User`s guide

Publishing on Kindle: Guidelines for Publishers

Here is an example of a guide item for a TOC (underlined elements are mandatory):

Here is an example of a landmarks nav element for a TOC (underlined elements are mandatory):

<ol><li><a epub:type="toc" href="toc.html">Table of Contents</a></li></ol>

</nav>

3.3.4 TOC Guideline #4: No Tables in TOC

Do not create a TOC using HTML <table> tags. When the TOC includes HTML <table> tags, the links

of the TOC become not clickable/ non-functional. Tables are for tabular data only, not for layout.

3.3.5 TOC Guideline #5: No Page Numbers in TOC

Do not use page numbers in the TOC. Kindle books do not always map directly to page numbers in

physical editions of the book.

If you are importing the document from Word, use the “Heading” styles and the "Table of Contents"

feature of Microsoft Word. The TOC created by Word will be imported correctly and will convert to a TOC

that follows these guidelines.

3.3.6 TOC Guideline #6: Place the TOC at the Front of the Book

Place the HTML TOC towards the beginning of the book and not at the end of the book. This ensures that

a customer paging through the book from the beginning encounters the TOC naturally. Incorrect

placement of the TOC affects the accuracy of the “Last Page Read” feature. Correct placement ensures

that the TOC appears in sample downloads of the book.

3.3.7 TOC Guideline #7: Include a TOC for Bundled Editions

For bundled editions containing more than one individual book, include an overarching TOC at the

beginning of the file.

landmarks nav Elements Guidelines 3.4

3.4.1 landmarks nav Elements Guideline #1: Recommended landmarks nav Elements

The Kindle platform supports landmarks nav elements for defining the cover, table of contents (TOC),

and start reading location (”Go to Beginning”). Do not set the start reading location to a blank page.

Amazon does not recommend adding additional landmarks nav elements to the OPF file, because

they will be grayed out in the menu options and may cause customer confusion.

IMPORTANT: The landmarks nav elements, especially the TOC landmarks nav element, do not

replace the table of contents.

The landmarks nav elements are part of the IDPF 3.0 specification and are described at:

http://idpf.org/epub/30/spec/epub30-contentdocs-20111011.html#sec-xhtml-nav-def-model

and

http://idpf.org/epub/30/spec/epub30-contentdocs-20111011.html#sec-xhtml-nav-def-types-landmarks.

Guide Item Guidelines 3.5

3.5.1 Guide Item Guideline #1: Recommended Guide Items

The Kindle platform supports guide items for defining the cover, the table of contents (TOC), and the start

reading location (”Go to Beginning”). Do not set the start reading location to a blank page.

Kindle Publishing Guidelines Amazon.com 20