Thomsons online - missing Indexes - responses from ALLGQ list

I am certainly an avid browser, unlike the youngsters at QUT who more often than not ignore browsing options in their rush for the search box. One of our academics has voiced strong concern to the publisher about the loss of indexes on Lawbook online
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I would love Thomsons to come online with the indexes.
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Sometimes, they are the only way to locate information and often give clues to following other paths in the search. Had an example, only yesterday, where a senior associatehad tried a keyword search in an Encyclopaedia and couldn't make sense of theresults. The index to this encyclopaedia was online and led us straight to what she needed (in about 2 minutes). She was very impressed... Without the index the product becomes very unwieldy to search, almost useless.
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The indexes are useful online as well
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I agree with you about the indexes ... I was collecting a few of my gripes about Lawbook Online yesterday, with a view to maybe sending them off - so here they are : 1) When a search results in No Documents Found, the results from the previous search return to display on the screen. This is misleading and there doesn't seem to be any functional reason for it. It would make more sense if the results of the previous search were cleared and a 'return to previous search' link provided.2) Folder list issue: When selecting a new search form from the drop down menu, the previous search result 'hits' remain displayed in the folder list. This is confusing - it would be better if all the settings returned to 'start' position when selecting a new search form.3) The 'Edit Search' and 'Return to your Search' links need to be larger and easier to see, and the Edit button should be in a location where it will not be obscured by scrolling down through the hit list.4) While it is possible to select a group of databases to search in (e.g. Journals) by ticking a single tick box, this can only be done from the left hand folder list. This function is not obvious when first logging in or when New Search is selected, because the tick boxes do not display in the folder list until the Global or Easy search option has been selected. It would be better if a complete category of materials (e.g. journals) could be selected via a tick box within the search form itself. Currently the New Search form only provides tick boxes for selecting individual titles to search.5) Following from point 4 - When editing a search within a topic / category of materials which has been selected in the LH folder list, the selection resets itself so that you are searching the entire collection again, unless you remember to tick the relevant topic or category in the folder list again. This is not immediately obvious and can lead to confusing search results. 6) The search structure is not designed to search for multiple phrases within a certain proximity of each other - e.g.: 'representative proceedings' or 'representative actions' or 'class actions' near 'Trade Practices Act'; 'Order 25A' or 'freezing orders' near 'federal court rules'. The software does not really process this type of search adequately, yet we have a regular need for this level of searching functionality. 7) You can't (as far as I'm aware) restrict a search to within a range of dates.8) I find the three way screen display very unappealing and would prefer a simpler two part display - just the folder list and either the results list or fulltext document display.9) There are too many search screen options - three general searches (New Search - Global Search - Easy Search) and a huge drop down list of searches for every individual title.Further general comments - loading speed can be very slow; system malfunction messages are reasonably common - in the last two days I've had 'The gateway could not process the request because the server is too busy' and 'Server error'etc ... etc .
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I totally agree that indexes are an essential tool, whether print or online can be invaluable
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The search engine for Lawbook products is actually not very good, although I always laud the content. The interface is cluttered and confusing, proximity searching is not really available and the 3 frame structure limits the amount you can see when assessing results (although TLA doesn’t use this format any more). Search results can be mystifying and often inconsistent. An ability to browse indexes overcomes a lot of these problems. As it is also true that the print publications contain existing indexes why are they not placed online as a separate resource accompanying the publication, as Thomsons’ two commercial competitiors, LexisNexis AU and CCH do.
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I am also a very keen user of the indexes for most services that are on any of the online databases and was not happy to hear that Thomson's had taken away the Laws of the Australia index. This is the way we train some of our practitioners to use the services online, especially when we are explaining to them it is like a book and they can go to the index to find the subject/topic they are looking for.