eIndexing: Getting Started

Overview

Link to Cheatsheet page

Bitly Link to cheatsheet page

You can create complete indexes for print and eBooks with IGP:eIndexer. This is a module built into IGP:Digital Publisher. You can create a comprehensive, detailed guide to the information in your book. You can only create one general index for a document or book but you can also create place and name indexes separately if they are relevant.

To create an index, you select index reference markers in the text and then associate each index reference marker with the index term entry that you want to appear in the index.

Your index is built interactively in real time. An Index term looks like this.

► Index term * *-* [**]

You will not see page numbers until you generate a full document PDF. When you PDF generate the index, each topic is listed, along with the page on which it was found. The index terms are sorted alphabetically, typically under section headings (A, B, C, and so on).

An index entry consists of a term, sub-term or sub-sub-term (the term readers look up) paired with either reference markers (page number or range) or an internal index cross-reference. A cross-reference, preceded by “See” or “See also,” points the reader to other entries in the index, rather than to a book page number.

When you generate an eBook Index there are no page numbers. The markers are interactive and can be left as symbols or processed to occurence sequence numbers. They can also be processed to alphabetic grouping sections to make navigating a large index in an ebook easier.

Before you start

You must have a correctly formatted e-Index page in the backmatter of your document before you start eIndexing. The default template available from the Sections dialog contains all alphabetical sections and a numerical section by default.

Inserting an e-Index Page

To insert an e-Index page in your document:

1. From the Table of Contents navigate to the section before your Index Section insertion position.
2. Click Section Tools. The Section Toolbar will open. 
3. Click the New Section button. The Insert Section panel will open.
4. From the Select Section dropdown selector locate and click Index. Wait for it to load in the preview viewport.
5. Make sure the After option is selected and click the Insert button.
6. The Index page complete with all default template items will be inserted into the document.
7. The Index page will open by default. It has a full set of alpha-numeric list sections within which you will be inserting your Index terms and references. This illustration is the Reader view.

It is strongly advised to not directly edit into the Writer Index section. If you do have a list of index root terms they can be inserted but each Index alphabetical sequence list must be an HTML Ordered List.

Make sure there are no red paragraph markers beside any terms you may enter by turning them into ordered lists.

The content in the Writer Index section is the master index content and is loaded from the IGP:Writer Index Section when the eIndexer is opened.

Starting the eIndexer

1. From the Document Toolbar click the Linking and Index Tools button.
2. Click the Turn on Index Mode button. The Tool panel will change to the empty e-Index Editor the first time it is used. As you use the e-Indexer the interface will show the Index in its current state as it is being created.
3. If there is no Index section in the document this will show the message "Indexer could not be loaded. No Index section found in the document."

 The next section will explain the use of the various buttons in detail.

Related Links

Blog: Indexes in eBooks Are Very Much Alive ►

Blog: Power XHTML e-Indexing ►

Manual. eIndexing. Getting Started (This page)

Manual. eIndexing. Tools.

Manual. eIndexing. Action Cheatsheet.