Microsoft Word 2007

Creating an Index

Indexes allow you to reference words, phrases, or symbols and list the page numbers on which they are found. Instead of searching your document for the desired entries and manually creating an index, Word makes this process easier. For shorter documents you have the option of manually marking your entries, and for longer documents you can use AutoMarking.

Creating an Index: Manually Marking Entries
Creating an Index: AutoMarking Entries

Creating an Index: Manually Marking Entries

For short documents, manually marking entries for your index is a quick way to create an automated index. Creating an index this way is a two-step process: mark the entries and then insert the index.

Marking the Entries

With the document open, select the desired text to mark for the first entry
From the References command tab, in the Index group, click MARK ENTRY
The Mark Index Entry dialog box appears.
To create a subentry, from the Index section, in the Subentry text box, type the desired text
NOTE: A subentry is subordinate to the main entry and is usually more specific. For example, Apple would be a subentry for Fruit.
To create a cross-reference,
1. From the Options section, select Cross-reference
2. In the Cross-reference text box, after "See," type the desired text
  NOTE: A cross-reference refers readers to related material in the same document.
To modify the text formatting for entries in the index,
1. In the Main entry, Subentry, or Cross-reference text box, right click the text » select Font...
  The Font dialog box appears.
2. Select the desired options
3. Click OK
  The Font dialog box closes.
To change how the page numbers will appear in the index, from the Page number format section, select Bold and/or Italic
NOTE: A checkmark appears when the option is selected.
To mark the occurrence, in the Mark Index Entry dialog box, click MARK
To mark all occurrences in the document, in the Mark Index Entry dialog box, click MARK ALL
The entry marks appear in your document.
Repeat steps 1-7 until the desired entries are marked
When finished, click CLOSE
The Mark Index Entry dialog box closes.

Creating the Index

Place the insertion point where you want the index to appear
From the References command tab, in the Index group, click INSERT INDEX
The Index dialog box appears.
Click OK
The index appears at the insertion point.

Creating an Index: AutoMarking Entries

When creating an index for a long document, it may be difficult and time consuming to manually select all of the desired entries. Using the AutoMark option is an efficient way to mark entries and create an index. Using AutoMark is a three-step process: Create the AutoMark file (also referred to as a concordance), AutoMark the entries, and then insert the index.

Creating the AutoMark File

The AutoMark file is a two-column table. The first column contains the entries as they appear in your document. The second column contains the entries as you want them to appear in the index.

Open a blank Word document
From the Insert command tab, in the Tables group, click TABLE» select Insert Table...
The Insert Table dialog box appears.
From the Table size section, in the Number of columns text box, type 2
In the Number of rows text box, type the number of rows equal to the number of entries for your index
Click OK
A table appears in your document.
In the first column, type the entry title as it is found in the document to be indexed
EXAMPLE: William Shakespeare
In the second column type the entry as you would like it to appear in the index
EXAMPLE: Shakespeare, William
Repeat steps 6-7 until all entries are listed for AutoMarking
When done, click the OFFICE BUTTON» select Save As... » Word Document
The Save As dialog box appears.
Using the Save in pull-down list, navigate to and select the desired save location
In the File name text box, type the desired name for the AutoMark file
Click SAVE
Close the document
Continue with AutoMarking the Entries

AutoMarking the Entries

If the document you would like to index is not already open, open it
Place your insertion point where you would like the index to appear
From the References command tab, in the Index group, click INSERT INDEX
The Index dialog box appears.
Click AUTOMARK...
the Open Index AutoMark File dialog box appears.
Use the Look in pull-down list to navigate to and select the file that contains your AutoMark table
HINT: From the Files of Type pull-down list, make sure that All Word Documents is selected.
Click OPEN
The entries are marked in the document.
Continue with Creating the Index

Creating the Index

From the References command tab, in the Index group, click INSERT INDEX
The Index dialog box appears.
Click OK
The index appears at the insertion point.