New epub ... TOC not working

Sharlene · 10-18-2011, 02:21 PM

I am in the process of creating an epub file.

Everything looks good in html format, it looks good in Calibre, works well in Adobe Digital Editions ... but ... when it's transferred to the Sony Reader the TOC doesn't work.

When i click on a specific chapter from the TOC it jumps down to the area just before the page break, instead of just after the page break where the chapter actually starts. I've changed the coding between

page-break-after: always;
and
page-break-before: always;

nothing is working.

Does anyone know why this is happening, and how I would be able to fix it?

Thank you

Toxaris · 10-19-2011, 03:50 AM

Since the Sony readers uses ADE, I think is also does not work well in ADE...

Anyway, how did you create your TOC? Could you post your opf and nxc file?

Sharlene · 10-19-2011, 10:50 AM

My TOC is in my xml file as follows:

<li><a href="#prologue">Prologue</a>
<li><a href="#chapter1">Chapter 1</a>
<li><a href="#chapter2">Chapter 2</a>

Called to:

Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2

This is what's in my 'chapter' parameters:

p.chapter
{
page-break-before: always;
margin-top:1em;
margin-bottom:1em;
text-indent: 0em;
text-align: center;
font-weight: bold;
font-size: 1.5em;
}

I don't have a .nxc file. the .opf file is attached

Please do keep in mind that this is my first ebook ever, so if there's something that i'm majorly missing, please let me know.

I've also tried the "Force use of auto-generated Table of Contents" option in Calibre .... but that didn't help either.

Thanks.

DaleDe · 10-19-2011, 01:06 PM

Get rid of the span and place the id in the p. It would be better is the p were h2 or h3 anyway since semantics of a a chapter heading is better to be called a heading rather than a paragraph. Then you can drop the class simplifying things further.

The pages are working like you coded them. The id is search for and then the p is encountered resulting in a page break.

Dale

Toxaris · 10-19-2011, 01:25 PM

I agree with DaleDe. Get rid of the spans, they are not necessary and use header tags. After all, that's what they are for.

Also, you say you don't have a toc.ncx? I think you must have, I believe it is a requirement for the inline TOC. Just as a question, why are you making a separate TOC instead of the normal inline TOC?

Sharlene · 10-19-2011, 01:31 PM

Thank you so much for your help DaleDe. I will try that.

Toxaris, as this is my first ebook, I'm just learning as i go along. I don't really know much about inline TOC's or not ... I just put one in because the book i'm doing has chapters. How do you create an inline TOC? and does it work with every ebook format?

JSWolf · 10-19-2011, 01:44 PM

No need for IDs. Just have your ToC open the file it should be opening. Given that each chapter should be a separate XML file, just call it as needed.

Also, since this is an ePub, please remove the internal ToC. It's just not needed and doesn't look good. Just do the ToC in toc.ncx. The worst thing done in an ePub is an internal ToC with all the headers linking to this internal ToC. I find that really poor and ugly too. Remember, this is ePub, not mobipocket and ePub does not need a ToC page.

Sharlene · 10-19-2011, 03:09 PM

oh. um. Each chapter is supposed to be a different file?? I just have one file as the whole manuscript. Is that all totally wrong?? Do I have to go and break everything into its individual sections?

JSWolf · 10-19-2011, 03:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sharlene

oh. um. Each chapter is supposed to be a different file?? I just have one file as the whole manuscript. Is that all totally wrong?? Do I have to go and break everything into its individual sections?

Yes, you do. If you don't, it may not work on mobile devices.

DaleDe · 10-19-2011, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sharlene

oh. um. Each chapter is supposed to be a different file?? I just have one file as the whole manuscript. Is that all totally wrong?? Do I have to go and break everything into its individual sections?

They do not need to all be in separate files. For use on mobile devices the files should be less than 300KBytes so it really depends on how long the book is and how long each chapter is. There is a free download called Sigil that has its own forum here on MobileRead. It is an excellent tool for creating ePub. It will deal with most of the boiler plate and allow you to worry about the content.

Dale

Sharlene · 10-19-2011, 04:10 PM

Thank you so much for all of your help. The epub file as it stands now is at 465KB

I won't be able to test the TOC until tomorrow, so I will post more then. In the meantime I will look into Sigil.

JSWolf · 10-19-2011, 04:18 PM

Sounds like it would need to be split. That's the way to do it to make sure that everything works. Also, if you can get a hold of a reader such as a Sony Reader to make sure everything works that would be good.

Toxaris · 10-20-2011, 01:56 AM

Splitting each chapter in a separate file is usually a good thing to do. It is not always required. It has some advantages, one of them is maintenance.
Your epub will probably give issues, since the uncompressed size is larger than 285kb. That figure is usually a save size. If you split on chapter, almost certain no individual XHTML file will be larger than 285kb.

Sharlene · 10-27-2011, 11:30 AM

Sorry it's been a while. Thank you all for your help. I got the TOC to work

Now i'm on to new things...ie. separating chapters and imbedding fonts

See you guys around on the boards.

ChaJudLeoBit · 01-25-2014, 06:11 AM

On this subject of chapters, if anyone is still around, I'd like to add a question.

I built the TOC of a book in Sigil, but when it was being uploaded to B&N, they said they were not detecting chapters. Anyone know how I can fix this?

Thanks!

10-18-2011, 02:21 PM	#1
Sharlene Member Posts: 20 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2011 Device: none	New epub ... TOC not working I am in the process of creating an epub file. Everything looks good in html format, it looks good in Calibre, works well in Adobe Digital Editions ... but ... when it's transferred to the Sony Reader the TOC doesn't work. When i click on a specific chapter from the TOC it jumps down to the area just before the page break, instead of just after the page break where the chapter actually starts. I've changed the coding between page-break-after: always; and page-break-before: always; nothing is working. Does anyone know why this is happening, and how I would be able to fix it? Thank you

10-19-2011, 01:44 PM	#7
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 48,049 Karma: 36546943 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Aura H2O, Sony PRS-650, Sony PRS-T1, nook STR, iPad 4, iPhone 5	No need for IDs. Just have your ToC open the file it should be opening. Given that each chapter should be a separate XML file, just call it as needed. Also, since this is an ePub, please remove the internal ToC. It's just not needed and doesn't look good. Just do the ToC in toc.ncx. The worst thing done in an ePub is an internal ToC with all the headers linking to this internal ToC. I find that really poor and ugly too. Remember, this is ePub, not mobipocket and ePub does not need a ToC page. Last edited by JSWolf; 10-19-2011 at 01:48 PM.

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10-19-2011, 03:50 AM	#2
Toxaris Wizard Posts: 4,369 Karma: 117701645 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Heemskerk, NL Device: PRS-300, PRS-T1	Since the Sony readers uses ADE, I think is also does not work well in ADE... Anyway, how did you create your TOC? Could you post your opf and nxc file?

10-19-2011, 01:06 PM	#4
DaleDe Grand Sorcerer Posts: 10,679 Karma: 11044306 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Grass Valley, CA Device: EB 1150, EZ Reader, Literati, iPad 2 & Air 2	Get rid of the span and place the id in the p. It would be better is the p were h2 or h3 anyway since semantics of a a chapter heading is better to be called a heading rather than a paragraph. Then you can drop the class simplifying things further. The pages are working like you coded them. The id is search for and then the p is encountered resulting in a page break. Dale

10-19-2011, 01:25 PM	#5
Toxaris Wizard Posts: 4,369 Karma: 117701645 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Heemskerk, NL Device: PRS-300, PRS-T1	I agree with DaleDe. Get rid of the spans, they are not necessary and use header tags. After all, that's what they are for. Also, you say you don't have a toc.ncx? I think you must have, I believe it is a requirement for the inline TOC. Just as a question, why are you making a separate TOC instead of the normal inline TOC?

10-19-2011, 01:31 PM	#6
Sharlene Member Posts: 20 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2011 Device: none	Thank you so much for your help DaleDe. I will try that. Toxaris, as this is my first ebook, I'm just learning as i go along. I don't really know much about inline TOC's or not ... I just put one in because the book i'm doing has chapters. How do you create an inline TOC? and does it work with every ebook format?

10-19-2011, 03:09 PM	#8
Sharlene Member Posts: 20 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2011 Device: none	oh. um. Each chapter is supposed to be a different file?? I just have one file as the whole manuscript. Is that all totally wrong?? Do I have to go and break everything into its individual sections?

10-19-2011, 04:10 PM	#11
Sharlene Member Posts: 20 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2011 Device: none	Thank you so much for all of your help. The epub file as it stands now is at 465KB I won't be able to test the TOC until tomorrow, so I will post more then. In the meantime I will look into Sigil.

10-19-2011, 04:18 PM	#12
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 48,049 Karma: 36546943 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Aura H2O, Sony PRS-650, Sony PRS-T1, nook STR, iPad 4, iPhone 5	Sounds like it would need to be split. That's the way to do it to make sure that everything works. Also, if you can get a hold of a reader such as a Sony Reader to make sure everything works that would be good.

10-20-2011, 01:56 AM	#13
Toxaris Wizard Posts: 4,369 Karma: 117701645 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Heemskerk, NL Device: PRS-300, PRS-T1	Splitting each chapter in a separate file is usually a good thing to do. It is not always required. It has some advantages, one of them is maintenance. Your epub will probably give issues, since the uncompressed size is larger than 285kb. That figure is usually a save size. If you split on chapter, almost certain no individual XHTML file will be larger than 285kb.

10-27-2011, 11:30 AM	#14
Sharlene Member Posts: 20 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2011 Device: none	Sorry it's been a while. Thank you all for your help. I got the TOC to work Now i'm on to new things...ie. separating chapters and imbedding fonts See you guys around on the boards.

01-25-2014, 06:11 AM	#15
ChaJudLeoBit Member Posts: 12 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2013 Device: Nook	On this subject of chapters, if anyone is still around, I'd like to add a question. I built the TOC of a book in Sigil, but when it was being uploaded to B&N, they said they were not detecting chapters. Anyone know how I can fix this? Thanks!

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