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Question

Import index by third party?

Forum|Forum|1 year ago
August 29, 2024
20 replies
1760 views

I'm working on an update to a textbook of the usual cinderblock size and heft. A late step will be, of course, to generate an index. Exactly how and what balance between proper concept indexing and keyword indexing isn't determined yet, but it's going to be more or less the author's task (both as SME and as in "I don't wanna do it"). But in looking at the process to offload this on the non-ID, non-InCopy, typical-Word-user author... I can't seem to find it. Everything revolves around entering the indexing info in InDesign — which as author/editor, is how I've always done it.

Isn't there a process to import a plain text topic list? Other than vague handwaving about "go find the INDD file with the list," are there any specific guidelines about how to structure such file for hierarchical entries, see-alsos, and the like? Or am I imagining that this alternative approach even exists?

Do I have to import a Word file to a simple InDesign file in order to do this? Or... what?

(The Adobe help page makes no mention of anything but importing an INDD file.... which is mildly embarrassing in light of certain conversations.)

This topic has been closed for replies.

James Gifford—NitroPressAuthor

Legend

The solution turns out to be none of the above. 😛

I ass/u/med the author would want to do the indexing, as author, user of the textbook and general SME. I was wrong. He had the last few editions indexed by a third party and I can just absorb the task into my workflow, removing all the technical hurdles of trying to coordinate the effort.

But all more complex collaborative ideas noted for future projects, and thanks.

AlanGilbertson

Community Expert

That makes complete sense. As I was reading down the thread, I kept thinking "Hire a proper indexer. It's a profession."

On the other hand, and possibly useful for the future, the very first plug-in in InDesign history was Sonar Bookends' InDex Pro, which is still actively developed and much used.

Among other capabilities, it can scan the InDesign document and produce a plaintext list of words and/or phrases that an author can easily edit to add/remove entries. It can then generate an index in its own story with designated paragraph and character styles, and can even take a set of InDesign documents, as in a multi-volume or multi-chapter work, and create a master index with volume (or chapter) and page numbers, nested entries, etc. It understands proximity: how closely do two words or phrases appear? It understands page ranges. (I'm only sketching the barest suface-level features. There is a lot more.) Having used it successfully on multi-volume publications, in just the kind of situation where the last thing anyone needed was for the authors to mess with the manuscript, I can attest to its usefulness!

James Gifford—NitroPressAuthor

Legend

Plug-in noted, and thanks.

This project isn't simple or narrowly defined, and almost every solution, while a good fit for some efforts, had a catch for this one.

The arguments against a third-party indexer are that this is a textbook for a very narrow, upper-division course, and the author is one of a relatively small genuine SMEs. A third party, even an experienced one, is not likely to have a good grasp of the topic for contextual indexing, and a generic, keyword-driven index would not be up to par (and can be generated in many ways not involving the time and expense of a third party).

I also am a professional indexer, among other things; I am primarily a writer, editor and publisher, with all this InDesign-based stuff a downstream set of skills. So simply having the task devolve to me, with author review, puts it in the right hands and without the need to find a way to coordinate efforts with a typical academic who uses Word like a typewriter. 🙂

As for tools and such, I don't do indexes of this scale very often; most authors can do a decent first pass and I can do a general index of almost any normal book in a few hours. But an unskilled expert/user out there and ID's rather steam-powered indexing feature, with effectively no shortcuts or bulk approach... that was going to be weeks of Excedrin Headaches™ and I am glad to have found a way past it. The plug-in would be more useful and cost-effective if I did more indexing, but as some good number of books go exclusively to e-book these days, indexes just ain't what they used to be.

L

Laubender

Community Expert

Hi @James Gifford—NitroPress ,

have a look at WordsFlow Pro.

Did not check lately if features were added recently that could help you (and your author) :

http://emsoftware.com/category/news/wordsflow/

Regards,
Uwe Laubender
( Adobe Community Expert )

James Gifford—NitroPressAuthor

Legend

A possible solution, but this is a one-time update (any future one would be 4-5 years out) and while the last edition was done in InDesign, I am working from very, very messy, almost wholly unformatted Word files. I am not sure the back-and-forth of WordFlow would be successful.

I just thought ID had a better "wholesale" index method than it apparently does.

Robert at ID-Tasker

Legend

One way or the other - you can shift the work completely on the author.

Robert at ID-Tasker

Legend

A few tools from Peter - @Peter Kahrel

https://creativepro.com/files/kahrel/indesign/lists_indexes.html

James Gifford—NitroPressAuthor

Legend

Okay, so it's not just me. ID's indexing feature is... all but useless.

Crikey, I did a book 25 years ago in FrameMaker that had fiendishly complex multiple TOCs and indexes, and didn't have to resort to a single workaround, script, hack or fix. Even Word doesn't do it badly.

I'll have to figure out how to coordinate the task with the author. Yay.

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