title tag to h1

Aromatisse · 03-16-2026, 12:31 PM

I have multiple epubs where the chapter titles are only inside the head title tag and nowhere else. Is there an "easy" way to convert or duplicate each title tag into a h1 tag at the beginning of a chapter?

KevinH · 03-16-2026, 12:45 PM

Yes, use Sigil's Find and Replace in Regex mode.

Have you ever searched using regular expressions before?

The idea is to find all the text between the opening title tag (while capturing the title tag contents) to the end of the opening body tag, then creating a replacement using the full capture with the addition of h1 tag with the captured title value appended.

This is also something you can easily do in a Sigil plugin if you know python, too.

Aromatisse · 03-16-2026, 02:54 PM

I have not used the regex mode before, but I will give it a try.

KevinH · 03-16-2026, 04:16 PM

To help get you started here are some tips:

Mode: Regex

Options: Regex Options:
Dot All checked
Unicode Property checked

Find:

Code:

<title>([^<]*)</title>(.*<body[^>]*>)

Replace:

Code:

<title>\1</title>\2\n  <h1>\1</h1>\n

The Find field above tells it to select everything from the starting title tag to the end of starting body tag, while capturing the contents of the title tag into the first capture field and everything else into the second capture field.

The Replace field tells it to use a title tag whose contents are capture 1 and then after the opening body tag, add a new line and a couple spaces and then create the h1 tag with the proper contents (capture 1).

I tested this on the following html code:

Code:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE html>

<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xmlns:epub="http://www.idpf.org/2007/ops">
<head>
   <title>This should be heading 1</title>
</head>

<body>
  <p>*</p>
</body>
</html>

And after doing a find and replace you end up with the following:

Code:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<!DOCTYPE html>

<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xmlns:epub="http://www.idpf.org/2007/ops">
<head>
    <title>This should be heading 1</title>
</head>

<body>
  <h1>This should be heading 1</h1>

  <p>*</p>
</body>
</html>

So this or something much like it should do the trick.

I hope this helps.

KevinH

Aromatisse · Yesterday, 05:22 AM

This worked like a charm, you really helped me out! Thank you!

KevinH · Yesterday, 11:15 AM

If you edit epubs often, then taking the time to learn to use regular expressions is well worth it. It is very powerful.

And for things that can't be done by regular expressions, if you know a smattering of python, you can use Python Function Replacement or create your own python Plugin for Sigil.

Glad it helped.

03-16-2026, 12:31 PM	#1
Aromatisse Junior Member Posts: 8 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2020 Device: Pocketbook	title tag to h1 I have multiple epubs where the chapter titles are only inside the head title tag and nowhere else. Is there an "easy" way to convert or duplicate each title tag into a h1 tag at the beginning of a chapter?

03-16-2026, 12:45 PM	#2
KevinH Sigil Developer Posts: 9,446 Karma: 6734148 Join Date: Nov 2009 Device: many	Yes, use Sigil's Find and Replace in Regex mode. Have you ever searched using regular expressions before? The idea is to find all the text between the opening title tag (while capturing the title tag contents) to the end of the opening body tag, then creating a replacement using the full capture with the addition of h1 tag with the captured title value appended. This is also something you can easily do in a Sigil plugin if you know python, too. Last edited by KevinH; 03-16-2026 at 01:20 PM.

03-16-2026, 04:16 PM	#4
KevinH Sigil Developer Posts: 9,446 Karma: 6734148 Join Date: Nov 2009 Device: many	To help get you started here are some tips: Mode: Regex Options: Regex Options: Dot All checked Unicode Property checked Find: Code: <title>([^<])</title>(.<body[^>]>) Replace: Code: <title>\1</title>\2\n <h1>\1</h1>\n The Find field above tells it to select everything from the starting title tag to the end of starting body tag, while capturing the contents of the title tag into the first capture field and everything else into the second capture field. The Replace field tells it to use a title tag whose contents are capture 1 and then after the opening body tag, add a new line and a couple spaces and then create the h1 tag with the proper contents (capture 1). I tested this on the following html code: Code: <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <!DOCTYPE html> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xmlns:epub="http://www.idpf.org/2007/ops"> <head> <title>This should be heading 1</title> </head> <body> <p></p> </body> </html> And after doing a find and replace you end up with the following: Code: <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> <!DOCTYPE html> <html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xmlns:epub="http://www.idpf.org/2007/ops"> <head> <title>This should be heading 1</title> </head> <body> <h1>This should be heading 1</h1> <p></p> </body> </html> So this or something much like it should do the trick. I hope this helps. KevinH Last edited by KevinH; 03-16-2026 at 04:19 PM.*

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03-16-2026, 02:54 PM	#3
Aromatisse Junior Member Posts: 8 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2020 Device: Pocketbook	I have not used the regex mode before, but I will give it a try.

Yesterday, 05:22 AM	#5
Aromatisse Junior Member Posts: 8 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2020 Device: Pocketbook	This worked like a charm, you really helped me out! Thank you!

Yesterday, 11:15 AM	#6
KevinH Sigil Developer Posts: 9,446 Karma: 6734148 Join Date: Nov 2009 Device: many	If you edit epubs often, then taking the time to learn to use regular expressions is well worth it. It is very powerful. And for things that can't be done by regular expressions, if you know a smattering of python, you can use Python Function Replacement or create your own python Plugin for Sigil. Glad it helped.

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