Working with Multiple Page Number Styles in an Index in FrameMaker
- Using Section Numbers Instead of Page Numbers
- About This Article
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FrameMaker's default index structure is the perfect solution when source documents use page numbers without a prefix. This doesn't work well if you use chapter-based page numbering styles in documents. Just because you use chapter-based page numbering in documents does not mean that the generated index will automatically implement that same page numbering for index entries. Multiple prefix page number styles in documents can be even trickier to work with.
Suppose that you are working with a book file that includes Preface pages numbered as i, ii, iii, and so on, a chapter's pages numbered as 5-1, 5-2, 5-3 (for Chapter 5), and an appendix's pages numbered A-1, A-2, A-3, and so on.
In order to include the chapter prefix with the page number in the index, you can use the method discussed in the article titled "Adding Prefixes to Page Numbering in Generated Lists." However, you run into a problem with page numbers of index entries extracted from the Preface. The Preface page numbers have no prefix. Therefore, if you use
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to produce the page numbers referenced in the index, the Preface page numbers would also look something like this:
9-i, 9-ii, 9-iii ...
Even though you are not actually using the chapter number anywhere in the Preface file, you cannot suppress this number from showing up in the index if you add the building block to the page number. You must perform two exercises in order to have the index entry page numbers for the Preface show up as
i, ii, iii ...
without the chapter number preceding the page numbers. You will continue to have the chapter number precede the chapters and appendixes. This would look something like this in the index list:
I
Index Entries Simple 9-6 Installing the Software ii
Creating a Custom Marker Type
First, create a custom index marker type that you use for the Preface only. Next, customize the page number display in the index for those entries separately from the other index entries that you will use the marker type Index for. Here's how to do it. Begin with the Preface file:
Place the insertion cursor at the start of the source information where you want to refer the reader. The cursor is inserted at the source information.
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Select Special > Marker. The Marker window appears.
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Select Edit from the Marker Type drop-down menu. The Edit Custom Marker Type window appears.
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Type Index2 (or some other name) in the CustomMarker Text field. The new name for the custom index marker is displayed in the Text field.
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Click Add, then Done. The Marker window appears. The new custom marker type is selected in the menu.
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Type the marker text in the Marker Text field and select Edit Marker (see Figure 1). A new index marker is inserted at the cursor location. The marker is of type Index2.
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Figure 1 How to create a custom index marker.
Including a Custom Marker Type in the Index Set Up
After you create a new marker type, you must use the new marker for all index entries in the Preface document file only. Next, learn how to add the new marker type to be included in the index the next time you update or create the index.
The following exercise is performed from a Book File window:
Click one time on the Index file in the book list and select Edit > Set Up Standard Index. The Set Up Standard Index window appears. If you previously set up the index to include markers of type, Index, Index is listed on the Include side of the list.
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Double-click on Index2 on the Don't Include list (see Figure 2). Index2 moves to the Include list, along with Index. You now have two different index marker types that are included the next time you update the index file.
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Figure 2 How to include the custom marker in the index setup.
Understanding Index2 Marker Type Controls in the Index File
After you create the custom marker type that's included in the setup of the index and updated the index file, you can format the index entry information using Index2 in the same way that you would format index entry information using Index.
Take a look at the IX reference page of the index. You notice that a new line with the Building Block is added. Click one time in that Building Block and look in the status bar display (in the lower left of the document window). You see that it refers to Index2IX, the custom marker you created. The next line, which already existed in the index file, refers to IndexIX, the original index marker you used throughout the chapter and appendix files. This is illustrated in Figure 3.
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Therefore, because the referring to Index2IX has no chapter number Building Block preceding it, all index entries that were created using Index2 marker type have no page number prefix.
Figure 3 Custom marker page number controls.
Using Section Numbers Instead of Page Numbers
Just when you thought that there were no more of FrameMaker's fabulous features for referencing index entries, we explore yet another method to indicate where a reader might find the source information that is listed in the index.
If you are using Military style heading in documentsæthat is, numbered heading levels as in 9.1, 9.1.1, 9.1.1.1, and so forthæyou also might require that index entries refer to the section number rather than a page number. If this is the case, you have to make a small change to the IX reference page.
Currently, the page number is indicated with each index entry, as you have seen in the last two exercises. Looking at the IX reference page, we see the Building Block , which represents the page number for each index entry.
Replace the Building Block with a combination of typed text and the Building Blocks to have index entries refer to a section number rather than a page number. This looks like
Section
on the IX Index page, and
Color Definitions Pantone Section 9.1.2 Trumatch Section 9.2.1
in the Index list. If you want the section number to be in italics to set it off from the entry itself, add a character format Building Block to the definition on the IX reference page. The character format must already be included in the Character Catalog of the index file in order for this to work. Suppose the character format, Emphasis, produces italics. Then <Emphasis>Section , on the IX index page produces the following:
Color Definitions Pantone Section 9.1.2 Trumatch Section 9.2.1
in the index list.