# EPUBCheck OPF-032: guide link to non-document, how to fix it

Source: https://epubcc.com/epubcheck/opf-032/ (updated 2026-11-04)

EPUBCheck OPF-032 is an error message: “Guide references "…" which is not a valid "OPS Content Document".” A reference in the guide element points to a file that is not a content document. The EPUB 2 guide may only point to documents a reading app can open as pages, such as XHTML chapters.

- Official message (EPUBCheck 5.4.0): Guide references "%1$s" which is not a valid "OPS Content Document".
- Default severity: Error

## Typical causes

- A guide entry of type cover pointing at the cover image instead of the XHTML page that shows it.
- A guide entry pointing at a stylesheet, a font or another non-document file.
- A guide copied from another book whose files had different types.

## How to fix it

1. Find the reference EPUBCheck names in the guide.
2. Point its href at the XHTML document that shows the content (for a cover, the cover page).
3. Or delete the entry; in EPUB 3 the landmarks nav replaces the guide.

## When it's not this

If the guide's target is not in the manifest at all, that is OPF-031.

## Sources

- EPUB 3.3, §5.9.4 The guide element: https://www.w3.org/TR/epub-33/#sec-opf2-guide (read 2026-11-04)

Message text and severity: EPUBCheck (W3C, BSD-3-Clause). Explanation: EpubCC.