A title leaf or decorative divider ends up listed in the contents, and you worry it will confuse readers. The answer has to separate product control from KDP requirements. rune Studio lets you choose contents inclusion for each source unit, but every KDP chapter and section belongs in the logical TOC. Excluding an entry does not remove that source page from the reading order.
This article covers what Rune's inclusion control changes and how to limit exclusion candidates to material outside KDP's chapter-and-section requirement. How contents entries are named, and the distinction between the two tables of contents, are covered separately.
Only pages outside the chapter-and-section requirement are candidates
KDP's current guidance requires a working logical TOC and asks publishers to check that every chapter and section has an entry. Do not exclude a body chapter or section.
- A title leaf — a page carrying only the title
- A decorative divider — a separator that is not itself a chapter or section
Rune being able to exclude an entry is not permission from KDP to omit it. Classify the page first: if it is a chapter or section, include it in the logical TOC. Only material outside that requirement is an exclusion candidate.
Separate navigation roles from files
An EPUB has a contents role that readers can view in the book and a navigation role that reading systems use for chapter movement. Depending on how the EPUB is made, these may be represented by separate pages, or an EPUB navigation document may serve both roles. Do not turn a list of roles into an assumed count of files that need editing.
In the rune Studio export verified here, a navigation document and a legacy NCX were generated. Their entries are managed from the source chapter setting rather than edited in each generated file. That setting is also separate from reading order, so changing contents inclusion does not remove the page itself.
In rune Studio it is per chapter, and the page stays in the book
Contents inclusion is chosen for each source unit arranged for export. A Rune source unit is not automatically the same thing as a KDP chapter or section.
I verified this by driving the development build from the command line. With three test manuscripts and the third source unit excluded, its entry disappeared from the contents while its page remained in the reading order.
The third test manuscript remained in reading order while only the first two were listed. What was excluded is the listing, not the page. This verifies Rune's product control; it is not a recommendation to omit a KDP chapter.
The setting reaches the generated navigation
Inspecting the export showed both a navigation document and a legacy NCX. Excluding a chapter was reflected in both generated results. The exclusion is one action.
Inclusion can be reviewed before exporting
You can check the arrangement without exporting. Doing so returned the chapter names as a list, each flagged for whether it appears in the contents.
No export-open-check round trip. You read the flags and decide whether it matches your intent.
The contents page can also be moved
The contents page position can be specified. Specifying it produced an order with the title page and contents following chapter one — an option for books that should open with a preface.
The cover, however, is always first regardless.
Decide under the KDP requirement first
The first question is whether the page is a KDP chapter or section. If it is, include it in the logical TOC. Only a page outside that classification is a candidate for exclusion, and its flag can be reviewed before export.
Judge readability after satisfying that requirement. Do not treat a product capability as editorial permission from the distribution platform.
Who this suits, and who is fine without it
It suits books with a lot of non-body material — collections, anthologies, practical books with a preface and afterword. The more non-chapter pages, the more the choice matters.
A book made only of body chapters never needs this setting. Listing all of them is correct.
Scope note: what was verified is that inclusion is per chapter and that excluded chapters remain in the reading order. How a device displays the contents is outside this.
Summary
- Rune controls inclusion per source unit, and excluding an entry does not remove the page from reading order
- Every KDP chapter and section belongs in the logical TOC; limit exclusion candidates to other pages
- Viewable contents and machine navigation are roles, not a guarantee of three separate files
- In rune Studio the exclusion is one action reflected in the generated navigation document and legacy NCX
- Inclusion can be reviewed before export as a flagged list
For a first step, classify each page as a chapter or section, or as other material. Include every chapter and section in the logical TOC, then review only the remaining pages as exclusion candidates.
See the current product scope on the Rune Studio product page.
