Menu

Table of contents generator

Paste your chapter titles. Get a print TOC with dot leaders and a linked ebook TOC, ready to copy or download.

Put a tab or two spaces before a page number. Start a line with two spaces or a dash for a sub-entry.

Ebook links point to
  • The ebook TOC never shows page numbers: Kindle books do not map to print pages.

Contents

  1. Prologue1
  2. The Lighthouse Keeper5
  3. A Letter from the Mainland19
  4. The Storm27
  5. After the Storm34
  6. Gull Rock41
  7. The Last Lamp58
  8. Epilogue73
Print TOC, drawn to scale on a 6 x 9 in page

Ebook TOC (EPUB navigation)

Links, no page numbers, as KDP asks
<nav epub:type="toc" id="toc" role="doc-toc">
  <h1>Contents</h1>
  <ol>
    <li><a href="#chapter-1">Prologue</a></li>
    <li><a href="#chapter-2">The Lighthouse Keeper</a></li>
    <li><a href="#chapter-3">A Letter from the Mainland</a>
      <ol>
        <li><a href="#chapter-3-1">The Storm</a></li>
        <li><a href="#chapter-3-2">After the Storm</a></li>
      </ol>
    </li>
    <li><a href="#chapter-4">Gull Rock</a></li>
    <li><a href="#chapter-5">The Last Lamp</a></li>
    <li><a href="#chapter-6">Epilogue</a></li>
  </ol>
</nav>

Rather have a pro handle this? Our studio can: interior formatting and typesetting.

Short answer

A print table of contents lists each chapter with its page number, joined by dot leaders. An ebook TOC is different: KDP requires a working, linked TOC in every Kindle book with chapters, and asks for no page numbers, because ebook pages change with the reader's settings. This tool makes both from one list.

How to use it

  1. Paste your chapter titles, one per line. Add a tab or two spaces and the page number if you have it.
  2. Indent a line with two spaces or start it with a dash to make it a sub-entry under the chapter above.
  3. Pick the heading, the numbering style and your print page size.
  4. Download the Word file or copy the text for your print book.
  5. Download toc.xhtml or copy the HTML for your ebook, then point each link at its chapter.

How it works

Each line becomes an entry. A number at the end counts as the page number only when a tab, two spaces or dot leaders set it apart, so a title like "Chapter 12" keeps its number. The print TOC joins title and page with dot leaders; the ebook TOC drops the page numbers and turns each title into a link inside a nav element with epub:type="toc", an ordered list, with sub-entries nested under their chapter.

Print line = title + dot leaders + page number, right-aligned at the edge of the text block
Ebook entry = a link to the chapter, no page number

Worked example: three lines, the last one indented, with page numbers after a tab. The print text becomes:

Contents

Prologue ............................................. 1
The Lighthouse Keeper ................................ 5
    The Storm ....................................... 27

and the ebook TOC becomes:

<nav epub:type="toc" id="toc" role="doc-toc">
  <h1>Contents</h1>
  <ol>
    <li><a href="#chapter-1">Prologue</a></li>
    <li><a href="#chapter-2">The Lighthouse Keeper</a>
      <ol>
        <li><a href="#chapter-2-1">The Storm</a></li>
      </ol>
    </li>
  </ol>
</nav>

Questions authors ask

Does a Kindle ebook need a table of contents?

Yes, if it has chapters or sections. KDP requires a working TOC so readers can jump to each chapter. The best way is an EPUB navigation document, which gives both the TOC in the Kindle menu and a TOC page near the start of the book.

Should an ebook TOC have page numbers?

No. KDP says not to use page numbers in an ebook TOC, because Kindle pages change with the font size and screen. The ebook output here uses links only.

Where does the table of contents go?

In a print book, after the copyright page and dedication, usually on a right-hand page. In an ebook, KDP asks you to place it toward the beginning of the book, not at the end, so it shows up in the free sample.

How do I add page numbers before my layout is final?

Leave them out for now and untick Show page numbers, or add them once your interior PDF is done. Page numbers change every time you change the font, size, margins or trim, so add them last.

How do I use the Word file?

Open it and copy the entries into your manuscript, or keep it as its own page. Each line uses a right-aligned tab with dot leaders at the edge of the text block, so the page numbers line up even when you change the font.

How do I use the ebook file?

Add toc.xhtml to your EPUB, list it in the manifest with properties="nav", and make each link point to its chapter. With "One file", give each chapter heading an id such as chapter-1; with "File per chapter", name the files chapter-01.xhtml and so on, or edit the links to match your files.

Can I use a table for the TOC?

Not in an ebook. KDP says not to build a TOC with HTML table tags; tables are for data, not layout. Use the list this tool makes.

Before and after this step

Related tools

Sources

Last verified against KDP's help pages. Help pages change, so check the source before you publish.

KDP