Book indexing?

[terrypin]

Last night, to update an earlier version, I downloaded Mobipocket Guide June 28, 2011 and used Menu > Search This Book. But every search resulted in a message that the book was not indexed.

Yet this morning, searches are working OK.

Does this indexing get done on the Kindle itself? How long does it take typically please?

--
Terry, East Grinstead, UK

[terencek]

How long is a piece of string? For one book it should be a question of minutes or less, but dump 100+ books on the Kindle and you're looking at several hours or overnight. Dump many hundreds onto the device at one time and indexing could just choke up, as several users (myself included) have found.

Indexing is a contentious point among owners, but Amazon put it in and we're stuck with it. Just remember if you're dumping a considerable number of books onto the device at one time, to leave it plugged in for several hours thereafter or your battery will take a substantial hit.

[Mike L]

Originally Posted by terrypin

Does this indexing get done on the Kindle itself? How long does it take typically please?

Yes, the Kindle's firmware does the indexing. And it's done on the Kindle itself.

When you add a new book, it won't necessarily get indexed straight away. There will be a delay, the length of which depends on how many other books are waiting to be indexed, how big the book is, and how you are using the Kindle.

In general, when you see the message saying that the book is not indexed, you just need to wait a while - sometimes a few minutes, sometimes an hour or two, sometimes longer.

Mike

[Mike L]

Originally Posted by terencek

Amazon put it in and we're stuck with it.

Personally, I think that the fast search ability is one of the most valuable features of the Kindle. If the need to index the book is the price we must pay for, it's well worth it.

[terrypin]

Thanks both, understood.

I guess I'd assumed the index was prepared with the book (at a much faster speed) and downloaded with it. Is there some technical obstacle to that approach?

BTW, apart from downloading a couple of samples within the previous 30 minutes or so, there was nothing else of significance going on.

I too rate the Search facility highly. Apart from the more obvious purposes, I expect to use it fairly often in crime thrillers to remind me just who particular characters are by pointing me to their first mention!

(Hmm, this is a serious place; no smilies?)

--
Terry, East Grinstead, UK

[kindlekitten]

Originally Posted by terrypin

Thanks both, understood.

I guess I'd assumed the index was prepared with the book (at a much faster speed) and downloaded with it. Is there some technical obstacle to that approach?

BTW, apart from downloading a couple of samples within the previous 30 minutes or so, there was nothing else of significance going on.

I too rate the Search facility highly. Apart from the more obvious purposes, I expect to use it fairly often in crime thrillers to remind me just who particular characters are by pointing me to their first mention!

(Hmm, this is a serious place; no smilies?)

--
Terry, East Grinstead, UK

[Mike L]

Originally Posted by terrypin

I expect to use it fairly often in crime thrillers to remind me just who particular characters are by pointing me to their first mention!

I do that all the time - and not just with crime thrillers.