Re: Index entries for glossary terms

["Brierley, Sean" <Brierley -at- QUODATA -dot- COM>]

Hallo:

Thanks, yes, consistency is an excellent thing. If I am short on time, I'll
default to consistently indexing all glossary terms because less
consideration is involved.

I do like to create a thorough index without including too many entries that
are irrelevant (you know what I mean <g>) because I have found that wading
through an index of unimportant references frustrates readers. For example,
if a reader is looking for information and they keep following index entries
to find "duh, that's basic" information, they'll stop using the index and
then stop using the book. This is my main reason for keeping (what my SMEs
and I perceive) to be less important glossary terms out of the index.

I tend not to duplicate TOC entries in the index, such as the "Glossary"
chapter title. I typically *do* have a "definitions" index entry, but it
does not point to the first page of the Glossary. Instead, subordinate to my
"definitions" entry I index specific glossary terms and point to the page
those are on. If someone wants to find the first line on the first page of
the Glossary, presumably to browse through it, they can locate that
information in the TOC. I intend my TOCs to be used for general look-up,
such as browsing, while I design the index to answer specific questions or
point to specific items.

Also, regarding my earlier comments about time frame for making an index.
Obviously, this depends on the book. Also, I tend to index as I write (I'm
talking about FrameMaker here) because it's more convenient to consider how
a reader will look for something at the time I am documenting a  particular
feature, rather than a few weeks later. After writing and indexing as I go,
I compile my index and review it and test it. Then, I add/delete and review
and test again. (PDF is great for this because of the hypertext links). I
also try to get my SMEs to review the index but they don't (even thought
they say otherwise--trust me, put in a herring). By the time I start testing
my index, however, I usually have eager project managers breathing down my
neck to release the book because, even though I'm still wrenching on the
index, that last review copy looked pretty darn good and we could ship early
. . ..

All the best.

Sean
sean -at- quodata -dot- com



>>>-----Original Message-----
>>>From: David M. Brown [mailto:dmbrown -at- brown-inc -dot- com]

>>>I prefer to offer the consistency of indexing all the
>>>terms--and in hypertext, it's not a matter of saving paper
>>>or limiting page count.
>>>
>>>I also include "glossary" and "definitions" as index
>>>entries.  Depending on the delivery format, these may
>>>display all terms (in the Topics Found dialog box) or simply
>>>link to the top of the glossary.
>>>


 From ??? -at- ??? Sun Jan 00 00:00:00 0000=