The hardest part of an image-rich EPUB file is not inserting a picture. It is proving which packaged asset came from which source reference. An exporter may rename images by chapter, so a source named body-a.png does not necessarily keep that name. This guide traces one map through a four-chapter book, including a failed move and recovery.
Record the source chain before export
The map starts in images/body-a.png. Chapter two, chapters/02-map.md, refers to it as ../images/body-a.png and gives it the alternative text “Map of the harbor.” Record source chapter, source image, relative reference, and alternative text together.
In the first EPUB, chapter two became Text/p002.xhtml. Its image element referred to ../Images/p002.png, and the package contained Images/p002.png. The source filename disappeared, but chapter position and alternative text preserved the identity.
Trace by chapter rather than assuming a rename rule
Generated names may depend on reading order. If chapters move, p002.png may identify a different chapter. Do not create a permanent rule that body-a.png always becomes p002.png. Rebuild the mapping from source chapter, alternative text, generated page, and packaged asset for each release.
Observe a broken move
The map was moved into images/maps/body-a.png. Reading chapter two immediately afterward showed that its reference still pointed to the old location. The next EPUB contained a chapter reference for p002.png but did not contain that image; the inspection reported one missing image.
To break the source-to-package chain deliberately, the map was moved outside Rune Studio and the stale chapter-two reference was corrected by hand. The result demonstrates how to retrace the source image, manuscript path, generated page, and packaged asset; it does not judge the documented automatic rewrite performed by an in-app move or rename.
This distinguishes three events that are often confused: moving the file, updating the manuscript reference, and packaging the asset.
Repair the chain and rebuild
The chapter reference was corrected to ../images/maps/body-a.png, and the same four chapters were exported again. The recovered chapter pointed to ../Images/p002.png, the asset existed at Images/p002.png, its alternative text remained, and the missing-image count returned to zero.
When recovery fails, check the physical source first, then the relative path from the chapter, then export warnings, and finally the generated page and asset list. Correct alternative text in the manuscript, not in a packaged page.
The cover is outside this tracing method because it is designated through book settings and receives a separate cover role. For body images, completion means the source path, manuscript reference, generated page, and packaged image form one unbroken chain in the finished EPUB.
