggested I put in the steps I used that threw up the problem. I did some different things, so:

1) Took existing already made epub anthology, opened it in calibre's editor, tweaked a few tags, refreshed the TOC by using the "T" button (opens up TOC dialogue) deleting existing TOC, clicking "create ToC from all headings" and clicking okay. Then saving the file. I didn't even notice the missing TOC entries until today.

2) Took an unedited epub I made from merging several epubs online where i have never had an issue before. Converted the file through calibre, opened up file in editor. Preexisting ToC (I didn't notice if all files were there). Changed all h1 and h2 tags to h4, hit the ToC button again, deleted existing Toc, hit "create Toc entries from all headings". THEN I noticed the files towards the end of the epub were not showing up in the Toc. If I left them alone, they'd show up, but if I refreshed the ToC even without changing the tags, they'd disappear.

3) Created new, empty epub. Unzipped all the single epubs I had merged into one, importing them into the new "clean" epub, group by group, refreshing the ToC each time. I got to about 100 files before the Toc entries would not show up. Again, it made no difference WHAT h tags they were, if I used the in editor TOC button, the files would not show up.

That original file, from #1, ALL the ToC entries HAD been there before I updated, I checked a previously backed up version from 3 weeks ago and they were there. They only disappeared AFTER I upgraded.

[theducks]

Kudos to you developer for suggestions
I regulary use H3 as my chapters...
There must be a tiny/ slight difference between the ones that are detected and those that are not. It may not be a printing (visible) character (thin space, something else)
on the next book that fails
just do a search for <h4 Find, find next until the end and see if you see it missing one that should have been caught
And are you sur that a couple are not getting nested (h4, followed by h5)
Maybe a bug got fixed (was missing h5's before)?

[jackie_w]

Originally Posted by VirgoGirl

I used the TOC button in the editor, "generate ToC form all headings" - I use h4 headings in my files. It's supposed to catch all the h headings, but it didn't.

I wonder if this is the difference? I have only ever cleared every entry then selected "Generate ToC from files".

[theducks]

Originally Posted by jackie_w

I wonder if this is the difference? I have only ever cleared every entry then selected "Generate ToC from files".

That is the way I use that mode also. Then I sometimes use the a by a file mode to pick up things that don't have headings

[VirgoGirl]

Originally Posted by theducks

Kudos to you developer for suggestions
I regulary use H3 as my chapters...
There must be a tiny/ slight difference between the ones that are detected and those that are not. It may not be a printing (visible) character (thin space, something else)
on the next book that fails
just do a search for <h4 Find, find next until the end and see if you see it missing one that should have been caught
And are you sur that a couple are not getting nested (h4, followed by h5)
Maybe a bug got fixed (was missing h5's before)?

He's helpful when I don't think straight.

There's no difference in the headings - I ONLY know that because I didn't change anything when I reverted back to 3.18, I just refreshed the ToC. They weren't nested, but that's a good guess. Usually, though, when they're nested they have a little green arrow which allows me to click and see sub headings This didn't have that, just the previous entry and nothing below it. It was weird. I even tested it out on files that HAD no problem, refreshing the ToC and several chapters disappeared. I didn't save them, it just to see if it was based on which files I was using and it didn't appear to be.

I've always used "generate from all headings" because it's the only one that picks up h4 tags, "Generate ToC from files" picks up things like cover and often files I don't want. It was just easier to use "generate from all headings" when it gave me what I wanted.

I'm going to stick with 3.18, it does what I need it to do and as it took me 4 hours to reinstall my calibre library through "import", I'm not playing update roulette. (Four hours made me realise I have waaaay too many ebooks in my library).

[davidfor]

@VirgoGirl: Do the missing headings have the same title as other headings? Somewhere along the way the two generate from headings options was changed to only create one entry for identical headings at the same level and nested under the same parent.

So, if the headings looked like:

<h1>Chapter 1</h1>
     <h2>Sub Chapter a</h2>
          <h3>Bert's POV</h3>
          <h3>Ernies's POV</h3>
          <h3>Bert's POV</h3>
          <h3>Ernies's POV</h3>
          <h3>Bert's POV</h3>
          <h3>Ernies's POV</h3>
     <h2>Sub Chapter b</h2>
           <h3>Bert's POV</h3>
          <h3>Ernies's POV</h3>
          <h3>Bert's POV</h3>
          <h3>Ernies's POV</h3>
          <h3>Bert's POV</h3>
          <h3>Ernies's POV</h3>
     <h2>Sub Chapter c</h2>
     <h2>Sub Chapter d</h2>

Using either of the Generate ToC from headings options will produce:

Chapter 1
     Sub Chapter a
          Bert's POV
          Ernies's POV
     Sub Chapter b
          Bert's POV
          Ernies's POV
     Sub Chapter c
     Sub Chapter d

There has been some discussion on this. The change was made for a reason, but I don't remember no why. The change seemed to break the ToC in a few books I have, but when I checked them, the nesting was usually wrong. I think the only ones left were something like the above where I wasn't sure that the lowest level should appear in the ToC. For these, I used generate from xpath option. This doesn't eliminate duplicate titles.

[kovidgoyal]

yes duplicate headings at the same nesting elvel are now ignored. You can use toc from xpath which has a setting to control this if you want to have a toc with identical entries at the same level.

[VirgoGirl]

Originally Posted by davidfor

@VirgoGirl: Do the missing headings have the same title as other headings? Somewhere along the way the two generate from headings options was changed to only create one entry for identical headings at the same level and nested under the same parent.

So, if the headings looked like:

<h1>Chapter 1</h1>
     <h2>Sub Chapter a</h2>
          <h3>Bert's POV</h3>
          <h3>Ernies's POV</h3>
          <h3>Bert's POV</h3>
          <h3>Ernies's POV</h3>
          <h3>Bert's POV</h3>
          <h3>Ernies's POV</h3>
     <h2>Sub Chapter b</h2>
           <h3>Bert's POV</h3>
          <h3>Ernies's POV</h3>
          <h3>Bert's POV</h3>
          <h3>Ernies's POV</h3>
          <h3>Bert's POV</h3>
          <h3>Ernies's POV</h3>
     <h2>Sub Chapter c</h2>
     <h2>Sub Chapter d</h2>

Using either of the Generate ToC from headings options will produce:

Chapter 1
     Sub Chapter a
          Bert's POV
          Ernies's POV
     Sub Chapter b
          Bert's POV
          Ernies's POV
     Sub Chapter c
     Sub Chapter d

There has been some discussion on this. The change was made for a reason, but I don't remember no why. The change seemed to break the ToC in a few books I have, but when I checked them, the nesting was usually wrong. I think the only ones left were something like the above where I wasn't sure that the lowest level should appear in the ToC. For these, I used generate from xpath option. This doesn't eliminate duplicate titles.

YES! That's EXACTLY what happened, although it was much more severe - if the anthology had headings with the same titles they didn't show up at all!

I don't understand the reason to remove the feature - it worked fine, I didn't have an issue with duplicate headings that I didn't want.

[VirgoGirl]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

yes duplicate headings at the same nesting elvel are now ignored. You can use toc from xpath which has a setting to control this if you want to have a toc with identical entries at the same level.

Hi Kovid!

I'm sorry, but to me it makes no sense to remove this feature when it worked fine. I have no idea how to use toc from xpath, I've been doing the same thing for years and it worked. I know I'm sounding whiny but now I'm sorta locked into calibre 3.18 because it still does what I needed it to do. Which is fine, I'll just keep my install file.