Cover and TOC as HTML or not?

[what]

When should I include the cover as an XHTML-page, and when shouldn't I? And when should I include the table of contents as an XHTML-page, and when shouldn't I? Are there ereaders or pulishers that require or cannot handle one or the other?

[fbrzvnrnd]

Originally Posted by what

When should I include the cover as an XHTML-page, and when shouldn't I? And when should I include the table of contents as an XHTML-page, and when shouldn't I? Are there ereaders or pulishers that require or cannot handle one or the other?

ePub2 or EPUB3?

[what]

I'm creating an epub3, but if that makes a difference, it should maybe be part of your answer.

[fbrzvnrnd]

Originally Posted by what

I'm creating an epub3, but if that makes a difference, it should maybe be part of your answer.

The TOC in EPUB3 is a XHTML file, with a predefined structure. The cover, usually, is an image inside an XHTML file.

[what]

I understand what they are. I just don't understand when I should have them and when I shouldn't. In Sigil, for example, it is an option. So there must be cases where it is better to have them, and cases where it is better not to have them.

[phillipgessert]

Originally Posted by what

I understand what they are. I just don't understand when I should have them and when I shouldn't. In Sigil, for example, it is an option. So there must be cases where it is better to have them, and cases where it is better not to have them.

I suppose I would say it is better to add a cover for books meant for personal use, since most purchased ones will inject one automatically, and it is better to add the html TOC for wider distribution, because not all devices support logical. Basically it is personal use, add or omit whatever you like; books for sale, add or omit according to required spec.

[fbrzvnrnd]

Originally Posted by what

I understand what they are. I just don't understand when I should have them and when I shouldn't. In Sigil, for example, it is an option. So there must be cases where it is better to have them, and cases where it is better not to have them.

I don't think you are forced to use a cover, but I don't think an EPUB could be validated without a TOC.

[Jellby]

Add an HTML cover when you want to be able to see it by paging back to page 1 (if you place it at the beginning). If I remember correctly, for ePub 2 there's no spec-sanctioned way to add a cover image, the '<meta name="cover"...>' tag is a de facto standard, but a renderer is not required to do anything special with that. Also some readers don't show covers anywhere, so if you want to make sure the cover is seen/displayed anywhere, add an HTML page with the image.

Similarly, add an HTML toc when you want to make sure it is displayed by paging back and forth, or when it requires special formatting. (Disclaimer: this is for ePub 2, the ePub 3 toc is an HTML page, as far as I know, but I'm not sure about the details of how/when/where it is shown.) If you have a fancy toc with images, summaries, complex structure, etc. you may need a full-blown HTML to show it, and the NCX is only a poor substitute (but required).

For example, I always include an HTML cover, and in the 1001 Nights I included not one, but two HTML tocs, to show the structure by nights and by stories.

Originally Posted by fbrzvnrnd

I don't think an EPUB could be validated without a TOC.

But (at least for ePub 2) that's an NCX toc, not an HTML one, which is what the question is about.

[fbrzvnrnd]

Originally Posted by Jellby

But (at least for ePub 2) that's an NCX toc, not an HTML one, which is what the question is about.

Uh? He said he was working on a EPUB3, not ePub2... or I'm missing something?

[DNSB]

For epub3, you have no choice in including the ToC as an xhtml file since that is what the epub3 spec uses as the mandatory navigation document. You can hide the navigation document from displaying by controlling whether it is in the spine. I've done this on a couple of occasions when a overly fancy (IMHO) html ToC has been wanted.

For a cover page, I use one with an SVG wrapper and remove it for times when the book is being sent to Amazon.

[what]

Originally Posted by DNSB

For epub3, you have no choice in including the ToC as an xhtml file since that is what the epub3 spec uses as the mandatory navigation document. You can hide the navigation document from displaying by controlling whether it is in the spine. I've done this on a couple of occasions when a overly fancy (IMHO) html ToC has been wanted.

For a cover page, I use one with an SVG wrapper and remove it for times when the book is being sent to Amazon.

Thank you for the heads up about the epub3 spec.

As for the cover page, Amazon has accepted my epub with internal cover. Either they stripped it and replaced it with the separately submitted market cover image, or they left it intact. Either way, the version they sell now contains an internal cover. I didn't check the code to see if it remains unchanged.

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by what

As for the cover page, Amazon has accepted my epub with internal cover. Either they stripped it and replaced it with the separately submitted market cover image, or they left it intact. Either way, the version they sell now contains an internal cover. I didn't check the code to see if it remains unchanged.

Amazon will usually strip out the original internal cover, but sometimes fails to detect it resulting in a book with a second cover page following the first one. It is a good idea to check your book to make sure that did not happen.

[what]

Originally Posted by jhowell

Amazon will usually strip out the original internal cover, but sometimes fails to detect it resulting in a book with a second cover page following the first one. It is a good idea to check your book to make sure that did not happen.

According to the downloadable preview file they provide as well as the preview on the product page, that did not happen.