Chapter Heading Images

Place a decorative image at the top of your chapter headings, with controls for where it sits, how it lines up, and how much room it takes. For art that fills a whole page, see full-page images; for art across a two-page spread, see split-page background images.

Chapter types only

This setting applies only to sections set as chapter types. To add an image to any other section, or override a single chapter, open its Options menu and choose Add Heading Image (or Edit Heading Image if it already has one).

The panel has two tabs: Image and Position & Spacing. The second tab unlocks once an image is set.

Image

• Add an image. Choose Upload Chapter Header Image, or click Browse Existing Images to pick one from your image gallery. A preview appears, along with the image’s dimensions and file size so you know it is sharp enough for print.
• Maximum Width. The widest the image can appear, from 10% to 100%. It only ever shrinks the image, never stretches it, so an image smaller than your setting stays at its natural size. For an exact size, keep this at 100% and upload the image at the dimensions you want.
• Alt Text. A short description for readers who use a screen reader.
• Remove Image takes the image back off your chapter headings.

Position & Spacing

With Side by Side off, the image stacks with your heading text:

• Placement. Where the image sits relative to the heading: Before Section Title, After Title & Subtitle, or Between Title & Subtitle.
• Alignment. Line the image up to the left, center, or right.
• Spacing Around Image. The space around the image (Top / Bottom and Left / Right), which you can link together or set separately.

Side by Side

Put the image next to your heading text instead of above or below it, a great look for crests, portraits, or drop-in chapter art.

Turn on Side by Side and two controls replace the stacked Placement option:

• Image Side. Put the image on the Left or Right of the text.
• Beside. Choose what the image sits next to:
  • Title: The image and title move together as one piece. Place the pair on the left, center, or right of the page with the alignment in the Section Title style panel.
  • Title & Subtitle: The image sits beside both. When the title and subtitle share an alignment, everything moves together; when they use different alignments, the image goes to one side of the page and the text to the other.

The tab’s own Alignment control hides while Side by Side is on, since the heading text’s alignment takes over.

Publishing to Amazon?

Older Kindle rendering handles side-by-side headings best in Amazon’s own format. When you export, use Multiple stores or the single-file Amazon (Kindle) store target so Amazon gets a Kindle-specific EPUB.

Override one chapter

This image applies to every chapter. To use a different image (or none) on a single chapter, open that chapter’s Options menu and edit its heading image there. The per-section panel has the same controls, works on multiple selected sections at once, and can push one chapter’s image to others with Apply to Others.

Related

• Section Titles: style the heading text that sits with your image.
• Heading Spacing: the space around the whole heading area.