bookmarking start of book in Sigil

[Alda]

Hello,

I've been building my book in Sigil and uploading to KDP as ePub which works fine, except that I can't figure out a way to bookmark the default opening of the book. The Kindle instructions tell me how to do it in Word - can anyone tell me how to do it in Sigil, so that when a reader first opens the book he'll land on the title page? As it is now, the book opens halfway through my TOC.

Thank you!

Alda

[eschwartz]

Use the Set Semantics feature to set the startpoint as "text".

Set Semantics is a right-click option in the File Browser.

kindlegen will translate it as the mobi guide type "start".

[Alda]

I get "add semantics" - I'm assuming that's the same thing?

Also, I don't get "text" - just the file names. I assume I just choose the file I want to start with?

[eschwartz]

Yes, that's what I mean. I'm a little rusty on my Sigil. But the meaning was clear, so it's all good.

Seect a file and right-click to Add semantics, you will be offered a list of semantics including Cover, ToC, text, epigraph, copyright, colophon, dedication, etc.

See: http://web.sigil.googlecode.com/git/...#add-semantics

[Alda]

That didn't work, unfortunately. It still opens at location 13 for some reason.

Any other ideas?

[Doitsu]

Originally Posted by Alda

That didn't work, unfortunately. It still opens at location 13 for some reason.

In that case you most likely have several text guide items. Double-click content.opf and double-check the guide items section. It should look like this:

  <guide>
    <reference href="Text/Cover.xhtml" title="Cover" type="cover" />
    <reference href="Text/TOC.xhtml" title="Table Of Contents" type="toc" />
    <reference href="Text/chapter1.html" title="Text" type="text" />
  </guide>

(Of course your book will have different file name references.)

[Alda]

Originally Posted by Doitsu

In that case you most likely have several text guide items. Double-click content.opf and double-check the guide items section. )

Thanks - my guide section looks like this:

<guide>
<reference href="Text/TOC.html#filepos135406" title="Table of Contents" type="toc" />
<reference href="Text/Icelandic_Folk_Legends_split_000.html" title="Titilsíða" type="title-page" />
</guide>

Means very little to me - does that tell you anything?

[Alda]

OK - I tried converting from ePub to mobi using Calibre, and that seemed to do the trick. It now opens at the beginning, where I want it to.

Thanks to all for your help and suggestions.

[Doitsu]

Originally Posted by Alda

Means very little to me - does that tell you anything?

It tells me that the book you're working on was already mangled by Calibre and it's missing a SRL (start reading location) guide entry.

As eschwartz has already pointed out, you'll need to select the .html file of the first chapter, right-click it and select Add Semantics > Text.

Once you've done this, a third guide item will magically appear in the guide section.

[Notjohn]

Be aware that the SLR is actually set in the publishing process (i.e., AFTER you click on Publish & Continue), that Amazon is constantly tinkering with this, and that nobody to my knowledge has succeeded in beating the Kindle SLR into submission. Look Inside happily opens at the cover and proceeds through every preliminary, just as a book should open. The downloaded book can and has opened in many places. The default is supposed to be the first text chapter, skipping over everything that is prologue. For years, it seemed, every book open in the MIDDLE of the table of contents.

I set the "text" semantic as close to the beginning as I can get it (usually the title page) and trust that it will work as planned on the Nook and other epub readers. As for the Kindle, I figure it doesn't really matter and is not worth the grief to try to outguess the system, which is always changing anyhow.

I'm glad however to see the question asked here as well as on the KDP support forum. MobileRead is a very valuable resource.

[Alda]

Originally Posted by Notjohn

For years, it seemed, every book open in the MIDDLE of the table of contents.

Precisely the issue I was having. I did set the "text" semantic as instructed but it made no difference to KDP - it was still opening in the middle of the TOC until I converted to mobi.

But thanks for the info - much to learn.

[Toxaris]

You would be better off splitting your book into seperate XHTML documents, one per chapter is the rule of thumb. That would enable you also to pinppoint the starting position better.

[DiapDealer]

You're also conflating two different issues. Setting the 'Text' semantic in Sigil does work the way it's supposed to. It's just that Amazon reserves the right to not honor that start point in epubs you upload to KDP.

It's not so much a Sigil/epub question as it is a; "how can I 'game' Amazon into converting my epub the way I want them to using Sigil?" question.

[Notjohn]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

It's not so much a Sigil/epub question as it is a; "how can I 'game' Amazon into converting my epub the way I want them to using Sigil?" question.

Just so!

It's for those occasional sales on B&N and Apple that I doggedly set the "text" semantic in Sigil.