I’m using the Manuscript format and have my content split into folders. Each folder is a chapter, which is perfect. At the moment, I’m not using chapter titles, so the default option of “CHAPTER ONE” is fine for me. But the Table of Contents is picking up other items, too.
Everything in the Front Matter folder is being given an entry in the ToC. So Title Page and Copyright, for example. And the Blank Page gets one, too. Moreover, when I insert any non-scene items into those chapter folders, those appear in the ToC as their own entries. So if I put a between-the-chapter splash image, it comes up in the ToC as IMAGE or a similar name.
How does one pick and choose what shows up in the ToC? I plan on making a Word file with the manuscript format for printing and also a paperback formatted PDF and Ebook files. None of these will benefit from having the Front Matter or between images listed.
When you create a ToC with Copy Special > Copy as ToC and paste the resulting text in a document, obviously you can just delete the lines you don’t want in the ToC.
The e-book ToC is generated automatically and placed behind the Cover as the first file in the book. You can edit out unwanted entries with a e-book editor like Sigil.
In Word I would also remove the unwanted entries in the resulting document in Word.
Now, with PDF, I just don’t know. It probably depends on how the ToC is generated and if you have tools to edit a compiled PDF.
I’d also recommend moving your Front Matter folder out of the Manuscript/Draft root folder so that its contents are included or excluded using the boxes on the lower right of the main File > Compile panel.
That way, you have the option of which Front Matter or Back Matter documents are included or excluded in each compile.
You might use File > New Project and select the General Non-Fiction template to create a new, test project. Check out where its Front Matter and Back Matter folders are located, as well as what each contains.
That approach can give you more flexibility to customize your Word, PDF, and eBook files.
Both the Front Matter and Back Matter are outside of the novel itself but still in the Binder. They are indeed selections when I go into Compile, and their entries in the compile section list disappear when I uncheck them. So I don’t think that’s the issue unless I’m misunderstanding you.
I’ve got different Front/Back Matters for each format, so I’ve got that covered, too. And, again, they look great once the documents are created. It’s just that any ToC I create also includes them, which seems like either a settings issue or a feature that should be included. I can imagine when you’d want these items included, like reference books or technical manuals, but I also figure most trade paperbacks and prose ebook makers wouldn’t want them. Or am I mistaken on that?
If you haven’t reviewed it yet, Chapter 22 in the Scrivener manual provides step-by-step instructions on creating a ToC for both printed and ePub files. You can access the manual from Scrivener’s Help menu.
As AntoniDol noted earlier, the ePub file will auto-generate its navigation list for the ereader, and that will include the Front Matter by default.
To override that requires creating a ePub-specific ToC and also changing Scrivener’s settings in the main File > Compile panel on the “E-book Table of Contents” tab.
