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How do I create an index without having to search for terms?

It may have been an early version of Word or possibly some other processor but the method to create a index was much easier that it seems to be now.  I recall ckicking on "Create Index" and the system would scan all words and create an alphabetic list eliminating duplicates and indicating the pages that the word was found.  There were two lists, one for common words (a, the, and, ...) which could be deleted as needed and all the rest of the words similarly listed but one then deleted those that one did not want in the index.

Granted, in a very long document, this would have its problems in length but I still believe it is easier than looking through the document and going though a routine of mouse calisthenics to place the entry.  At any rate, none of my work is that log.

I would also like to have it hyper-linked so that when one clicked on the word, one was delivered to that page (those pages).

Had this option disappeared? Might it be that I am just not seeing it?
Maybe somenoe can tell me what the softeware was if not MS Word.

There is no royal road to indexing. It may be that Word can create an automatic concordance, but that is not a good way to generate an index. See http://word.mvps.org/faqs/formatting/Createindex.htm. Word has never been able to generate an index with hyperlinked entries.
Microsoft MVP (Word) since 1999
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://ssbarnhill.com
http://wordfaqs.ssbarnhill.com
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I love the FAQ on use of the index.  If I use three or more levels, someone is going to hunt me down and shoot me. (-:  I have ever seen humor in a MS FAQ.

OADN, Is it possible to copy and alphabetize the TOC and put it to the end of the document?
I figure that will give me hyperlinks that I seek.

Moi, Moiself, and Yo.
Email: POP3

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Unfortunately, in order to sort the TOC alphabetically (and keep it sorted), you'd have to unlink it.

 

There's a reason so few books have indexes at all and so many that do have indexes don't have good ones. Indexing is a job for a professional, and, although the author should theoretically know what terms are important enough to be in the index, often even the author is ill-equipped to create the index.

Microsoft MVP (Word) since 1999
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://ssbarnhill.com
http://wordfaqs.ssbarnhill.com
Screen shots captured with TechSmith's Snagit

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Yes, and now I realize why.  As a librarian, I was hard pressed to purchase a book that did not have a index and I have seen some very bad ones.

Moi, Moiself, and Yo.
Email: POP3

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As a trained indexer, I agree 100% with John McGhie's article. (I worked for an old-school publisher of textbooks in the 1970s, and I still take on a project once every few years.)

If you have enough need for hyperlinked indexes to pay for a solution, take a look at http://www.editorium.com/IndexLinker.htm. I haven't used it myself, but I have great respect for the Editorium staff and I believe they'll stand behind the program.
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Hi

 You can make a list of all the words you want to index and save it as a word doc, then use auto mark to create your index when ready. I seem to recall words are case sensitive.  Don't know if this is any better but you never know.  I'm afraid that sometimes tedious input seems the only way.

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If you've got enough need for a professional indexer then in the UK you can find one by using the Society of Indexers 'Indexers Available' page http://bit.ly/1cB0kbo
In the US a similar service is available from the American Society of Indexers http://bit.ly/1hIbjoI

An index is so much more than a list of words that the book contains. 

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One recent example: In the book Too Afraid to Cry: Maryland Civilians in the Antietam Campaign, the index contains exactly one reference to “Sunken Road” and one to “Bloody Lane,” and neither of those pages makes it clear that they are one and the same; the index could have been helpful with that. Presumably it does a better job of identifying references to the families mentioned in the book.
Microsoft MVP (Word) since 1999
Fairhope, Alabama USA
http://ssbarnhill.com
http://wordfaqs.ssbarnhill.com
Screen shots captured with TechSmith's Snagit

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Last updated October 5, 2021 Views 79 Applies to: