Creating a book from 1000+ individual docs

bronty · 06-15-2011, 08:23 PM

Hi -

I have over 1000 interviews I'd like to combine into one large ebook. Currently, they are each saved separately as Word documents. I found a program (macro) that will join the files together in Word, and I can convert to ePub (or whatever format) from there.

Where I am a bit stuck is creating a linked table of contents automatically. Each entry in the table of contents should be a clickable link to the respective interview. It can be a simple list of numbers (and I can add a static key to the page). Ideally, I could extract the first line of each document as an entry in the table of contents. That would make the links more descriptive. In any case, I want the TOC to be created automatically (rather than my linking all 1000+ interviews by hand).

Any suggestions?

Thank You

JSWolf · 06-15-2011, 08:37 PM

I don't know how easy this is to use with 1000+ file to add to the ToC, but give the following a try...

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=117809

Oh and since you are using Word, you'll have a hell of a job cleaning the crap that Word puts in for 1000+ files. Good luck.

bronty · 06-16-2011, 08:11 PM

Thanks very much for th link. I will try it.

Another idea, I can batch convert the Word docs to txt, then convert each to a separate ePub. Then, perhaps a program can join the 1000 ePubs into one big ePub with TOC?

pholy · 06-16-2011, 08:34 PM

Uhmm, no. This has been discussed recently, and there aren't any programs to combine epub files cleanly.

If you have a header for each interview, perhaps Word will create a usable TOC. I haven't tried using a Word-created TOC, though.

I think if you have Word output a 'filtered html' file and then run it through HTML-tidy with the appropriate options, you can get a (set of) fairly clean html file(s) to convert to epub. It does take some hand editing with regexes, as I recall.

eping · 06-20-2011, 12:13 AM

Since you have macro to combine those doc, you can also use macro to split them with section breaks, then try ePub Maker(click my signature), which will convert your doc into epub, and create TOC on split chapters(interviews) automatically.

eping · 06-20-2011, 12:22 AM

1000+?
Sorry, I made a mistake. I thought it's 100+
a TOC of 1000+ items, can it show properly and be browsed conveniently?
And can eReader handle such a big book with huge TOC?
Does anyone have any idea or test on this?

ePub Maker limits TOC size under 255 items.

mrmikel · 06-20-2011, 11:21 AM

Seems like bronty needs to do a little editing work. Even in paper, this would be a daunting task to use, with a TOC taking 20-30 pages.

Perhaps a little organization by subject or time or something so that you can at least create sections. Or just break up the thing into several books based on some sort of common idea.

The small screen of most e-readers will create endless paging through the TOC.

There is a program, merger, available on the web, which can combine html files.

susan_cassidy · 06-20-2011, 12:15 PM

I would suggest that more grouping of 1000 interviews is needed. Perhaps by theme or something? 1000 individual interviews would be too hard to navigate. How would you know which ones you might be interested in reading?

bronty · 06-29-2011, 12:16 AM

Thanks for all the responses. I can easily split up the toc into years, that way it will be easier to navigate.

I managed to find a reference file, and to make a long story short, I now (almost) have an html document that is a full listing of all 1535 files, their title, and a link to the file itself.

The files are .doc but I can batch convert them to .html

Here's the question (s)

- Can I make my HTML reference file into a TOC? I can break it down into multiple TOCs by year / category easily and have multiple TOCs. That would be ideal in fact.

- Can I load my multiple HTML files into an ePub maker for it to convert them into one big eBook?

- When I convert the .doc to .html I notice that the HTML file contains the font size and font and bold typeface across the entire document (as in the original). Can I change this in an ePub maker?

THANKS!

06-15-2011, 08:23 PM	#1
bronty Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2011 Device: iPad 2	Creating a book from 1000+ individual docs Hi - I have over 1000 interviews I'd like to combine into one large ebook. Currently, they are each saved separately as Word documents. I found a program (macro) that will join the files together in Word, and I can convert to ePub (or whatever format) from there. Where I am a bit stuck is creating a linked table of contents automatically. Each entry in the table of contents should be a clickable link to the respective interview. It can be a simple list of numbers (and I can add a static key to the page). Ideally, I could extract the first line of each document as an entry in the table of contents. That would make the links more descriptive. In any case, I want the TOC to be created automatically (rather than my linking all 1000+ interviews by hand). Any suggestions? Thank You

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06-15-2011, 08:37 PM	#2
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 73,957 Karma: 128903250 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	I don't know how easy this is to use with 1000+ file to add to the ToC, but give the following a try... https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=117809 Oh and since you are using Word, you'll have a hell of a job cleaning the crap that Word puts in for 1000+ files. Good luck.

06-16-2011, 08:11 PM	#3
bronty Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2011 Device: iPad 2	Thanks very much for th link. I will try it. Another idea, I can batch convert the Word docs to txt, then convert each to a separate ePub. Then, perhaps a program can join the 1000 ePubs into one big ePub with TOC?

06-16-2011, 08:34 PM	#4
pholy Booklegger Posts: 1,801 Karma: 7999816 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada Device: BeBook(1 & 2010), PEZ, PRS-505, Kobo BT, PRS-T1, Playbook, Kobo Touch	Uhmm, no. This has been discussed recently, and there aren't any programs to combine epub files cleanly. If you have a header for each interview, perhaps Word will create a usable TOC. I haven't tried using a Word-created TOC, though. I think if you have Word output a 'filtered html' file and then run it through HTML-tidy with the appropriate options, you can get a (set of) fairly clean html file(s) to convert to epub. It does take some hand editing with regexes, as I recall.

06-20-2011, 12:13 AM	#5
eping ePub Maker Posts: 120 Karma: 16 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Mordor Device: iPad,Kindle 3, Nook 2	Since you have macro to combine those doc, you can also use macro to split them with section breaks, then try ePub Maker(click my signature), which will convert your doc into epub, and create TOC on split chapters(interviews) automatically.

06-20-2011, 12:22 AM	#6
eping ePub Maker Posts: 120 Karma: 16 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Mordor Device: iPad,Kindle 3, Nook 2	1000+? Sorry, I made a mistake. I thought it's 100+ a TOC of 1000+ items, can it show properly and be browsed conveniently? And can eReader handle such a big book with huge TOC? Does anyone have any idea or test on this? ePub Maker limits TOC size under 255 items.

06-20-2011, 11:21 AM	#7
mrmikel Color me gone Posts: 2,089 Karma: 1445295 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Central Oregon Coast Device: PRS-300	Seems like bronty needs to do a little editing work. Even in paper, this would be a daunting task to use, with a TOC taking 20-30 pages. Perhaps a little organization by subject or time or something so that you can at least create sections. Or just break up the thing into several books based on some sort of common idea. The small screen of most e-readers will create endless paging through the TOC. There is a program, merger, available on the web, which can combine html files.

06-20-2011, 12:15 PM	#8
susan_cassidy Wizard Posts: 2,251 Karma: 3720310 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: USA Device: Kindle, iPad (not used much for reading)	I would suggest that more grouping of 1000 interviews is needed. Perhaps by theme or something? 1000 individual interviews would be too hard to navigate. How would you know which ones you might be interested in reading?

06-29-2011, 12:16 AM	#9
bronty Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2011 Device: iPad 2	Thanks for all the responses. I can easily split up the toc into years, that way it will be easier to navigate. I managed to find a reference file, and to make a long story short, I now (almost) have an html document that is a full listing of all 1535 files, their title, and a link to the file itself. The files are .doc but I can batch convert them to .html Here's the question (s) - Can I make my HTML reference file into a TOC? I can break it down into multiple TOCs by year / category easily and have multiple TOCs. That would be ideal in fact. - Can I load my multiple HTML files into an ePub maker for it to convert them into one big eBook? - When I convert the .doc to .html I notice that the HTML file contains the font size and font and bold typeface across the entire document (as in the original). Can I change this in an ePub maker? THANKS!

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