jbushnell1 15 Posted February 6, 2018 Share Posted February 6, 2018 For the second time in a year, Evernote's search (Mac Desktop version) has begun to fail to return results that turn up when searching in the mobile or Web version. This problem usually manifests for me after an update or a reinstall (I just scrapped 6.14 beta 2 and reinstalled my last "favorite" version, 6.11). Anyway, my guess is that something breaks during the build of the Full Text Search index. I know how to locate the option to recreate the full text search index in the (hidden) Troubleshooting menu, but I find the process to be somewhat cryptic. For one thing, I don't know how long the "recreation" process is supposed to take. I have a lot of notes (upwards of 20,000) so I can appreciate that it'll take "some time," but... is it a ten-minute process? An hour? 24 hours? Do I need to leave the computer on overnight? Do I need to adjust the power management settings so it doesn't go to sleep? Will the Activity Log give me a sense as to when it is done? Also: how long should I wait before trying it anew? If I wait an hour and search still isn't working, should I just start over? And does that "undo" the work that I've already done? And at what point do I need to stop relying on this particular tool and instead scrape everything and just reinstall, hoping for a correct search indexing from a new installation? I've posted some of these questions before in other threads, but thought it might warrant a standalone thread, especially if others needed help with this arcane command. 3 Link to comment
Level 5* DTLow 5,744 Posted February 6, 2018 Level 5* Share Posted February 6, 2018 On 2/6/2018 at 11:05 AM, jbushnell1 said: Will the Activity Log give me a sense as to when it is done? The Activity Log shows the activity as the index build is in progress. No activity = completed A rough estimate is about an hour for me; 12,000 notes/ 10GB on a Mac mini Link to comment
jbushnell1 15 Posted February 6, 2018 Author Share Posted February 6, 2018 Well, there's plenty of activity (this is what appears in the last five minutes or so) but most of it doesn't appear pertinent to the index build. Is there specific syntax that I could search for? Does it output a "reindexing complete"-type message ever? 1 Link to comment
jbushnell1 15 Posted February 6, 2018 Author Share Posted February 6, 2018 If I filter only for messages with "reindexing" in them, I get messages pertinent to the reindexing, but I can't really glean a sense of progress from these. The fact that the last one was maybe half an hour ago might indicate that the reindexing process is over? My searches still don't work, though, so maybe I need to reinstall and hope for the best? Link to comment
jbushnell1 15 Posted February 6, 2018 Author Share Posted February 6, 2018 (I've also tried the "full sync" option of holding the Shift and Option keys on my keyboard and clicking the sync wheel, but that doesn't seem to be doing the trick either.) Link to comment
Level 5* DTLow 5,744 Posted February 6, 2018 Level 5* Share Posted February 6, 2018 8 minutes ago, jbushnell1 said: (I've also tried the "full sync" option of holding the Shift and Option keys on my keyboard and clicking the sync wheel, but that doesn't seem to be doing the trick either.) Thats a good idea. If the database is incomplete, the full sync will also be incomplete If you post examples of your search page, parameters and expected results we might see other issues Link to comment
jbushnell1 15 Posted February 6, 2018 Author Share Posted February 6, 2018 Sure (and thanks for your help)! Here's a random note from 2016 that I can find by scrolling back through a notebook... but when I search for a term that appears in the note title, body, and image--zero results. Pretty clear that something is amiss there... 1 Link to comment
jbushnell1 15 Posted February 6, 2018 Author Share Posted February 6, 2018 No problems in mobile. Link to comment
jbushnell1 15 Posted February 7, 2018 Author Share Posted February 7, 2018 Just to continue to use this thread to track my slow groping toward a solution, I went ahead and rebuilt the Evernote for Mac database using these steps (found elsewhere), though this also didn't fix the problem, and in fact it triggered a previously dormant known bug for Snippet View in 6.11, so things have actually gotten worse... 1. Open Evernote for Mac 2. Select Evernote > About Evernote 3. Press and hold the Option key on your keyboard and select Open database folder (keep this folder open) 4. Select Evernote > Quit Evernote from the menu bar 5. Move the numbered folder from the database folder to your computer's desktop * If you have more than one numbered folder, move each one 6. Open Evernote and log in to your Evernote account Link to comment
Level 5* DTLow 5,744 Posted February 7, 2018 Level 5* Share Posted February 7, 2018 3 minutes ago, jbushnell1 said: 5. Move the numbered folder from the database folder to your computer's desktop * If you have more than one numbered folder, move each one 6. Open Evernote and log in to your Evernote account Just a warning. Evernote will rebuild the database drop from the master version on the servers, however the rebuild doesn't include Local Notebooks or unsync'd notes Link to comment
jbushnell1 15 Posted February 7, 2018 Author Share Posted February 7, 2018 Oh, yes, thank you--I don't use any Local Notebooks, and I was careful to get everything synced before I began this process. Link to comment
Level 5* gazumped 12,057 Posted February 8, 2018 Level 5* Share Posted February 8, 2018 Just random thoughts here from a Windows user, so your mileage will vary anyway, but I rebuilt the index on a 41,000+ note database a few weeks ago. That took around 11 hours, and the computer appeared to be usable for other things during that time. I didn't try Evernote though - didn't want to interrupt the process. I'd imagine that the duration would vary with your connection and processor speeds, database size and system type (SSD vs HDD) so any sort of forecast would be difficult even assuming you weren't also using the system for additional tasks. I just left my laptop to get on with it overnight. Not something you'd wish to start just before an important meeting, but also no big deal to schedule in at an appropriate time as a bit of useful maintenance... Link to comment
Lucinda 11 Posted April 3, 2018 Share Posted April 3, 2018 Any info from evernote on this? I am doing a full index rebuild and there is no visible sign of progress or if it is still progressing. It cannot find a note that is clearly visible. I copied a string of text from it to use in the search box so I know there aren't any errors there. gazumped, how did you know it was finished after 11 hours? Did you see progress? Thanks. 1 Link to comment
Level 5* gazumped 12,057 Posted April 3, 2018 Level 5* Share Posted April 3, 2018 I was looking at CPU & disk activity while it continued. After around 11 hours Evernote dropped off the scale for either one (Task Manager was more active!) so I took it that things were completed. I had used the computer a couple of times during the process just to see whether it was possible, and things were basically normal; I'd say just ignore the whole thing - you might see somewhat slower performance, but if you can live with that, keep going! Work and shut down as normal. Link to comment
Level 5* DTLow 5,744 Posted April 3, 2018 Level 5* Share Posted April 3, 2018 14 minutes ago, Lucinda said: there is no visible sign of progress or if it is still progressing. As per the above post, the Activity Log shows the rebuild activity. Link to comment
Lucinda 11 Posted April 3, 2018 Share Posted April 3, 2018 Thanks for the tips. I have the activity log open and it is going crazy. Appreciate the help. Link to comment
AndyDent 113 Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 In my case I have a search failing which is only searching on attributes and tags, not text content, but was given the same advice to apply full text reindexing. Very little showing in the Activity log. Link to comment
Level 5* DTLow 5,744 Posted April 10, 2018 Level 5* Share Posted April 10, 2018 3 hours ago, AndyDent said: failing which is only searching on attributes and tags, not text content This should be a different discussion; please provide details on your search terms. Link to comment
jbushnell1 15 Posted November 8, 2018 Author Share Posted November 8, 2018 UPDATE: I did eventually solve this problem back in February, although I wish I'd recorded how, since I'm having the same problem now in November, having just updated to 7.5.2. I think the solution was something boring, like "ignore everything and wait." I upgraded at around 10:20 am (on 11/8/2018) and now (10:55) search is not finding a number of notes that I know are there. But rather than panicking, forcing a re-index, or rebuilding the database I'm just going to let Evernote run as normal, and I'll wait to see how long it is before searching begins to return to normal. I'll post updates. Link to comment
jbushnell1 15 Posted November 8, 2018 Author Share Posted November 8, 2018 Here's a representative example, exactly the same problem as in February. Link to comment
Level 5* DTLow 5,744 Posted November 8, 2018 Level 5* Share Posted November 8, 2018 44 minutes ago, jbushnell1 said: UPDATE: I did eventually solve this problem back in February, although I wish I'd recorded how, since I'm having the same problem now in November My solution is to recreate the search index option key Help > Troubleshooting > Recreate 1 Link to comment
jbushnell1 15 Posted November 8, 2018 Author Share Posted November 8, 2018 On 2/6/2018 at 2:05 PM, jbushnell1 said: "I know how to locate the option to recreate the full text search index in the (hidden) Troubleshooting menu, but I find the process to be somewhat cryptic. For one thing, I don't know how long the "recreation" process is supposed to take. I have a lot of notes (upwards of 20,000) so I can appreciate that it'll take "some time," but... is it a ten-minute process? An hour? 24 hours? Do I need to leave the computer on overnight? Do I need to adjust the power management settings so it doesn't go to sleep? Will the Activity Log give me a sense as to when it is done?" That's kinda where I started this thread, struggling with that exact fix and the question of how long it would take. I think one can opt to "recreate" prematurely--not allowing Evernote to "get there" on its own--and "recreating" just "resets the clock" on the (long) indexing process. I've never found anything (including the Activity Log) that gives a sense of how the process is progressing or when it's done, so the best solution is often probably just to wait a bit longer. Link to comment
jbushnell1 15 Posted November 8, 2018 Author Share Posted November 8, 2018 At 4 pm (after approx five hours, with the computer being open and shut and rebooted once during that time) I clicked "recreate the full text search index" from the Troubleshooting menu, effectively "resetting the clock." I'm going to try to let it run un-molested for longer than five hours. User gazumped, above, suggests it might take around eleven hours for a database around this size to be fully indexed? Link to comment
jbushnell1 15 Posted November 9, 2018 Author Share Posted November 9, 2018 At 8:38 pm (approx 5 and a half hours after "resetting the clock") I can find *some* of the notes with a search (though not the one pictured above yet). Still, a sign that things are going well... 1 Link to comment
jbushnell1 15 Posted November 9, 2018 Author Share Posted November 9, 2018 (By way of monitoring my progress, I can note that when doing the search on mobile, "surfing" yields 56 results, as contrasted to the 6 results in the pic above. So still a ways to go....) Link to comment
Monique Reta 1 Posted November 9, 2018 Share Posted November 9, 2018 I'm amazed that this has not been rectified by Evernote, especially since it has been causing people problems for so long! I upgraded to 7.5.2 last week and after a week it seems that it is slowly regaining the ability to search, after initially yielding no search results at all... Evernote's updates should come with a warning - you may lose functionality for a week or more!! 1 Link to comment
jbushnell1 15 Posted November 9, 2018 Author Share Posted November 9, 2018 How many notes do you have, if I may ask? I'm trying to get a sense of how long it takes for databases of different sizes. Link to comment
jbushnell1 15 Posted November 9, 2018 Author Share Posted November 9, 2018 Fifteen hours in, and the search returns 10/56 notes. Not quite 20% of the way done? At that rate this'll be a 75-hour process. Link to comment
Level 5* DTLow 5,744 Posted November 9, 2018 Level 5* Share Posted November 9, 2018 2 hours ago, jbushnell1 said: Fifteen hours in, and the search returns 10/56 notes. Not quite 20% of the way done? At that rate this'll be a 75-hour process. I have no technical information on this but it seems too long for the reindexing process. The other source for feedback is your Activity Log. Entries are generated during the process. Link to comment
jbushnell1 15 Posted November 9, 2018 Author Share Posted November 9, 2018 Up to 23/56 after 21 hours. Closing the computer up for a bit though, got to take it on the road. We'll see if it picks up again afterward. Link to comment
jbushnell1 15 Posted November 10, 2018 Author Share Posted November 10, 2018 Started it up around 10 pm tonight and will let it run overnight again. Link to comment
jbushnell1 15 Posted November 10, 2018 Author Share Posted November 10, 2018 25/56 as of 6:30 am (roughly 29 hours now). 1 Link to comment
jbushnell1 15 Posted November 11, 2018 Author Share Posted November 11, 2018 This process is maybe going to take even longer than I initially expected. I let it run all day Saturday, overnight and into Sunday (it's 6 pm now, so that's an additional 36 hours, for 65 hours total) and we've only reached 29/56. I've let it run almost uninterrupted for three days straight and we're still just over halfway to where we should be, which seems about in line with user Monique Reta's experience above, namely, that the process might take up to a week. Really exasperating. User DTLow says it shouldn't take this long--although I do note that the process hasn't stopped. I can't tell whether there's some technical problem with my database specifically, or if this is just the norm for a big, text-heavy database... should I be expecting this level of lack of search access each time I upgrade from here on out? Time will tell, I guess. Link to comment
Level 5* CalS 5,307 Posted November 13, 2018 Level 5* Share Posted November 13, 2018 Like watching ice melt at just below freezing temps.... Link to comment
jbushnell1 15 Posted November 14, 2018 Author Share Posted November 14, 2018 We made it! For the record, my experience with how long the full re-index took matches user Monique Reta's above--about a week. Link to comment
Level 5* s2sailor 2,427 Posted November 14, 2018 Level 5* Share Posted November 14, 2018 ... and did you end up with the search results expected, or were they just improved? Link to comment
jbushnell1 15 Posted November 15, 2018 Author Share Posted November 15, 2018 I'm not sure I'd say they were "improved," but they were what was expected (in the end, they matched search results done on mobile app or on other computers). Link to comment
sourav.nits 0 Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 i am unable to see recreate the search index option Link to comment
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