FrameMaker indexing using a conditional tag

[Les Harris]

I am updating a FrameMaker book in which a previous author used an indexing technique I haven't encountered before.

There are conventional markers of type "Index", but these are replicated as text with a conditional tag called "Index" applied to it. The markers use this syntax: 

.i.[topic]:[sub-topic];

How do you turn these conditional text markers into an index, and why might an author use this approach?

Thanks in advance for any insights!  

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

I don't see the condition tag you talk about in the Marker Text - are you referring to the text in blue - e.g. .i.applications:courses;

[Les Harris]

Yes.

[frameexpert]

He may be using a third-party indexing tool that converts the markers into conditional text and vise versa. IXGen was a FrameMaker plugin that did this kind of thing. There was another one too. You should check Scott Prentice's FrameMaker Tools page: 

https://leximation.com/tools/

There is one listed called MarkerTools that may be the one used on your documents.

[Les Harris]

Thanks Rick. I am running Frame 17.0.6. MarkerTools won't install. I didn't try to install IXGen because other community members have said that it doesn't work with Frame 2019 or later. Which is unfortunate because from looking at the documentation it was pretty slick.

[frameexpert]

Yes, a lot of the older stuff won't work with later versions. I could provide you with an ExtendScript script that would convert these conditional text entries into markers (and back if you want). If you are interested, please send me a sample document offlist and I will give you a quote. Thanks.

[frameexpert]

Actually, as I look closer at your screenshot, it looks like the author may have done both manually: they inserted a marker AND typed in the text. It was likely to help reviewers see what was being indexed and where. That's my guess anyway.

[Jeff_Coatsworth]

Ah, so it would be tagged as conditional and hidden in the output; normal generation of the index would take place just the same. Unfortunate that they didn't better label the condition so as to avoid the OP's confusion.

[Steve SPS · Accepted solution]

It would be hard to be any later responding to this thread, as I don't frequently come to this forum. But what you're seeing are conditional index entries that are managed by Index Tools Professional. That's an indexing add-on for FrameMaker that I wrote about 25 years ago.

You can get a version of it here:  https://www.siliconprairiesoftware.com

It's still supported on all of the versions of FrameMaker after Frame 7.