Hello, and thank you in advance for any assistance!
I am working with an organization which has created a ~150 page resource, but the final product does not have an index included. We have agreed that an index would benefit the document, but the responsibility has fallen upon me to create the index, as the project to create the resource is already overdue and over budget..
I have a full list of index words and terms, divided into categories. It seems that inDesign wants users to tag specific locations in the document, but also provides a “find all” function. I have begun tagging each location, but adding an index marker seems to slightly alter the existing layout. Is this true and, if so, can this be avoided? I also tried pasting the index list into the .indd at the end, highlighting the lists of terms, and using the shift+option+command+[ (yes, I’m on a Mac). Now I have all of the index terms listed in the index window but only tied to the location where they are all pasted into the end of the document.
Some other information and related questions:
-When I open the “generate index” dialogue box, there is no book name listed. There is no option to select “book” in the Index, Type & Tables window. Does this mean that the document was not created as a book? Is there a way to convert it, if so? Should I do this?
-Some of the mentions of index terms would be irrelevant, if a “find all” process were applied. Can these extra entries be removed?
-Some relevant sections will not be tagged automatically via keywords. Will I be able to tie a location in the text to a specific index entry, without that specific word or term being mentioned at the tagged location?
I plan to enroll in a course and learn this program, but the course does not begin until April and we’d like to finalize this resource and print it & distribute electronic copies by March. If the best way to build the index is to read through the document and tag each location, then I’ll do that. I already have highlighted each mention on the printed copy I have!
Thanks again!
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