11 July 2014

CREATE A TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR YOUR EBOOK



As you may or may not be aware, navigating your way through an eBook can be painstaking without a Table of Contents.  This being so it makes a lot of sense to add one to your book file before you upload it onto Kindle Direct Publishing.  If you have already published your eBook then you can upload a revised file with the TOC included.

If you haven’t had any experience making a TOC it can be a bit confusing but don’t despair, once you get the hang of it, it’s not that difficult.  Following are some easy to follow instructions:-

Step 1
Create Bookmarks for each of your Chapter headings.
Click Insert
Click Bookmark
In the window that comes up, type the name of your Bookmark, for example, Chapter_1.  (Note that there is an underscore in this heading.  This is because you can’t have spaces in your heading.)
Click Add
Repeat this until you have bookmarked all your chapter headings.
Next, make a Table of Contents bookmark.  You can call this TOC, if you like.

Step 2
Create a Table of Contents list, for example:-
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
etc

Step 3
Create Hyperlinks for each chapter heading
Highlight your Chapter 1 heading
Click Insert
Click Hyperlink
On the left side of the window that appears, click on Place in this document. Your bookmark list will then appear.
Click on your bookmark TOC
Click OK.
Your chapter heading will become
highlighted in blue.
If you press Ctrl and click on your Chapter heading, you will be taken to your Table of Contents list.
Repeat the above for all your chapter headings.  When you have done so, all your chapter headings should take you back to your Table of Contents list.



Step 4
Create Hyperlinks for your Table of Contents list to your chapter headings
Repeat what you did for the chapter headings only this time doing it from your TOC list. For example:-
Highlight your first chapter heading in your TOCs list
Click Insert
Click Hyperlink
From the bookmark list choose Chapter_1
Press OK


This will connect each chapter in your list to its individual chapter.  To test it, press CTRL click on one of the chapters in your list, and you should be taken straight to that chapter.

QUESTIONS anyone?

2 comments:

  1. Oh Wowl Jill...this looks complicated but I'm sure your instructions are very precise and will work if I ever need to add a TOC. I'm sure this will help authors trying to figure out how to do this. Good Post!

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    Replies
    1. It may look complicated but it isn't really, Anna. It just takes a bit of time and patience more than anything.

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