Mobi to AZW3- Chapter Markers

Bustin8 · 03-23-2014, 02:16 AM

I'm pretty big on having chapter marks in the progress bar, but when converting I can never get it to happen. I followed the tutorial you guys offered, but couldn't seem to get it to work, so I was wondering what I was doing wrong. The beginning of the chapters are written up like this

Quote:

<html xmlns:svg="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xml:lang="en-gb" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head>
<title>I MARSEILLE – ARRIVAL</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../styles/0001.css"/>
<link rel="stylesheet" type="application/vnd.adobe-page-template+xml" href="page-template.xpgt"/>
</head><body>
<div style="page-break-after:always"></div><h3><a id="page_7"></a><a id="ch01"></a><small>I</small><br/>MARSEILLE – ARRIVAL</h3>
<p class="para3">On February 24, 1815, the lookout at Notre-Dame de la Garde signalled the arrival of the three-master <em>Pharaon</em>, coming from Smyrna, Trieste and Naples. As usual, a coastal pilot immediately left the port, sailed hard by the Château d’If, and boarded the ship between the Cap de Morgiou and the island of Riou.</p>

Though it seems its only doing markers for things in <h2> that look like this

Quote:

what do I do?

eschwartz · 03-23-2014, 02:22 AM

What chapter marks in the progress bar? Do you mean generating a ToC?

Bustin8 · 03-23-2014, 10:54 PM

Yes I believe so. The progression bar is the bar at the bottom and the markers/ticks are usually where a new chapter begins

eschwartz · 03-23-2014, 11:26 PM

Oh, right, this is the Kindle Keyboard, right?

I don't really know how it works, but I am guessing that it will show the chapter mark at each location marked in the Active Table of Contents. calibre should automatically generate a ToC entry for each <h2> tag -- if not, you can right-click on an entry in the Calibre Library and select Edit ToC. You can add new entries by hand or generated through calibre's parsers.

Bustin8 · 03-23-2014, 11:34 PM

thanks man, I just did the ToC myself and it finally worked!

eschwartz · 03-23-2014, 11:46 PM

Good to hear! And thanks for the karma.

bobinsc · 07-21-2019, 10:25 PM

New here, hoping to find some answers that keep eluding me.

I desperately need help defining Chapters. I've spent maybe 40 or 50 hours (off and on) over the last couple years trying to figure out how to put chapters into an AZW3 file. I'm Using Calibre 6.6.3, converting ePub or PDF to AZW3 for use on a Kindle Keyboard.

According to what I've read, Calibre should convert h1 or h2 tags to chapters, and maybe it does, but they don't "act" like chapters on my KK. When reading an Amazon-purchased AZW3 book I can use the 4-way navigation "left" and "right" buttons to skip to the chapter breaks. When reading an ePub book converted to AZW3 I can usually navigate to the title page and toc, but nothing else.

Yes, I've tried using the calibre wizard to customize the toc Xpath expressions during conversion and the conversion seems to go OK, but there is no chapter navigation when I'm done. I've tried letting calibre create it's own toc, which it does, but it doesn't work for "next/prev" navigation. I've tried hand-editing the toc.ncx file, making sure the ids match the individual chapter file ids. Still, the only chapter navigation that works are the ones that made it though the original ePub conversion, which is usually just title page and toc.

What is really frustrating is that when reading the book, everything is fine. The KK remembers my last page read and takes me there when I turn it back on. BUT...if I make the mistake of hitting the left or right navigation button it takes me to the title page, AND sets that as the last page read. So now I have to guess where I was in the book and it takes 5-10 minutes of hunting to find it again. Very annoying.

I have done many Internet searches and can't find anything specific about chapter tags in AZW3 files. Should I be using a different file format? Is there an easier way to do this?

Even if there is a better way to convert ePubs I'll still need to know how to manually create chapter tags because I have a bunch of pdf files to convert.

bobinsc · 07-23-2019, 08:18 PM

The book was a pdf that has been converted to azw3 and edited to add h2 tags to chapter titles and then split using the calibre split tool. I then let calibre create a toc, which works in the calibre reader, but NOT in my Kindle Keyboard.

The KK displays the expected tic marks in the progress bar but the chapter navigation buttons only work for the prologue and chapter one. It cycles between prologue and chapter one forever and will never jump to any other chapters. I can page through and read the whole book, just can't navigate chapters.

I reviewed the chapter links and the toc file and can't see any reason why it doesn't work.

CHAPTER HEADINGS FOR THE FIRST 4 ITEMS IN THE TOC:

<h2 class="calibre4" id="calibre_toc_2">PROLOGUE</h2>

<h2 class="calibre2" id="1T141-1a5df9c467514a6eb90de773e191ab2c">ONE-THE LAW OF THE DESERT</h2>

<h2 class="calibre2" id="2RHM1-1a5df9c467514a6eb90de773e191ab2c">TWO-BINDING AND UNBINDING</h2>

<h2 class="calibre2" id="3Q281-1a5df9c467514a6eb90de773e191ab2c">THREE-HUNTING</h2>

PARTIAL TOC.NCX FILE :

<?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?>
<ncx xmlns:calibre="http://calibre.kovidgoyal.net/2009/metadata" xmlns="http://www.daisy.org/z3986/2005/ncx/" xml:lang="en">
<head>
<meta name="dtb:uid" content="21d9e9a6-0306-47cc-a660-feae508ef91d"/>
<meta name="dtb:depth" content="2"/>
<meta name="dtb:generator" content="calibre (3.44.0)"/>
<meta name="dtb:totalPageCount" content="0"/>
<meta name="dtb:maxPageNumber" content="0"/>
</head>
<docTitle>
<text>Table of Contents</text>
</docTitle>
<navMap>
<navPoint playOrder="1" id="num_1">
<navLabel>
<text>PROLOGUE</text>
</navLabel>
<content src="text/part0001.html#calibre_toc_2"/>
</navPoint>
<navPoint playOrder="2" id="num_2">
<navLabel>
<text>ONE-THE LAW OF THE DESERT</text>
</navLabel>
<content src="text/part0002.html#1T141-1a5df9c467514a6eb90de773e191ab2c"/>
</navPoint>
<navPoint playOrder="3" id="num_3">
<navLabel>
<text>TWO-BINDING AND UNBINDING</text>
</navLabel>
<content src="text/part0003.html#2RHM1-1a5df9c467514a6eb90de773e191ab2c"/>
</navPoint>
<navPoint playOrder="4" id="num_4">
<navLabel>
<text>THREE-HUNTING</text>
</navLabel>
<content src="text/part0004.html#3Q281-1a5df9c467514a6eb90de773e191ab2c"/>
</navPoint>
<navPoint playOrder="5" id="num_5">
<navLabel>
<text>FOUR-THE TREE OF LIFE</text>
</navLabel>
<content src="text/part0005.html#4OIQ1-1a5df9c467514a6eb90de773e191ab2c"/>
</navPoint>

.

kovidgoyal · 07-24-2019, 04:41 AM

The jumping feature is based on something called a MOBI index, this is a pretty hairy binary format generated from the ToC. I have partially reverse engineered it for calibre, but not entirely, its likely you are hitting some limitation of that reverse engineering.

bobinsc · 07-24-2019, 11:00 AM

kovidgoyal - Thank you for the quick reply, I am relieved that it's not something dumb that I'm doing.

Is there anything I can do to help figure this out? I am not a coder but I can do grunt work or testing.

Is there some other e-book format or calibre conversion process or other software I can use to increase the chances of getting the chapter navigation to work?

===========

Note on calibre - it's obvious you have spent a lot of time paying attention to small details that make calibre exceptionally easy to use. For example, when searching in Edit mode the found text is highlighted, plus the whole line is highlighted, AND the HTML page is scrolled so the found text is positioned in the (vertical) center of the page, which makes it easy to see what's both before and after it. It's perfect for making edits. Almost.

I say almost for two reasons:

1. The found text is not highlighted in the preview pane, and if the word or phrase is in the middle of a long sentence it might not be on the top line; it could be 5 or 6 lines down in a long paragraph which makes it hard to visually locate in the preview pane.

2. Many times I'm searching for chapter titles or section breaks and I need to see how the page will appear when reading, but I can't see what comes before the chapter/section break, so I don't know if there is a lot of white space or a separator or if the chapter title is jammed up against the previous sentence.

It would be 100% prefect if the preview pane acted like the HTML pane - the text is highlighted and scrolled so it is in the center of the page.

So that's my "complaint". I still love calibre and think it's a fantastic tool. I made a donation soon after I started using it 3 or 4 years ago but I'll be making another one soon to encourage you to keep supporting it.

kovidgoyal · 07-24-2019, 01:43 PM

Sadly no there is not much you can do. I have spent about as much time as I am willing to on reverse engineering amazon's junk.

1. If you want to search with highlighting in the preview pane, use the search box under the preview pane. There cannot really be synced searrching between the two because one shows HTML and one does not

2. if there is a pagebreak before the heading it will always appear at the top of th page ina viewer in paged mode, i not, how it appears will vary depending on font and screen size.

DNSB · 07-24-2019, 01:54 PM

Have you tried Amazon's tools (Kindle Previewer or Kindlegen) to convert an epub to mobi to see if your chapter navigation then works? I'd suggest converting to azw3 but I seem to remember the Kindle Keyboard has never received the ability to handle KF8 in any firmware update.

Hmmm... should mention that kindlegen is a command line tool. Very powerful and a bit of a learning curve.

mbovenka · 07-25-2019, 04:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DNSB

I'd suggest converting to azw3 but I seem to remember the Kindle Keyboard has never received the ability to handle KF8 in any firmware update.

The K3/Keyboard will do AZW3. Anything older (K1, K2 and DX) will not.

07-21-2019, 10:25 PM	#7
bobinsc Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2019 Device: Kindle keyboard	Same trouble - making chapters in AZW3 New here, hoping to find some answers that keep eluding me. I desperately need help defining Chapters. I've spent maybe 40 or 50 hours (off and on) over the last couple years trying to figure out how to put chapters into an AZW3 file. I'm Using Calibre 6.6.3, converting ePub or PDF to AZW3 for use on a Kindle Keyboard. According to what I've read, Calibre should convert h1 or h2 tags to chapters, and maybe it does, but they don't "act" like chapters on my KK. When reading an Amazon-purchased AZW3 book I can use the 4-way navigation "left" and "right" buttons to skip to the chapter breaks. When reading an ePub book converted to AZW3 I can usually navigate to the title page and toc, but nothing else. Yes, I've tried using the calibre wizard to customize the toc Xpath expressions during conversion and the conversion seems to go OK, but there is no chapter navigation when I'm done. I've tried letting calibre create it's own toc, which it does, but it doesn't work for "next/prev" navigation. I've tried hand-editing the toc.ncx file, making sure the ids match the individual chapter file ids. Still, the only chapter navigation that works are the ones that made it though the original ePub conversion, which is usually just title page and toc. What is really frustrating is that when reading the book, everything is fine. The KK remembers my last page read and takes me there when I turn it back on. BUT...if I make the mistake of hitting the left or right navigation button it takes me to the title page, AND sets that as the last page read. So now I have to guess where I was in the book and it takes 5-10 minutes of hunting to find it again. Very annoying. I have done many Internet searches and can't find anything specific about chapter tags in AZW3 files. Should I be using a different file format? Is there an easier way to do this? Even if there is a better way to convert ePubs I'll still need to know how to manually create chapter tags because I have a bunch of pdf files to convert.

07-23-2019, 08:18 PM	#8
bobinsc Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2019 Device: Kindle keyboard	Toc created by Calibre works in Calibre but not in Kindle Keyboard The book was a pdf that has been converted to azw3 and edited to add h2 tags to chapter titles and then split using the calibre split tool. I then let calibre create a toc, which works in the calibre reader, but NOT in my Kindle Keyboard. The KK displays the expected tic marks in the progress bar but the chapter navigation buttons only work for the prologue and chapter one. It cycles between prologue and chapter one forever and will never jump to any other chapters. I can page through and read the whole book, just can't navigate chapters. I reviewed the chapter links and the toc file and can't see any reason why it doesn't work. CHAPTER HEADINGS FOR THE FIRST 4 ITEMS IN THE TOC: <h2 class="calibre4" id="calibre_toc_2">PROLOGUE</h2> <h2 class="calibre2" id="1T141-1a5df9c467514a6eb90de773e191ab2c">ONE-THE LAW OF THE DESERT</h2> <h2 class="calibre2" id="2RHM1-1a5df9c467514a6eb90de773e191ab2c">TWO-BINDING AND UNBINDING</h2> <h2 class="calibre2" id="3Q281-1a5df9c467514a6eb90de773e191ab2c">THREE-HUNTING</h2> PARTIAL TOC.NCX FILE : <?xml version='1.0' encoding='utf-8'?> <ncx xmlns:calibre="http://calibre.kovidgoyal.net/2009/metadata" xmlns="http://www.daisy.org/z3986/2005/ncx/" xml:lang="en"> <head> <meta name="dtb:uid" content="21d9e9a6-0306-47cc-a660-feae508ef91d"/> <meta name="dtb:depth" content="2"/> <meta name="dtb:generator" content="calibre (3.44.0)"/> <meta name="dtb:totalPageCount" content="0"/> <meta name="dtb:maxPageNumber" content="0"/> </head> <docTitle> <text>Table of Contents</text> </docTitle> <navMap> <navPoint playOrder="1" id="num_1"> <navLabel> <text>PROLOGUE</text> </navLabel> <content src="text/part0001.html#calibre_toc_2"/> </navPoint> <navPoint playOrder="2" id="num_2"> <navLabel> <text>ONE-THE LAW OF THE DESERT</text> </navLabel> <content src="text/part0002.html#1T141-1a5df9c467514a6eb90de773e191ab2c"/> </navPoint> <navPoint playOrder="3" id="num_3"> <navLabel> <text>TWO-BINDING AND UNBINDING</text> </navLabel> <content src="text/part0003.html#2RHM1-1a5df9c467514a6eb90de773e191ab2c"/> </navPoint> <navPoint playOrder="4" id="num_4"> <navLabel> <text>THREE-HUNTING</text> </navLabel> <content src="text/part0004.html#3Q281-1a5df9c467514a6eb90de773e191ab2c"/> </navPoint> <navPoint playOrder="5" id="num_5"> <navLabel> <text>FOUR-THE TREE OF LIFE</text> </navLabel> <content src="text/part0005.html#4OIQ1-1a5df9c467514a6eb90de773e191ab2c"/> </navPoint> .

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03-23-2014, 02:22 AM	#2
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,422 Karma: 85397180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	What chapter marks in the progress bar? Do you mean generating a ToC?

03-23-2014, 10:54 PM	#3
Bustin8 Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2014 Device: Kindle	Yes I believe so. The progression bar is the bar at the bottom and the markers/ticks are usually where a new chapter begins

03-23-2014, 11:26 PM	#4
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,422 Karma: 85397180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	Oh, right, this is the Kindle Keyboard, right? I don't really know how it works, but I am guessing that it will show the chapter mark at each location marked in the Active Table of Contents. calibre should automatically generate a ToC entry for each <h2> tag -- if not, you can right-click on an entry in the Calibre Library and select Edit ToC. You can add new entries by hand or generated through calibre's parsers.

03-23-2014, 11:34 PM	#5
Bustin8 Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2014 Device: Kindle	thanks man, I just did the ToC myself and it finally worked!

03-23-2014, 11:46 PM	#6
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,422 Karma: 85397180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	Good to hear! And thanks for the karma.

07-24-2019, 04:41 AM	#9
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 43,842 Karma: 22666666 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	The jumping feature is based on something called a MOBI index, this is a pretty hairy binary format generated from the ToC. I have partially reverse engineered it for calibre, but not entirely, its likely you are hitting some limitation of that reverse engineering.

07-24-2019, 11:00 AM	#10
bobinsc Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2019 Device: Kindle keyboard	kovidgoyal - Thank you for the quick reply, I am relieved that it's not something dumb that I'm doing. Is there anything I can do to help figure this out? I am not a coder but I can do grunt work or testing. Is there some other e-book format or calibre conversion process or other software I can use to increase the chances of getting the chapter navigation to work? =========== Note on calibre - it's obvious you have spent a lot of time paying attention to small details that make calibre exceptionally easy to use. For example, when searching in Edit mode the found text is highlighted, plus the whole line is highlighted, AND the HTML page is scrolled so the found text is positioned in the (vertical) center of the page, which makes it easy to see what's both before and after it. It's perfect for making edits. Almost. I say almost for two reasons: 1. The found text is not highlighted in the preview pane, and if the word or phrase is in the middle of a long sentence it might not be on the top line; it could be 5 or 6 lines down in a long paragraph which makes it hard to visually locate in the preview pane. 2. Many times I'm searching for chapter titles or section breaks and I need to see how the page will appear when reading, but I can't see what comes before the chapter/section break, so I don't know if there is a lot of white space or a separator or if the chapter title is jammed up against the previous sentence. It would be 100% prefect if the preview pane acted like the HTML pane - the text is highlighted and scrolled so it is in the center of the page. So that's my "complaint". I still love calibre and think it's a fantastic tool. I made a donation soon after I started using it 3 or 4 years ago but I'll be making another one soon to encourage you to keep supporting it.

07-24-2019, 01:43 PM	#11
kovidgoyal creator of calibre Posts: 43,842 Karma: 22666666 Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Mumbai, India Device: Various	Sadly no there is not much you can do. I have spent about as much time as I am willing to on reverse engineering amazon's junk. 1. If you want to search with highlighting in the preview pane, use the search box under the preview pane. There cannot really be synced searrching between the two because one shows HTML and one does not 2. if there is a pagebreak before the heading it will always appear at the top of th page ina viewer in paged mode, i not, how it appears will vary depending on font and screen size.

07-24-2019, 01:54 PM	#12
DNSB Bibliophagist Posts: 35,301 Karma: 145435140 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Vancouver Device: Kobo Sage, Forma, Clara HD, Lenovo M8 FHD, Paperwhite 4, Tolino epos	Have you tried Amazon's tools (Kindle Previewer or Kindlegen) to convert an epub to mobi to see if your chapter navigation then works? I'd suggest converting to azw3 but I seem to remember the Kindle Keyboard has never received the ability to handle KF8 in any firmware update. Hmmm... should mention that kindlegen is a command line tool. Very powerful and a bit of a learning curve.

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