Possible to set default page to open?

[zodac]

Is there an option in Sigil (using 2.0.2) where I can choose which page should open by default when opening an epub? I'm updating a few files and want to edit their .opf file. Is there a way I can configure Sigil to open that file by default for a book?

[DiapDealer]

No. Currently there's no way to do that. Sigil always opens to the first xhtml page.

[KevinH]

If your goal is to update or change OPF metadata, then you are best to use the Metadata Editing tool which is part of Sigil. It works by a single click on the toolbar no matter which file is open in CodeView.

Please remember to use Sigil menus to add or remove files, update manifest properties, maintain spine order, erc. As trying to manually edit the opf is fraught with difficulties as Sigil maintains the opf as fully machine parseable at ALL times. This can cause errors if focus leaves the OPF tab before all your desired changes are made.

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

No. Currently there's no way to do that. Sigil always opens to the first xhtml page.

Be good if there was.

I use Sigil->Tools-> MD editor late in my workflow for the sole purpose of removing unwanted MD elements (e.g. subjects, description etc), I always load the opf file first to see what's there, and look again after exiting the MD Editor.

A command line option would be my preference e.g. sigil -open <something>.

BR

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

A command line option would be my preference e.g. sigil -open <something>.

That's not likely to happen. Anything after Sigil is considered to be a path to an epub to open. Sigil is never going to be that command-line friendly. It's a gui tool. No batch epub processing, no headless functionality. No checking to see if a filename even exists to launch first.

[KevinH]

Agreed. Not happening.

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Sigil is never going to be that command-line friendly. It's a gui tool.

Fair enough, but so is MS Notepad ==>> Notepad command line switches - Microsoft

BR

[DiapDealer]

Sigil is just never going to be geared toward opening a bunch of epubs quickly for minor changes. It's not a tool to quickly make changes to an entire library.

Notepad opens one file. Sigil opens an epub that can contain hundreds of files that are intimately linked. Your comparison is not very apt.

[nabsltd]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Notepad opens one file.

Windows 11 Notepad with tabs can open multiple files at the same time, as long as Notepad is the default app for those files. So, multi-select in Explorer, hit ENTER, and all the files open...mostly.

There are reports of bugs where the new Notepad tries to open files with the same name in the same tab, even if the files are not located at the same place on the disk. You can easily trigger this sort of bug if you search for "README.txt" in a directory tree, then try to open all of them at the same time.

What you say about Sigil is correct, though.

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Sigil is just never going to be geared toward opening a bunch of epubs quickly for minor changes. It's not a tool to quickly make changes to an entire library.

Notepad opens one file. Sigil opens an epub that can contain hundreds of files that are intimately linked. Your comparison is not very apt.

I never mentioned or even implied opening a 'bunch of files'? Nor in my opinion did the OP. At the command level Sigil opens one file e.g sigil whatever.epub, notwithstanding nabsltd's post, so does Notepad.

If you don't want to do it fair enough. But please don't claim its because I suggested something I didn't suggest, and never have or would suggest.

BR

[DNSB]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

I never mentioned or even implied opening a 'bunch of files'? Nor in my opinion did the OP. At the command level Sigil opens one file e.g sigil whatever.epub, notwithstanding nabsltd's post, so does Notepad.

If you don't want to do it fair enough. But please don't claim its because I suggested something I didn't suggest, and never have or would suggest.

BR

The problem is that the normal usage for Notepad is opening a single file while Sigil is opening a bunch of files collected into a .zip container.

notepad foo.bar.txt opens a single text file.

sigil font-tester-v4r.epub opens a .zip container with 103 files. The minimum number of files in a valid epub file would be 4 plus a directory (META-INF).

For me, it is easy enough to click on the M icon to open the metadata editor (probably safer to unless I find a real need to manually edit the .opf file).

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

I never mentioned or even implied opening a 'bunch of files'? Nor in my opinion did the OP.

No kidding. I'm the one who implied it. Because it's always relevant whenever someone attempts to compare the features of a file editor to the features of an epub editor. And as DNSB mentioned, an epub is not one file. No matter how much you might want to pretend it is.

[AlanHK]

Originally Posted by BetterRed

I use Sigil->Tools-> MD editor late in my workflow for the sole purpose of removing unwanted MD elements (e.g. subjects, description etc), I always load the opf file first to see what's there, and look again after exiting the MD Editor.

Be aware that Sigil purges anything non-standard in the OPF on opening.
You need to use another tool to open the epub as a zip and look at the OPF if you want to see everything there. Some apps put HTML style
<!-- comments --> in OPFs, which Sigil discards, for instance. Calibre tags will survive.

[KevinH]

Yes, all comments are removed from the opf, as Sigil auto parses and auto generates bits of it while you use Sigil. Sigil has always been that way.

[BetterRed]

Originally Posted by AlanHK

Be aware that Sigil purges anything non-standard in the OPF on opening.
You need to use another tool to open the epub as a zip and look at the OPF if you want to see everything there. Some apps put HTML style
<!-- comments --> in OPFs, which Sigil discards, for instance. Calibre tags will survive.

Aware of that.

My objective is to reduce the opf down to the bare essentials. I remove non DC elements with calibre's Modify EPUB plugin, and then I use Sigil to remove any description, subject and bookstore identifier DC elements.

BR