Books Starting at Chapter 1

darlan · 08-18-2022, 01:14 PM

Kind of annoys me that books always start at the first chapter rather than the cover. Sometimes there are maps and whatnot before this I miss, of course now I always check but honestly I wish there was a way to make it start books on the cover. Anyway to change this?

Sirtel · 08-18-2022, 01:25 PM

Yeah. Remove the DRM and sideload. Books open at the cover.

darlan · 08-18-2022, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Yeah. Remove the DRM and sideload. Books open at the cover.

but they are sideloaded ebooks

Sirtel · 08-18-2022, 02:00 PM

What is the original format? Are they converted books?

JSWolf · 08-18-2022, 02:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by darlan

Kind of annoys me that books always start at the first chapter rather than the cover. Sometimes there are maps and whatnot before this I miss, of course now I always check but honestly I wish there was a way to make it start books on the cover. Anyway to change this?

I don't know what you are doing, but I've never had the Calibre viewer not start at the beginning of the eBook.

retiredbiker · 08-18-2022, 03:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by darlan

Kind of annoys me that books always start at the first chapter rather than the cover. Sometimes there are maps and whatnot before this I miss, of course now I always check but honestly I wish there was a way to make it start books on the cover. Anyway to change this?

There is a section of the opf file inside the book called the "guide". It can tell the reading software where to start reading. Some readers don't use it, but I believe Kindle does. If you do a conversion you can control this in the Structure Detection section of the options -- look at the section titled "Start reading at (XPath expression)".

You can also change this with the Editor if it is an azw3 file. Open the book with the editor, then open the content.opf file. The Guide is down near the bottom. Here is what it might look like with just the cover page in place as the start reading point:
<guide>
<reference href="text/titlepage.xhtml" title="Cover" type="cover"/>
</guide>
But you can just empty it:
<guide>
</guide>

Karellen · 08-18-2022, 04:24 PM

Isn't the start point controlled by the following usually in the preface or first chapter...

Code:

<body id="start">

And it shows in the opf as (for example)

Code:

<reference type="text" title="Text" href="fact.xhtml#start"/>

And that forces Kindles to open the book at that page the first time?

JSWolf · 08-18-2022, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by retiredbiker

There is a section of the opf file inside the book called the "guide". It can tell the reading software where to start reading. Some readers don't use it, but I believe Kindle does. If you do a conversion you can control this in the Structure Detection section of the options -- look at the section titled "Start reading at (XPath expression)".

You can also change this with the Editor if it is an azw3 file. Open the book with the editor, then open the content.opf file. The Guide is down near the bottom. Here is what it might look like with just the cover page in place as the start reading point:
<guide>
<reference href="text/titlepage.xhtml" title="Cover" type="cover"/>
</guide>
But you can just empty it:
<guide>
</guide>

I've tried to get eBooks on a Kindle to open at the first page or the cover and I cannot do it. Even if there's no guide, Kindles don't start at the first page. The problem is that you can miss things that you want to read as Amazon decides where you should start reading your book.

JSWolf · 08-18-2022, 04:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Karellen

Isn't the start point controlled by the following usually in the preface or first chapter...

Code:

<body id="start">

And it shows in the opf as (for example)

Code:

<reference type="text" title="Text" href="fact.xhtml#start"/>

And that forces Kindles to open the book at that page the first time?

I tried that. It still started at the 6th HTML file in.

j.p.s · 08-18-2022, 04:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sirtel

Yeah. Remove the DRM and sideload. Books open at the cover.

Not for me.

Sirtel · 08-18-2022, 05:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by j.p.s

Not for me.

Dunno then, as mine always do.

Sirtel · 08-18-2022, 05:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I've tried to get eBooks on a Kindle to open at the first page or the cover and I cannot do it. Even if there's no guide, Kindles don't start at the first page. The problem is that you can miss things that you want to read as Amazon decides where you should start reading your book.

Conversion probably will do it. Most of mine are converted, even those bought from Amazon (to set the negative margins in bulk).

Karellen · 08-18-2022, 05:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I tried that. It still started at the 6th HTML file in.

When using Kindle Previewer, it works. I guess it is different on actual eink devices.
In the screenshot I used that same code in the Preface file and it is found. I remove that code, and it is shown as "Not Specified"

retiredbiker · 08-18-2022, 05:18 PM

Back when a Kindle keyboard was my only reader, I'm sure I used to mess with the guide section and get Amazon books to open the way I wanted. After reading the other comments, I took a new book and my much newer Oasis (which I hardly ever use) and tried to do what I used to. Nope, no luck at all. That book opens on the third file no matter what I do. And I can't see anything controlling it.

So my memory may be faulty - a distinct possibility - or something has changed.

Sirtel · 08-18-2022, 05:22 PM

All the books on my Oasis open at the first page after the cover, without exceptions. All have been converted at one time or other.

08-18-2022, 01:14 PM	#1
darlan Junior Member Posts: 4 Karma: 10 Join Date: Aug 2022 Device: kindle paperwhite	Books Starting at Chapter 1 Kind of annoys me that books always start at the first chapter rather than the cover. Sometimes there are maps and whatnot before this I miss, of course now I always check but honestly I wish there was a way to make it start books on the cover. Anyway to change this?

08-18-2022, 04:24 PM	#7
Karellen Wizard Posts: 1,611 Karma: 9500498 Join Date: Sep 2021 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Libra 2	Isn't the start point controlled by the following usually in the preface or first chapter... Code: <body id="start"> And it shows in the opf as (for example) Code: <reference type="text" title="Text" href="fact.xhtml#start"/> And that forces Kindles to open the book at that page the first time?

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Troubleshooting Kindle Oasis keeps starting books from first page?	tupolev86	Amazon Kindle	4	11-02-2017 08:29 PM
Troubleshooting Paperwhite - All books starting at last page	Kraftwerk	Amazon Kindle	7	01-04-2016 04:20 PM
K2 v K1: Chapter-to-chapter missing from some books?	Starhawk	Amazon Kindle	4	03-10-2009 06:27 PM
Chapter books - what are they?	f00l	Lounge	1	05-26-2008 11:04 PM

08-18-2022, 01:25 PM	#2
Sirtel Grand Sorcerer Posts: 13,466 Karma: 239219453 Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Estonia Device: Kobo Sage & Libra 2	Yeah. Remove the DRM and sideload. Books open at the cover.

08-18-2022, 02:00 PM	#4
Sirtel Grand Sorcerer Posts: 13,466 Karma: 239219453 Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Estonia Device: Kobo Sage & Libra 2	What is the original format? Are they converted books?

08-18-2022, 05:18 PM	#14
retiredbiker Evangelist Posts: 450 Karma: 3886916 Join Date: May 2013 Location: Ontario, Canada Device: Kindle KB, Oasis, Pop_Os!, Kobo Forma	Back when a Kindle keyboard was my only reader, I'm sure I used to mess with the guide section and get Amazon books to open the way I wanted. After reading the other comments, I took a new book and my much newer Oasis (which I hardly ever use) and tried to do what I used to. Nope, no luck at all. That book opens on the third file no matter what I do. And I can't see anything controlling it. So my memory may be faulty - a distinct possibility - or something has changed.

08-18-2022, 05:22 PM	#15
Sirtel Grand Sorcerer Posts: 13,466 Karma: 239219453 Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Estonia Device: Kobo Sage & Libra 2	All the books on my Oasis open at the first page after the cover, without exceptions. All have been converted at one time or other.

Advert

Advert