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>I have been asked to create an index in Word97 for a 400 page document. I
>have no experience indexing and I need to estimate the amount of time it
>will take me to complete the index.
I am hoping your 400 page document consist of various files. If it doesn't,
I would break it into several files. I shudder to think of working with such
a large file in Word!
Indexing is not easy, but it's not hard. It is a skill, just like any other.
Unfortunately, indexing is often left for the end when you're in a rush, and
just slapped together. To me, it is the most valuable part of a doc.
Anyway, it depends on the way you have organized your information (i.e., the
extent of the cross referencing) and your audience (i.e., how many
different terms do they use for same thing, are they homogeneous, etc.);
however, I normally give myself 3 days per 100 pages. Now, I have been
indexing for a long time and feel very comfortable doing it. So perhaps a
little longer just in case.