There has not been much movement in the area of ePub indexing. However, if you are using InDesign CC and your files are properly indexed using ID’s index function, you will get a full (clickable) index as part of your ePub export.
So, that is at least a step in the right direction.

Were you able to find anything on this? We’re currently working on a very similar implementation and would love to know what you found out. Thanks

I am inclined to agree with David. A good indexer can create a truly functional piece that makes the book usable. Software can sort out terms, but a list of terms with page numbers isn’t an index. You still need a person to sort them out and generate secondaries and tertiaries. That takes reading and comprehension of the topic. You will wait a long time before software can do that.
In the last book e-conversion I did, we had an indexer give us a terrific index, and then we made it work with Kerntiff’s brilliant InDesign indexer. The reason I liked this work-path so much is that the indexer did not need to know anything about InDesign. She did her work that way she always does. We had the slog to make all the links, but then, we had the software. And once we ran the indexer, out came a thing of beauty.
And to answer Barry’s question, usability is the key. It completely depends on the type of book. Generally the more informational, the greater the need for an index.

Good indexes cannot be created by automated tools. I’ve been working with indexes for 40 years and have lost track of the number of software that have purported to do this and they have all faded away. At best you get something that takes so much editorial work to clean up that you should have just had an indexer create it. There are assists that can help a human indexer but nothing fully automatic anymore than full language speech recognition.

Hi Bill,
I have heard of, and even played with, a few plugins for InDesign that were supposed to do this, but they all failed miserably. If you happen to use InDesign to create your ePubs, the newest version (CC) includes the index as part of the exported ePub file, as long as it was built using ID’s Index generation dialog.
Aside from that, custom scripting may be a good way to go, depending on your workflow.

If you happen to find something that works, I would love to hear about it.

Cheers,
Ron

I used TomeRaider on Symbian for a long time for Hymnbooks and Bibles. If I am in Church, I want to quickly open a book to a particular Hymn number, or to a particular Book:Chapter:Verse.

An index provides a quick way to do this. For all books, a quick way to jump to any particular Chapter should be available. But a quick search ought to suffice for many types of books.

For a cookery book, an Index is a quick way to find suggestions. Turn to the “Deserts” section, and browse the recipes. Got a load of Apples that you want to use up, then find “Apples” in the index, and if the index has been put together well, it makes suggestions as to what you can make.

I have yet to find anything that I can easily use to replace TomeRaider.