how to create Table of Contents?

Small Elephant · 11-16-2012, 01:40 PM

Hello all
I am new here at mobileread.

I have a Kindle 2 e-ink reader and I have downloaded some pdf books that I have converted to mobi so that I can read it on my Kindle. But I would very much like to get the Table of Contents feature to work and for the TOC to link to the actual chapters in the book.
I have downloaded and installed Calibre and tried to read the help section and looked at various youtube tutorials but I can't find anything explaining how to create TOC. I was able to create Table of Contents at the end of the book, but all the TOC links link to the first page of the book.
In Calibre I went into Convert Books - Outpu MOBI - Table of Contents - OK.

Can anyone tell me how in Calibre to get the Table of Contents to link to the chapters in the book?

Any help is very much appreciated.

Doitsu · 11-16-2012, 02:17 PM

When you convert PDFs to .mobi the actual TOC information usually gets lost and needs to be re-created from scratch. I'd recommend converting the PDF to html or epub first. Then have a look at the html code that the chapter headings are enclosed in.

If all headings have a unique style (e.g. <p class="calibre77">Heading</p>), you might be able to get a TOC by specifying a regular expression in Calibre using the XPath wizard(s). (Preferences > Common Options > Table of Contents)

Alternatively you could open the .html or .ePub file with Sigil, and replace all heading <p>/</p> tags with <h3>/</h3> tags and have Sigil automatically generate a TOC. If it looks OK, you can generate an HTML TOC, save the file and compile it with Kindlegen or convert it with Calibre.

If you have more questions, post them in the Calibre, Sigil or Mobi forums.

Small Elephant · 11-17-2012, 01:17 AM

Ok so I will:
1. convert PDF to html
2. replace headings and generate toc with Sigil
3. convert html to mobi with Calibre

Thanks for the help Doitsu, and next time I will post in the appropriate forums.

11-16-2012, 01:40 PM	#1
Small Elephant Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Denmark Device: kindle 2	how to create Table of Contents? Hello all I am new here at mobileread. I have a Kindle 2 e-ink reader and I have downloaded some pdf books that I have converted to mobi so that I can read it on my Kindle. But I would very much like to get the Table of Contents feature to work and for the TOC to link to the actual chapters in the book. I have downloaded and installed Calibre and tried to read the help section and looked at various youtube tutorials but I can't find anything explaining how to create TOC. I was able to create Table of Contents at the end of the book, but all the TOC links link to the first page of the book. In Calibre I went into Convert Books - Outpu MOBI - Table of Contents - OK. Can anyone tell me how in Calibre to get the Table of Contents to link to the chapters in the book? Any help is very much appreciated.

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11-16-2012, 02:17 PM	#2
Doitsu Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,582 Karma: 22735033 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: Kindle PW2	When you convert PDFs to .mobi the actual TOC information usually gets lost and needs to be re-created from scratch. I'd recommend converting the PDF to html or epub first. Then have a look at the html code that the chapter headings are enclosed in. If all headings have a unique style (e.g. <p class="calibre77">Heading</p>), you might be able to get a TOC by specifying a regular expression in Calibre using the XPath wizard(s). (Preferences > Common Options > Table of Contents) Alternatively you could open the .html or .ePub file with Sigil, and replace all heading <p>/</p> tags with <h3>/</h3> tags and have Sigil automatically generate a TOC. If it looks OK, you can generate an HTML TOC, save the file and compile it with Kindlegen or convert it with Calibre. If you have more questions, post them in the Calibre, Sigil or Mobi forums.

11-17-2012, 01:17 AM	#3
Small Elephant Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Denmark Device: kindle 2	Ok so I will: 1. convert PDF to html 2. replace headings and generate toc with Sigil 3. convert html to mobi with Calibre Thanks for the help Doitsu, and next time I will post in the appropriate forums.

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