Bring an existing EPUB into Deckle to keep editing it. Deckle reads the book's real navigation structure for chapter titles, recognizes front and back matter automatically, and carries over embedded images, rather than just dumping raw HTML.
What You Can Do
- Import a
.epubfile and get real chapter titles, read from the book's own table-of-contents structure, not guessed from filenames. - Have front and back matter (title page, copyright, dedication, epigraph, foreword, preface, and similar) recognized automatically and mapped to Deckle's matching special page types, instead of importing as plain chapters.
- Keep embedded images.
- Land in a folder named after the book's actual title, when the EPUB has one in its metadata, not just a generic timestamp.
How to Import an EPUB
- Open the Binder, click + → Import….
- Choose EPUB (.epub) and select your file.
- Deckle imports into a Draft folder named after the book's title (or a timestamped "Imported [date]" folder if no title is found in the EPUB's metadata).
What Actually Gets Imported
- Chapter titles come from the book's real navigation, not guesswork. Deckle reads the EPUB's Navigation Document (EPUB 3) or NCX file (EPUB 2), whichever the book actually has, the same structure your e-reader uses for its own table of contents.
- Front and back matter are detected through multiple signals, not just filename or title text. The EPUB's own guide references,
epub:typesemantic markup, and heading content are all checked to classify a section as one of Deckle's standard front/back matter types (title page, copyright page, dedication, epigraph, foreword, preface, and similar). - Images embedded in the EPUB are carried over into your imported chapters.
- Works with EPUBs regardless of whether they came from Deckle originally or another tool: reformatted, previously-published, or public-domain EPUBs can all be brought in the same way.
A Couple of Things Worth Knowing
💡 The imported folder is named after the book, when possible. If the EPUB's metadata has a real title, Deckle uses it for the import folder name instead of a generic timestamp, worth knowing if you're importing several books and want to tell them apart at a glance.
💡 Chapter title accuracy depends on the EPUB actually having proper navigation. A well-formed EPUB (from any reputable source or export tool) will have this; a hand-built or malformed one without a real nav/NCX structure may fall back to less reliable title detection.
FAQ
Where do chapter titles come from when importing an EPUB?
From the book's own navigation structure (the EPUB 3 Navigation Document or EPUB 2 NCX file), the same data your e-reader uses to build its table of contents.
Will my EPUB's title page and copyright page import as regular chapters?
No. Deckle recognizes standard front and back matter (title page, copyright, dedication, epigraph, foreword, preface, and similar) and maps them to its own matching special page types automatically.
Do embedded images come across when importing an EPUB?
Yes, images embedded in the EPUB are carried over into your imported chapters.