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Subject:Re: Use of indexers and indexing From:David Demyan <concord -at- IX -dot- NETCOM -dot- COM> Date:Mon, 26 Jun 1995 05:46:08 -0700
Linda Kenny Sloan wrote:
(snip)
> Perhaps some of you might have stories to tell about such
>indexing projects. I would appreciate some insight into how you handle
>both large and small projects.
I do use FrameMaker to create extensive indexes for user documents
and have found it to work well. The options for including text that
is to be indexed are better than other programs I have used. For
example, you can easily index a phrase just by highlighting it while
the index box is on screen, then clicking OK in the box. You also
have the options of editing the text before it is indexed (entries
must be identical if they are to be collapsed and single-referenced
with multiple pages) or placing the cursor and typing the marker
text in the box. In all cases, a "tee" shaped marker appears that
allows you to select and edit the marker later on, for de-bugging
or changing. In fact, I really like the hypertext link that is
accessible in Frame version 4.0. After the index is "generated,"
you can click on the entry (with keystrokes depending on platform)
and go directly to the referent document. If it is not open at the
time, Frame will open it and take you directly to the referent.
When you open the marker box, voila, the entry is there, waiting
to be edited. This saves oodles of time. Naturally, if pagination
changes, the index automatically does also (after re-generation).
You also seemed interested in my approach. Nothing against
professional indexers, but I feel the writer, if he or she knows
how to index, is very well qualified to create the index. I go
through the document, selecting pertinent terms, phrases, sections,
graphics, tables, and so on that I know will be of interest to the
readers and will be of great use to them as they attempt to perform
their jobs. If the content is substantial enough, I will place an
index marker there. After all sections are marked (including
appendices), I'll generate the book (FrameMaker terminology), which
creates an index and leaves it open on screen. Then I'll review
and edit the index with an eye toward usability (how useful are the
entries) and make changes as needed. I usually have to rework
dozens of entries simply to make them identical so that the
reference collapses several into one. Quite often, I am not as
thorough as I thought I was with consistency (singular vs. plural,
initial caps, use of hyphens, etc.)
The end result is an index that rounds out the documentation package
to the utter delight of the client and only takes two or three days
to complete for very large documents.
Dave Demyan *** Mendem Concord, Inc.
(908) 753-8500 *** One Mountain Blvd.
concord -at- ix -dot- netcom -dot- com *** Warren, NJ 07059
FAX: (908) 754-8224
