Using Collections on Kindle

Detailed info on using Collections, complete with screenshots, is already available on the Kindle Help pages (which means our Kindle Manuals should update as well, when we get the firmware update), HERE.

It looks like those with multiple Kindles will want to designate one of them as the master collection creator, at least at first, as the others can then import the collection definitions (and presumably then change them individually). You will be able to assign a book into multiple Collections (so, it does work like tags), as well as see the items you haven't yet assigned to a collection. The method used to create and assign the collections, however, is probably the most awkward possible - create a collection first, then use the five-way to move to the right while highlighting it's name, select the Add/Remove option, then find the book (hmm.... ok, I have hundreds of pages ....) by clicking with the controller (it looks like you can at least select more than one at a time). I looked at my Kindle management page (kindle.amazon.com), and there doesn't appear to be any support for collections there. There are a few other updates, though, such as the ability to mark a book as read, reading or unread (or "I gave up on it", which they call "stopped reading"), although I don't believe you can see that info on the Kindle itself, nor can you set these values for anyone other than the main Kindle account holder. You also can't set a collection value from inside a book (which would be relatively trivial to add, even using their awkward point and click system, rather than letting us type in tags either on the Kindle from inside a book or do mass assignments in the Kindle manage page).

It'll be a pain, but it will be possible to classify your books by genre and set up further collections of "read", "unread" and "reading" (for those with multiple Kindles, you'll want to set up one of each for each person and let that person maintain them - I'd name them differently, though, so you don't accidentally import someone else's Reading collection to your Kindle). Of course, for most of us, the "unread" category will be blank, as we've learned to delete books once they are read and these collection categories will have no relevance to the "read,reading,etc." tags set up on the Kindle Management page. I can see why they are leaving their Original Kindle owners out in the cold, however, due to the way they implemented tagscollections - rather than have the help pages explain how to do things both ways (using the keyboard for the K1) or having newer Kindle owners complain that it is easier that way or letting you manage the collections from the web, they simply added a single method using the five-way controller (thinking that customers who picked an ereader with a keyboard are too mouse centric to use it, perhaps?); which also leaves out (or makes so difficult it requires assistance), some of their readers with less motor control or lesser eyesight, as well, who already have more difficulty with the newer Kindle than the original, for some functions.

One unanswered question: if you have the same collection on two Kindles and both people make changes to it, will those changes sync across Kindles? Or will one of the Kindles have to import the changes from the other? What happens if the changes are contradictory?

The most relevant part of using Collections, from the Amazon Help pages:

Managing Content in Your Collections

After you create one or more collections you wish to use for organizing your Kindle's content, you're ready associate items on your Kindle with those collections. Here are a few handy collection features:

• Collections are stored on Amazon: When you create a collection on a device, we'll save your collection so it appears in Archived Items on other devices registered to your Amazon.com account. This allows you to transfer collections across registered Kindles.
  
  
• Books are associated with collections until removed: If you add a book to a collection on your Kindle and then delete the book from your device, it remains associated with that collection in Archive Items. If you download the book again, it will automatically appear in the appropriate collection on your Home screen.
  
  
• Books can appear in more than one collection: You can associate a single book or other item from your library with multiple collections if you wish.
  
  
• Collections don't change device or Archive Items content: If you delete a book from a collection or delete an entire collection from your Kindle, it does not change the actual items saved on your Kindle or in your Archive Items on Amazon. When you delete a collection from your Kindle, any downloaded items from that collection will appear the Home screen instead of in the collection.

To add or remove collection items:

1. Highlight the collection name on the Home screen.
2. Move the 5-way controller to the right to reveal the collection options.
3. Select "Add/Remove Items" with the 5-way controller.
4. Highlight and select a title you wish to add or remove. Items currently in the collection will display a check mark to the right of the title.
5. Select "Done" at the bottom of the screen when you've finished editing your collection.

To import a collection from another Kindle:

1. Select "Archived Items" from the Kindle Home screen.
2. Select "Add Other Device Collections" from the Archived Items page.
3. Select the desired collection to import and select "ok" to confirm.

Note: Importing a collection from another device does not import the books or other items to your Kindle if they aren't downloaded already. However, books already on your Kindle that are associated with a collection will automatically appear under that collection name on your Home screen.