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Indexing art of, 2-19defined, 2-17print versus online, 2-26technical considerations, 2-31see also Cataloguing, Tabulating

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Everything you wanted to know about indexing

Presentation goals

This presentation is not:

The perfect index recipe An opportunity to hurl insults at Darrel E. Darrel

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An opportunity to clarify misconceptions about indexing

Presentation goals

This presentation is:

An introduction to indexing terminology and methods

A nudge to get you thinking about your index An introduction to indexing ecstasy

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An elaborate table of contents An outline of the book A simple concordance or alphabetized word list

What is an index?

Well . . . it’s not:

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A navigational tool, like a roadmap A systematic arrangement of topics and

concepts found within a book

What is an index?

An index is:

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Identifies, systematically arranges, and locates appropriate information in the book

Draws together scattered information

What must an index do?At a minimum, it:

In addition, it should: Identify and correlate concepts Refocus misdirected user inquiries Discriminate between significant

discussion and passing mention of a topic

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What must the indexer do? Identify, arrange, and locate information by

creating alphabetized entries with page locators . . .

Cataloguing, 1-16 Indexing

art of, 2-19defined, 2-17print versus online, 2-26technical considerations, 2-31see also Cataloguing, Tabulating

Tabulating, 3-45

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What must the indexer do? Gather scattered information . . .

Journal entriesoverview, 4-20posting, 4-21revising, 6-24

About Journal Entries Posting Journal Entries

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What must the indexer do? Identify and correlate concepts . . .

The following concepts:• passwords• login restrictions• read-only permission

Imply the concept:

• security

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What must the indexer do? Refocus misdirected user inquiries . . .

From one keyword to its alternatives:subroutines. See macros

From a main heading to a subentry elsewhere:3D animation. See Extreme 3D: animation

From spelling variations:van Gogh. See Gogh, Vincent van

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What must the indexer do? Discriminate between significant and passing mention of a topic . . .

Work With Journal Entries form, 2-11, 2-13, 2-18, 5-36

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Author Indexing—Pros & Cons

Familiar with the book and its subject matter

Over-involvement and loss of objectivity

Lack of time

Pro:

Unfamiliar with the indexing process

Con:

Fatigue

Hate to index

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Author Indexing—Pros & Cons

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Embedded Indexing—Pros & Cons

Page locators are not linked to specific pages and can move with the text

Difficult to revise and update in Interleaf Difficult to maintain over several revision cycles

Pro:

Difficult to ensure consistent terminology

Con: Indexing can begin before the book is complete

Difficult to find see and see also references

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Audience Considerations

Casual users

Desperate users

Who reads these things?

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Audience Considerations

There’s a funny little binocular button on my OneWorld Explorer and the HoverHelp says “Word Search.” What should I look under in the index?

Desperate user:

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Indexing Terminology Entry: The main heading and all that accompanies it.

Main Heading: The first line in the entry.

Subentries: Indented lines that follow the main heading. Sometimes referred to as x-level subheads, such as 2nd level.

Reference locators: Page numbers.

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Example: Index Entry

Index entries

action-oriented, 78

classification schemes, 73

defined, 13

singular versus plural, 75

See also Main headings

Main Heading

Subentry

Cross-reference

Reference Locator

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Indexing TerminologyDouble-Posting

Double-posting is a means to provide multiple access points for the same information.

The term was borrowed from bookkeeping.

Double-posting often replaces see also cross-references.

Journal entries, revising, 2-11

Revising journal entries, 2-11

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Example: Double-Posting

Indexingart of, 2-19defined, 2-17print versus online, 2-26technical considerations, 2-31see also Cataloguing, Tabulating

Online indexing compared to print, 2-26 methods, 4-17

Print indexing compared to online, 2-26 compiling a print index, 3-3

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Is it always necessary to double-post? It depends on the time that you have and

whether you think that a user is likely to look for information under different parts of a phrase.

For example, the following entry gains little by double-posting the individual software titles.

Importing clipartAdobe PhotoShop, 3-

5Corel Draw, 3-2PaintShop Pro, 3-12

In this case, people are more likely to look up the task than the product.(This is very subjective, though--You should always consider the context and the audience.)

Double-Posting

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Guidelines: Main Headings

Gerunds:Posting journal entriesPrinting exception reports

Adjective/Noun Combinations:Hardware requirementsHelp menu

Nouns:PrerequisitesReports

Main headings should never begin with articles, prepositions, or conjunctions.

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Guidelines: Subentries

Nouns:Security

passwords

Adjective/Adverbs:Results

mismatched

Subdivide main headings:Results window

illustrationrefreshing

Phrases:Requisition numbers

entering after purchase order receipt

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Guidelines: Plural versus SingularUse the plural form for nouns for which you typically express in numbers and for which you could reasonably ask “how many?”

rocksjournal entriesreceipts

Use the singular form for nouns for which you typically ask “how much?”

airwaterbulk stockinventory

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So What Should I Index???The minimum topics that you are required to index are as follows:

Task headers Major topics and concepts Forms Programs and IDs User defined code lists Reports

Would such an index be a good index?

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So What Should I Index???As time allows, you should also consider indexing the following:

User synonyms Figures, tables, and examples Acronyms and abbreviations New or special terminology Warnings, restrictions and cautions Definitions

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Index Length

The generally accepted guideline for technical documentation is 1 two-column page of index entries for every 20 pages of documentation. Thus, a 100-page guide (not including front matter and non-indexable back matter such as the glossary) would have a 5-page index. Such an index is known as a 5% index.

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Interleaf and WinHelp Considerations Token placement for Winhelp

Maximum number of tokens per line

Page ranges--why you can’t use ’em

See/See also cross-references-how to find ’em

Font size of index tokens

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Self-Editing Your Index Limit entries to 3 levels and preferably only 2 Strive for no more than 2 page locators for each

entry Edit for consistent usage of singular and plural

forms Check subjects to determine if slight variations

of wording can be combined Check each subentry to determine whether it

should also appear as a primary entry

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Editing Your Index Check the number of the subentries under the

various forms of the same topic to see that they are the same.

Check each See reference to verify that it refers to an existing entry.

If some entries seem overly dense, containing multiple subentries with only one page locator for each, try to combine them. Likewise, try to simplify lengthy subentries.

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Tips for Better IndexingAdapted from The Art of Indexing by Larry Bonura

Remember--indexing is authoring

Schedule an index edit with your editor

Schedule indexing in your task matrix and don’t wait until the end to begin

Generate the index frequently to check spelling, plurals, consistent terminology, and so on

Recruit peers to check for accuracy, appropriate depth, conciseness, cross-references, and structure

Develop a habit of indexing while writing

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A Short Bibliography of Indexing Bonura, Larry S. The Art of Indexing. New York: John Wiley

& Sons, Inc. 1994.

Mulvany, Nancy C. Indexing Books. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. 1994.

University of Chicago Press. “Indexes,” in The Chicago Manual of Style, 14th Edition. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

“The Indexer” and “Key Words.” Periodicals published by the American Society of Indexers. P.O. Box 386, Port Aransas, TX 78373. http://www.asindexing.org