Generating Indexes in Word

Indexes are, frankly, time-eaters. A good index will take time to set up, and there are many resources (and opinions) on the topic of just how to choose what goes into an index, what a good one looks like, etc. Creating a basic one in Word, however, is fairly straight-forward.

Fields in Word can be used to create automatically updating indexes for documents. While the graphical user interface (GUI) can be used to generate automatic indexes, using fields to mark the entries provides much more flexibility and power.

Syntax of Marked Entries

When marking entries, use the XE field code. The field requires text that identifies what exactly the entry will be. For example, perhaps commas might be a topic to tag for an index entry. The index entry for commas might simply be Commas, so each index entry field code would be:

{ XE "Commas" }

no matter whether it would appear with the word comma or with a paragraph mentioning when to use commas.

To get a subentry (i.e., a level 2 entry), use a colon in the text with a main topic before the colon and the subtopic after the colon.:

{ XE "Entry:subentry" }

The field uses multiple switches, or modifiers.

• \b: the bolding switch
• \f: the type switch
• \i: the italic switch
• \r: the bookmark switch
• \t: the text substitution switch
• \y: the alternative character switch

Bolding Switch

Use the bolding switch, \b, to bold that page number in the index for the entry. This switch is often used to indicate where the reader may find the most important information about an entry.:

{ XE "Entry" \b }

Type Switch

The type switch, \f, indicates which type of entry the field is marking, often a consideration when building a list of figures, illustrations, or tables. This switch requires a single, unique letter as a type identifer; the letter itself does not necessarily have to match the exact type of entry (e.g., figures may be identifed with a g if necessary).

For example, to indicate a table entry:

{ XE "Entry" \f t }

The related index would then use an entry identifier switch to generate a list of only tables.

If nothing is specified with this switch, the entry automatically goes into a generic index.

Italic Switch

Use the italics switch, \i, to italicize that page number in the index for the entry.:

{ XE "Entry" \i }

Bookmark Switch

To provide page ranges in an index, use a bookmark to mark the entire section, and then use the bookmark switch, \r, to make the entry to span the entire bookmark’s page ranges. This example uses both the bookmark switch and the bold switch:

{ XE "Entry:subentry" \r BookmarkName \b }

Text Substitution Switch

To note a different entry for reference, use the \t switch.:

{ XE "Entry:subentry" \t "(*see* Entry 2)" }

Note that asterisks indicate italics here.

To have an entry appear at a different spot than its alphabetical spot (e.g., a “see also” note at the end of a list), use a semicolon to prove a separate alphabetical index term with an empty text substitution switch:

{ XE "Entry:*See also* Entry 2;zz" \t "" }

Note that asterisks indicate italics here.

In this case, the entry would appear at the end of the list (as zz is at the very end of an alphebetized list since very few, if any, words in most English indexes would begin with zz) as follows:

Entry

[...] See also Entry 2.

Note that the italics switched. This is a function of how the index is set up.

Alternative Character Switch

The alternative character switch, \y, only is used when at least one East Asian language is enabled in the document. It sorts the entry by a different character than the character that begins the entry itself. This different character, called a yomi, provides the ability to phonetically sort non-English words. So, to get an entry to sort under the letter D:

{ XE "Entry" \y d }

Generation of an Index’s Entries

There are three methods to create an index: marking entries manually over time with field codes, marking entries manually over time with the built-in GUI, or creating a table to automark entries after the document is created.

Marking Entries with Field Codes

The most powerful way to mark entries is to use the XE field code and any related switches. For more information, see Syntax of Marked Entries.

Marking Entries with Word’s Built-In GUI

To mark an entry manually, place the cursor where the entry should refer (i.e., after a specific word, at the beginning of a section, etc.). Next, go to References > Mark Entry (under Index). A dialog box will appear. Enter in the data, and then choose OK. Looking under the paragraph marks will reveal the field with the XE field code and the data just entered.

Marking Entries with AutoMark

An alternate way of marking entries requires the document to be complete and index entries chosen. By creating a simple Excel spreadsheet with one column for the word that needs to be marked and one column for the index entry for that word, the AutoMark feature can be used. To import the spreadsheet for automatically marking the index entries, use References > Insert Index (under Index). Choose AutoMark… at the bottom right. From the file dialog box, choose the simple Excel spreadsheet and then choose OK. Word will mark every instance of the entry’s appearance in the document. This can be detrimental as, for example, every occurrence of the word enter will be tagged “something” if this is used as an index entry. So the phrase “Enter your password” will be tagged as “Enter [index entry field code] your password” along with “the Enter [index entry field code] key is to the right.” Also, if the words semicolon and semicolons were in the index list to be tagged as “Punctuation, semicolon”, every instance of the word in a section on semicolons would be tagged:

Semicolons [index entry field code] can be used in place of a coordinating conjunction in certain cases. For example, the semicolon [index entry field code] in “Semicolons [index entry field code] are used here; semicolons [index entry field code] are not used here.” is an accurate use, but the semicolon [index entry field code] in “Semicolons [index entry field code] are not like colons; Jimmy likes to place semicolons [index entry field code] everywhere.” is not.