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Indexing a book
To create an index in InDesign, you apply nonprinting tags to text. The tags indicate the index topic—the text that shows up in the index. The tags also indicate the reference—the range of pages or cross-reference that shows up in the index. You can create up to a four-level index with cross-references for an individual document or for a book file. When you generate the index, InDesign applies paragraph and character styles, and inserts punctuation. While indexing is an editorial skill that requires special training, designers can create simple indexes and generate an index from tagged text.
In this exercise, you will add a few index topics and references, and then generate a partial index for the book.
Adding index topics and references
An index reference is what an index entry refers you to—a page-number reference or another entry, such as a “see also” reference. The first time you add an index reference, the index entry is added as well.
Now you will view existing index entries in a chapter and add two topics with references.
- In the Book panel, double-click 12_01_ID_HowTos_GettingStarted to open the chapter. Zoom in on the first paragraph of the first page.
- Choose Window > Type & Tables > Index to open the Index panel.
- Note the index markers
in the text, and the topics listed in the Index panel. Click the arrows in the Index panel to see the topics.
- Navigate to page 5 of the document and zoom as necessary to see the bulleted list at the top of the page.
- Using the Type tool (
), select the words “Type pane” in the first bullet.
- Make sure Reference is selected in the Index panel, then choose New Page Reference from the Index panel menu.
- In the New Page Reference dialog box under Type, make sure that Current Page is selected in the menu.
- Click OK to add the index topic and a reference to the current page. In the Index panel, scroll down to the T section. Click the arrow next to T to see the page reference.
- Using the Type tool, select the words “Units & Increments pane” in the second bullet.
- Choose New Page Reference from the Index panel menu.
- Click the down arrow next to “Units & Increments pane” in the 1 Topic Levels box. This moves the index entry down to a second-level index topic.
- In the list box at the bottom of the dialog box, locate the “P” heading and click the arrow next to it. Double-click Preferences to make it the first-level index topic.
- Click OK to add the second-level topic and the reference.
- Choose File > Save.
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The options in the Type menu indicate what text this reference to the index topic covers—and therefore, what page numbers to list. A common choice to indicate that the topic changes with the next subhead is To Next Style Change.
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The second index topic you add will be a subtopic under the existing “Preferences” topic.
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Creating an index cross-reference
In an index, a cross-reference such as “see” or “see also,” is just another way of specifying an index topic’s reference. Rather than listing page numbers, however, you are sending the reader to a different part of the index to find the page number.
In this exercise, you will add an index topic and a “see also” reference.
- With the 12_01_ID_HowTos_GettingStarted chapter still open, navigate to page 9. Zoom as necessary to see the sidebar at right.
- Using the Type tool (), select the words “Tool Preferences” in the sidebar head.
- Choose New Page Reference from the Index panel menu.
- In the New Page Reference dialog box, choose See [Also] from the Type menu.
- In the list box at the bottom of the dialog box, locate the “P” heading and click the arrow next to it. Drag the Preferences entry to place it in the Referenced box.
- Click OK to add the cross-reference and close the dialog box.
- In the Index panel, scroll to the “T” heading and click the arrow next to it to see the topics. Click the arrow next to “Tool Preferences” to view “See [also] Preferences.”
- Choose File > Save. Close the Getting Started chapter.
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Generating an index
As with a table of contents, when you generate an index you need to specify paragraph styles. You can also fine-tune the index with character styles and custom punctuation. InDesign provides default styles for the index, but you will generally use styles set up for a book’s template.
In this exercise, you will review the styles in a sample index, view the index for a book, and generate the formatted index.
- In the Book panel, double-click 12_03_ID_HowTos_Index to open the index chapter.
- In the Index panel, click Book in the upper-right corner to display the index for all chapters in the book.
- Choose Type > Paragraph Styles. Using the Type tool (), click in the four different types of formatting you see:
- Chapter Title is applied to the heading “Index” at the top of the page.
- Index Letter-P is applied to the letter headings: A, B, C, and so on.
- Index 1-P is applied to the first-level topics.
- Index 2-P is applied to the second-level topics.
- Using the Type tool (), click in the text frame containing the sample index.
- Choose Edit > Select All, and then press Backspace or Delete. Leave the text insertion point in the text frame.
- In the Index panel, choose Generate Index from the panel menu.
- In the Generate Index dialog box, delete the highlighted word “Index” in the Title box. The title is already placed on the page in a different text frame.
- Click More Options to see all the index controls.
- At the top of the dialog box, select Include Book Documents to compile the index from all the chapters.
- Select Include Index Section Headings to add letter headings: A, B, C, and so on.
- On the right side of the dialog box under Index Style, choose Index Letter-P from the Section Heading menu. This specifies the formatting of the letter headings.
- Under Level Style, choose Index1-P for Level 1 and Index2-P for Level 2 to specify the paragraph styles applied to the various levels of entries in the index.
- At the bottom of the dialog box under Entry Separators, type a comma and a space in the Following Topic box. This specifies the punctuation inserted after an index topic and the first reference.
- Click OK to automatically flow the index into the selected text frame. If the text frame is not selected, click the loaded pointer in the main text frame to flow the index.
- Choose File > Save and close the document.
You’ll delete the sample index so that you can generate an updated one.
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Now you’ll flow the index into the text frame.
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Congratulations. You have completed the lesson.