ToC: Hidden bookmarks problem

[julesy987]

I have uploaded my Word document to Smashwords and had no problems with the formatting of the file—other than with the NCX.

I am creating an eBook for an anthology of work published by students in a Professional Writing and Editing course, so each item in the ToC is the name of the piece of writing. The headings for each story have been formatted correctly (double-checked the Heading 2 styles).

After a lot of troubleshooting, I have isolated the following anomaly in using Word to generate by linked ToC: every time I create a bookmark for an individual piece that has one word as the title/heading, Word generates a hidden bookmark. When I link back to this bookmark using a hyperlink in my custom-made ToC, then save the file, Word changes the hyperlink from my custom bookmark to the hidden bookmark. I cannot stop Word from generating or linking to this hidden bookmark in my custom ToC, even when I choose the custom bookmark (not the auto-generated one).

I'm not sure why, but this only happens for the stories where the title of the piece (formatted as Heading 2) is one word.

I'm combing the web for tips on how to permanently remove hidden bookmarks, but I'm not having much luck. Any suggestions on how to stop Word doing this strange (and frustrating) thing would be greatly appreciated.

[julesy987]

I believe I have found a solution for my problem: Don't use Microsoft Word!

I decided to open my file in Apple's Pages, and used that application to create the problem bookmarks and then link back to the ToC. Saved the file as a Word .doc from in Pages, and the problem suddenly disappears!

Word: can't live without it, but can't live with it either apparently.

[wiredintotheweb]

How did you create your TOC in Pages without generating page numbers? This is my first attempt at using Smashwords using Pages and I'm also having problems with paragraph styles. Any tips for Apple Pages to export as .doc files would be appreciated.

[bennybroke]

Hey thanks for posting this!

I was flipping out because some of the links in my TOC weren't working even though I did the same bookmark/hyperlink process for all the stories in my collection. I couldn't figure out why it worked for some but not all. It was linking to self-created hidden bookmarks instead of the ones I made.

I tried all kinds of different ways of doing it, and reread the Styleguide over and over, but I couldn't figure out what was wrong. Very frustrating!

It never would've ocurred to me that it was because those stories had one-word titles. Yikes, ms word is mysterious.

I went ahead and renamed those three stories, adding a couple of "the"s -nothing major, but it's crazy to change the name of a story due to formatting issues! I work on a mac but apple pages is wierd to me, it was easier just to rename the stories.

Thank you so much for your help!

Best wishes,

Benny

[Julie Harris]

Try inserting a bookmark in the body text, not in the heading itself. Something is buggy with your heading 2s.

As a test, I'd apply a bookmark in the first paragraph and name it something different, remove the offending link from the contents page by right clicking/remove hyperlink, then select it again and hyperlink to the new bookmark. Make sure Target Frame is (none).

The link will take the reader not to the heading itself but to the first words of the story/chapter. If there is 'keep-together' between heading 2 and first paragraph, reader can still see the story title.
Let us know what happens.

[bennybroke]

I tried that with the first WORD of every paragraph, and it didn't help. Maybe it would've worked if I'd done the first two words, idk.

I fixed the issue, but I'll try your method as an experiment and let you know how it goes, THANKS

[bennybroke]

Just a quick update, I tried selecting the first two words in the body of the story and assigning those as the story bookmark, but I had the same wacky results!!! Anyone else have this problem? Any other ideas for workarounds? I *_Hate_1* this problem!!

It must have something to do with the headings? Maybe if you name a bookmark the same thing as a heading it doesn't matter if you've manually assigned the hyperlink to something else -ie the first words of the story?

it must be something weird that I'm doing, I can't imagine everyone who has tried to link to a chapter called "one" or "two" having the same problem... It seems like it would've come up in the style guide right? Hmmmmm I feel like cursing but I'm new here so...

[Julie Harris]

I use heading 2s, call the bookmark ch01, ch02 etc. have you tried applying normal style to the chapter headings, applying bookmark, then apply heading 2?

[Julie Harris]

Also, step by step describe your bookmarking process please.

[chelsfield]

We use TOC links all the time for our non-fiction series, starting from a 'nuc-ed' ms word documents. No problems. I think, as Julie says, we would really have to see a breakdown of the steps you are taking to see what is going wrong...

[carriagegirl]

I am so lost and frustrated. 'Introduction', "Chapter2Rides', 'Chapter3Life'- etc. all linked and hyperlinked perfectly. But Chapter 1 just won't link. It keeps taking me to the very, very beginning of my manuscript, like the top right corner. One of the other chapters with a single word name, 'Rides', linked fine. This has specifically been pointed out as the only reason I can't get into the Premium Catalog. I have followed everything to the T, just can't get Chapter one to link right. Any and all help would be appreciated. I love the StyleGuide but wish there was more of a troubleshooting section. (I have looked and deleted a few hidden bookmarks, I have not tried renaming all my chapters, well, there's only five, so that shouldn't be too hard, but I figured I would ask for help here first!)
Thanks!

[Ted]

Carriagegirl, Julie mentioned a possible solution earlier in this thread. "Try inserting a bookmark in the body text, not in the heading itself. Something is buggy with your heading 2s.

As a test, I'd apply a bookmark in the first paragraph and name it something different, remove the offending link from the contents page by right clicking/remove hyperlink, then select it again and hyperlink to the new bookmark. Make sure Target Frame is (none).

The link will take the reader not to the heading itself but to the first words of the story/chapter. If there is 'keep-together' between heading 2 and first paragraph, reader can still see the story title.
Let us know what happens."

You might also try naming your Chapter 1 bookmark as Chapter_1 or Chapter1

[carriagegirl]

Thank you for the advice!! I will try it and report back!
Karin

[Ria Stone]

Jules -- I have vivid memories of formatting my document for the meatgrinder.

FYI: if I recall correctly there was another hidden problem separate from the TOC issue. My manuscript has a few images. I had to rename the images so the new name had no spaces like picture_1 rather than picture 1. But, it was like a maze trying to find the exact location in Word formatting where to change the name.

[jaydax]

There's a really simple answer - don't use meatgrinder. Instead format your chapter headings to use the same style in each case. I use Heading 1 but it is possible to use Heading 2 if you must. In Word I have my styles set as follows:
Normal
Font: (Default) Garamond, 11 pt,
Indent: First line: 0.5 cm,
Justified
Line spacing: single,
Widow/Orphan control,
Style: Quick Style

No Indent
Indent: First line: 0.01 cm, (You won't notice this indent in an e-book but e-books understand it a lot better than an indent of 0 cm)
Style: Linked, Quick Style.
Based on: Normal.
Following style: Normal

Title (Used in front matter only)
Font: Cambria, 18 pt, Indent: First line: 0 cm, Centered,
Style: Linked, Quick Style, Priority: 11
Based on: Normal
Following style: No Indent

Subtitle (Used in front matter only)
Font: Calibri, 12 pt, Italic,
Indent: First line: 0 cm,
Centered,
Space Before: 10 pt
Space After: 18 pt,
Style: Linked, Quick Style, Priority: 12
Based on: Normal
Following style: No Indent

Heading 1 (Used for chapter headings)
Font: Cambria, 12 pt, Bold, Font color: Black, Indent: First line: 0 cm, Centered,
Space Before: 18 pt, After: 12 pt,
Level 1, Style: Linked, Quick Style, Priority: 10
Based on: Normal
Following style: No Indent

Separator (Used to separate scenes)
Centered,
Style: Linked, Quick Style
Based on: Normal
Following style: No Indent


For a non-fiction books I also use:

Heading 2
Font: Cambria, 11 pt, Bold, Font color: Black, Indent: First line: 0 cm,
Space Before: 16 pt, After: 11 pt,
Level 2, Style: Linked, Quick Style, Priority: 10
Based on: Normal
Following style: No Indent

Heading 3
Font: Cambria, 11 pt, Bold, Font color: Black, Indent: First line: 0 cm,
Space Before: 14 pt, After: 11 pt,
Level 3, Style: Linked, Quick Style, Priority: 10
Based on: Normal
Following style: No Indent

Once you've set your Word styles and saved the document (docx or doc files bot work) add it to Calibre. Use Calibre to add cover and meta tags then convert the document in Calibre to epub format. When doing this use these settings:
In 'Table of Contents' check 'Force use of auto-generated Table of Contents' and in Level 1 TOC (XPath expression) enter //h:h1 If you want to use Heading 2 for Chapter heading styles then change that to //h:h2 Finally put a check next to 'Manually fine tune ToC after conversion is complete'
In EPUB Output put a check next to 'Preserve cover aspect ratio
Clicking OK will start the conversion. You can see progress at the bottom right corner.
Once it's finished the Table of Contents editor will pop open and you can fine tune anything wrong.

It's worth running the Calibre editor too - right click the line in Calibre and choose 'Edit book'. You can strip out unused Word styles, Fix any of Word's dreadful HTML and embed any fonts you have to use. Use the 'Run check' link to see if there are any problems. Use the editor to fix any you find. Finally use an online epubcheck to make sure the file is perfect befor sending it to Smashwords or Amazon. Both will accept it.