Cross-platform ebook app Calibre 6.0 is out with full text search support. Drops Windows 8 support

Calibre 6.0 is the latest version of the popular cross-platform ebook management software Calibre. The new version introduces several new and improved features, including full text searching capabilities and support for new CPU architectures.

Calibre 6.0 is already available on the official website. Point a browser to the site and download the latest version of the application to your system. Calibre is available for Windows (installer and portable), Mac OS and Linux, and can also be run on mobile devices.

Note: Calibre 6.0 drops support for 32-bit CPUs, because of its dependency on QT, which does not support 32-bit CPUs anymore in its latest version. On Windows, installing Calibre 6.0 will uninstall the 32-bit Calibre installation and replace it with the 64-bit version. Windows 8 support was dropped because QT 6 does not support the operating system The move to QT 6 may cause incompatibilities with certain third-party plugins

The new version of the ebook software supports new CPU architectures. Calibre 6.0 supports Apple Silicon CPUs on Mac OS devices and ARM CPUs on Linux.

Another main improvement is the ability to run full text searches using Calibre's indexing functionality. Calibre can be configured to index the text of all books in the library to make it searchable. Select the FT icon next to the search field in Calibre's interface and check the "index books in this library to allow searching their full text" option when the configuration window opens. The default indexing speed is set to slow, which is done to limit the impact on the computer when the indexer runs. The fast indexing speed option requires more resources, but it finishes indexing operations faster.

Once books are indexed, Calibre will run full text searches across the entire library whenever the search function is used. Search supports basic searches, e.g., for single words and phrases, but also Boolean searches and phrases near others. An overview of the Calibre search syntax is available here.

Calibre 6.0 introduce support for "read aloud" functionality in the ebook viewer. Just activate the read aloud button in the viewer to listen to the active ebook. The function uses the text-to-speech functionality of the operating system.

The calibre:// URL scheme may be used to create links to individual books or locations inside books, according to the announcement. Options to run calibre with calibre URL parameters from the command line are supported. The official manual has more information on the feature.

Closing Words

Full text search capabilities are a welcome addition to the ebook management software, as it extends search significantly. Calibre 6.0 introduces support for new architectures, but it does drop support for Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system as well.

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Cross-platform ebook app Calibre 6.0 is out with full text search support. Drops Windows 8 support