TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
I don't much like the idea of a consolidated index if it means
that the individual manuals won't have their own indexes. But
maybe you could do both in each manual? Or set up a single
index, but a volume-specific one, in each, with columns, thus:
[topic] [p in RM] [p in UM] [p in IM]
server 223-5, 347 11-13 115-32, 208, 441
As to the abbreviations, if you include a key, which I assume you
will anyway, you could drop the M, since it's a constant, and
abbreviate R, U, and I. Would save some space and look a little
cleaner.
I wouldn't put the glossary in just one of the manuals; it would
be too annoying to be reading one and need a definition, then
have to go to another room/office to find the right manual.