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Glossary

What is epub:type?

Updated:

epub:type is an attribute that adds meaning to an element in an EPUB 3 document, using terms from the EPUB Structural Semantics Vocabulary, such as "footnote", "noteref", "chapter" or "pagebreak". Reading apps use it, for example, to show a footnote as a pop-up.

Why it matters when you convert a PDF to EPUB

It is how a footnote recovered from a PDF becomes a pop-up note instead of a paragraph stuck in the middle of the text: the reference gets epub:type="noteref" and the note epub:type="footnote" or "endnote". EPUBCheck warns about unknown or deprecated values.

How EpubCC handles it: each chapter is a section with epub:type="chapter", each footnote recognised in the PDF is an aside with epub:type="footnote" in a footnotes section at the end of the chapter, and each call to it is a link with epub:type="noteref". The table of contents is a nav with epub:type="toc". No page-break markers are written yet.

Related terms

EPUBCheck messages about this

  • OPF-086b epub:type value "…" is deprecated. Consider using … instead.
  • OPF-088 Unrecognized epub:type value "…".
  • OPF-086c the "…" reserved prefix is deprecated.
  • HTM-010 Namespace "…" is unusual for the prefix "epub".
  • NAV-006 Content documents contain "figure" elements but the Navigation Document does not have a listing of figures (epub:type="loi").

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FAQ

What is epub:type?

epub:type is an attribute that adds meaning to an element in an EPUB 3 document, using terms from the EPUB Structural Semantics Vocabulary, such as "footnote", "noteref", "chapter" or "pagebreak". Reading apps use it, for example, to show a footnote as a pop-up.