Word to EPUB and TXT to EPUB: how to get a table of contents

How DOCX headings become an EPUB table of contents, what plain TXT cannot do, and why you should not export a complex PDF first.

Word and plain text make better ebooks than PDF. A DOCX has headings, paragraphs, and images, so a converter can follow the document structure. A PDF only has coordinates on a page, and reflow goes wrong more often. If you still have the DOCX, do not save it as PDF and then convert that PDF to EPUB.

What should you fix in the Word file first?

Check the manuscript before you upload it:

  • Chapter titles use the Heading 1 style. Sections use Heading 2. A line that is only larger and bold is often not treated as a heading, so the EPUB has no table of contents.
  • Body text is normal paragraphs. Avoid text boxes, WordArt, and floating images. Those lose their place in an ebook.
  • Images are embedded, not linked to a path on your computer. A linked image is not on the server.
  • Headers, footers, and page numbers can stay in the file, but they will not repeat on every "page." An ebook has no fixed pages.

Then open DOCX converter, or pick the format yourself in ebook converter.

Choose the target from the reader:

  • General readers and Apple Books: EPUB
  • Send to Kindle: EPUB
  • USB copy onto a Kindle: AZW3

Why those targets differ is in which format to send to Kindle. EPUB, MOBI, and AZW3 are compared in EPUB vs MOBI vs AZW3.

What is TXT good for?

TXT has no fonts, heading levels, or images. It is a good source for a novel or notes: after conversion you can change the type size and keep your place. Use TXT converter.

It is a poor source when:

  • You expect a multi-level table of contents
  • The piece has tables, formulas, or figures
  • Alignment depends on spaces. Those spaces collapse, and the alignment falls apart

If the TXT was copied out of a PDF, columns and headers may already be mixed into the body. The EPUB will keep that mess. Prefer the original Word or HTML file. Web pages can use HTML converter. Rich text can use RTF converter.

Which path should you avoid?

Exporting Word to a print-ready PDF, then converting that PDF to EPUB, is usually worse than converting the DOCX directly. The PDF turns headings into ordinary text and may repeat the header inside the body. Use PDF to EPUB only when the DOCX is already gone, and expect columns to arrive out of order.

Scans and photo collages have the same limit: conversion does not read words out of pictures.

What are the limits?

50MB per file. Each conversion uses 1 free quota credit. Work runs on the server, and the page has to stay open until the download is ready. Word and TXT are not DRM-locked. A store download that is AZW or KFX is a different kind of file, and an encrypted book cannot be converted.

A web page is a different source: HTML to EPUB. If you already have an EPUB and only want the words, see EPUB to TXT. Which format to aim at is still EPUB vs MOBI vs AZW3.

Common questions

The EPUB from Word has no table of contents. Why?

The TOC comes from Word heading styles, not from a line you bolded by hand. Chapter titles need Heading 1 and Heading 2 before conversion.

Can TXT become a chaptered ebook?

Plain text has no heading levels. The EPUB is usually one reflowable body without a reliable table of contents. Blank lines between chapters are not automatically treated as chapters.

For Kindle, should Word become EPUB or MOBI?

Use EPUB for Send to Kindle. Use AZW3 for a USB copy. You do not need MOBI. Send to Kindle no longer accepts it.

Keep reading

Convert online

EPUB, MOBI, AZW3, AZW, PDF, FB2, TXT, DOCX, HTML, and RTF. Up to 50MB per file. Nothing to install.

Open the ebook converter