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Creating an Index

An index can make a document more useful to readers. Building an index can be a difficult and time-consuming process, however, requiring you to anticipate what information will be most relevant to your readers and how best to help them locate that information in the document. Fortunately, most current word-processing software provides you with a quick and efficient way to draft an index. Here we cover the two essential steps to creating an index using Microsoft Word: Marking Entries

After proofreading your document carefully and thinking about which subjects you want to appear in the index, consider how you would like to reference those subjects in your index. In Word, you can create two different types of index entries: Entries that reference individual words or phrases in the text

To create an entry for an individual word or phrase in the text, follow these steps:
  1. Highlight the text you wish to use as an index entry, or click wherever you want to insert your own text as an index entry.


  2. Select Insert --> Indexes and Tables.


  3. Click the Index tab (if it isn't already selected) and click Mark Entry. A dialog box will appear (see figure below).




  4. Type in the appropriate box to create either a main entry or a subentry. Then, if you want to refer readers to the page or pages on which the entry appears, select Current Page under Options. If you want to refer readers to another index entry, select Cross-reference, and then type the index entry you want to cross-reference.


  5. To mark the index entry on a single page, click Mark. To mark all occurrences of this text in the document, click Mark All.


To mark additional entries, repeat these steps.

Entries that reference general subjects covered over a range of pages

In addition to marking individual words or phrases, you may want to create entries for subject matter that spans a range of pages. The process is similar to marking an individual word or phrase, except that you must first create something called a bookmark for those pages and then create an entry for that bookmark. Follow these steps:
  1. Highlight the range of text you want to create a subject entry for, and then select Insert --> Bookmark.


  2. In the Bookmark Name box, type a name or subject, and then click Add.


  3. In the document, click at the end of the text you just bookmarked.


  4. Select Insert --> Indexes and Tables.


  5. In the Indexes and Tables box, select the Index tab and then click Mark Entry.


  6. In the Main entry box, type the index entry for the marked text.


  7. Under Options, click Page Range. In the Bookmark box, type or select the bookmark name you entered in step 2.


  8. Click Mark.


Designing and Building the Index

Once you have marked and named all of the words, phrases, and sections of your document that you want to create index entries for, you're ready to move on to designing and building the index:
  1. Click the page where you want the finished index to appear.


  2. Select Insert --> Index and Tables, and then click the Index tab if it is not already selected.


  3. To use one of the available designs, click a design under Formats. (In the window to the right of the format list, you can preview designs before you select one.) Once you have decided on the format you want, go on to step 7. Or, complete steps 4 - 6 to design your own format.


  4. To create your own design, click From Template under Format, and then click Modify.


  5. Under Styles, click the style you want to change, and then click Modify.


  6. Click Format, and then select the options you want.


  7. When you are ready to insert the index into your document, simply click OK, and your index will appear in your document. After you create your index, you can continue revising, editing, and adding to it just as you would any other part of your document.


  8. To update your index, click wherever you want to make the update and press F9.