EPUB Export Issue: TOC Page Appears Correctly, but Kindle Sidebar TOC Disappears
Hi everyone,
I'm facing a specific EPUB (Reflowable) export issue from InDesign and would really appreciate expert insights.
My Goal:
I want my exported EPUB file to have both:
A visible Table of Contents (TOC) page with clickable links on Page 8 of the EPUB content
A fully working Navigation TOC (the one that appears in the Kindle/Apple Books sidebar), showing all chapter names
✅ What I’ve Done:
Created the TOC using Layout → Table of Contents
Placed the TOC frame manually on Page 8
All chapter titles use a consistent Paragraph Style (Chapter Heading)
Created a TOC Style (epub_nav) that includes Chapter Heading
EPUB Export Settings:
Navigation TOC Style: epub_nav
Split Document: Based on Chapter Heading
❌ The Issue:
When I place the TOC at the beginning of the document, Kindle’s sidebar TOC stops working though the visible TOC appears correctly in the beginning of the doc.
But when I place the TOC on Page 8 (my preferred position), the visible TOC appears in the bottom of the EPUB, but the Kindle sidebar TOC works fine.
It seems like moving the TOC out of the very first pages of the EPUB affects the way InDesign builds the Navigation TOC in the spine.
🔍 What I’ve Tried:
Rebuilding styles and TOC from scratch
Both threaded and unthreaded TOC frames
Reordering pages and checking EPUB reading order
Verifying results in Kindle Previewer and Apple Books.
Using EPUB 3.0 reflowable export with all correct tagging ( as per my understanding 🙂 ).
❓What I’m Looking For:
Is there a way to:
Place the visible TOC on Page 8 in the EPUB
and still Generate a proper Kindle-compatible Navigation TOC (sidebar) using paragraph styles? Or is this a known limitation or bug in InDesign’s EPUB export process?
Any workaround or clarification would be deeply appreciated. I’m working on a professional publication and this issue is critical for layout integrity and reader experience.
Thanks in advance!
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