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Subject:Re: Help with indexing From:Lori Lathrop <76620 -dot- 456 -at- COMPUSERVE -dot- COM> Date:Tue, 16 Apr 1996 10:27:24 EDT
In response to Martin R. Smith (martin -at- newage -dot- otsuka -dot- com), who asks
>(1) Are there any Mac programs out there that simplify the processes
>of creating an index. (2) Are there any good books about designing
>indexes for technical documents.
(1) If you were using FrameMaker on a Unix platform, I'd recommend
IXgen, a product developed by Frank Stearns & Associates. However,
I don't believe it's available yet for either Mac or Windows versions
of Frame.
(2) There are two good books you might want to add to your library:
_Indexing Books_ (my favorite) by Nancy Mulvany, published by the
University of Chicago Press, and _The ARt of Indexing_ by Larry
Bonura, published by John Wiley & Sons.
You were so right when you said:
>In addition, one must develop the overall hierarchy of the index
>prior to inserting the markers.
That's true of most (if not all) DTP software that uses embedded
indexing tags. As you know, when you're inserting those tags, you
are "indexing blind" because you can't see what the formatted index
looks like until you generate the document. (BTW, that's one
problem that IXgen, an add-on product for FrameMaker on Unix
platforms, solves.) Another professional indexer I know does a lot
of work for clients who want her to embed index tags in their Frame
documents; she uses her standalone indexing software to create and
edit the index *before* she embeds the tags into the document.
I've done the same thing with MS Word documents.
There are two good standalone indexing software packages: CINDEX,
developed by Indexing Research in Rochester, NY (IRCINDEX -at- aol -dot- com),
and Macrex, sold by Bayside Indexing in Daly City, CA (Macrex -at- aol -dot- com).
Neither of these programs is *cheap*; both cost around $500. BTW,
for more information on indexing and indexing software, check out
the American Society of Indexers (ASI) Web site; the URL is:
I hope I've answered your questions. If not, please let me know.
Lori
******************************************************************
Lori Lathrop ----------> INTERNET:76620 -dot- 456 -at- compuserve -dot- com
Lathrop Media Services, P.O. Box 3065, Idaho Springs, CO 80452
Office: 303-567-4447, ext. 28 / Fax: 303-567-9306
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