how can I reuse a previously generated index for a revised manual.

...reuse an index so I don't have to recreate the whole thing for a revised manual.

Earlier responses have identified two of the core issues in cloning for index:

1. getting the new IX file recognized as Generated

2. having markers in the body or chapter files to be used in generating the index

There's a third issue that comes to mind (and perhaps more):

3. other cross-references between the component files of the book, including IX, such as non-index hyperlinks

There are at least two, and possibly three or more ways to clone an existing indexed document or template for use as a new document, that ends up with a functioning IX (and TOC, and other generated files). Some approaches are a great deal of trouble.

What we do, and find to be the least trouble (requiring only Variable update file-by-file), is:

• Create a new directory for the new document. If the source document contains imported objects, make sure the new dir is at the same relative level in the FS hierarchy as the old dir.
  
  
• Copy the source document files to the new dir. These might be:
  Was.book
  WasFRONT.fm
  WasTOC.fm
  WasMAIN.fm
  WasIX.fm
  WasBACK.fm
  
  
• Using the operating system file manager or command line, rename ONLY the book file:
  REN Was.book New.book
  
  
• Open the New.book in Framemaker
  
  
• In the book menu, right-click on each component file.
  Rename File
  example: WasFRONT.fm -> NewFRONT.fm
  Hit [Enter] [OK] [OK] [OK]
  Repeat for each component file.
  Save the New.book file (the component files are automatically saved under their new names).
  
  Do NOT rename the component files using the operating system. Having Frame do it also updates the references INSIDE the files to one another.
  
  
• If the chapter files (e.g. WasMAIN.fm) contained Index markers, NewMAIN.fm will as well, and the NewIX.fm will display them upon
  Edit > Update Book
  In fact, until you make content changes, the new IX entries will look exactly like the old IX.
  
  
• Clean up the new directory. Begin revising the files for their new purpose. Add and delete Index markers as needed.

Bedford1447 wrote: I can't figure out what help is suggesting I do (below) to reuse an idex so I don't have to recreate the whole thing for a revised manual. I'd like to add the old index and reuse in the revised manual and have it automatically adjust the page numbers. How do I get the index to show up in the Update a Book dialog? FrameMaker help says: To use a template or an existing generated file in a new book file, add it to the book as a generated file. Then put the existing file in the folder that contains the book file, using the name that appears in the book window.

I agree that the descriptions are confusing.

When you generate an index from a FrameMaker document, you're capturing information from index markers that have been inserted into the document by a human, collecting that captured information in a "generated" index document, along with the page numbers where the markers were inserted.

If you have the original files for the manual, from which the index was generated, and the markers are still present, you can regenerate the index again. If you cut or copy text and paste it into new locations in the document, index markers in the cut or copied text are also pasted. Regenerating the index will capture the moved and additional locations, and their page numbers. As you might suspect, no content or page numbers can be generated missing index markers. You can add new content and new index markers.

To assure that you don't unintentionally delete existing index markers, and to see markers that are in text you want to delete, cut, and copy, turn on View > Text Symbols. You can find index markers with Edit > Find; change Text to Marker of Type > Index.

If you only have a generated index, but not the original documents from which it was generated, there's no built-in tool in FrameMaker that can "read" the index and insert index markers into a FrameMaker document. Perhaps a genius scripter has created such a tool or plug-in, but I'm not aware of one. You can use such an orphaned index as a guide with Edit > Find to search for matching content in a FrameMaker document, and manually create and insert index markers, with appropriate text and markup, then generate a new index document.

If there are index markers in the FrameMaker source documents, you can jump from entries in the index document to the markers in the source document from which they were created. There are two ways to do this:

* Press Ctrl+Alt and click on the page number of an index entry; FrameMaker moves the insertion pointer to the index marker's location, and opens the document if needed.

* You can place a FrameMaker document into "read-only" mode, so that moving to the source index marker only requires a normal click on a page number in an index entry. See http://iconlogic.blogs.com/weblog/2009/03/adobe-framemaker-hey-where-did-my-menus-go.html for details.

NOTE: If the index was generated with the Create Hypertext Links option not checked in the create index dialog box, there are no links. If needed, you can create the links by checking the option and regerating the index.

For more detail on creating and using index markers, search Google for terms like "creating index FrameMaker index marker," "FrameMaker generated index," and similar phrases, without quotes.

HTH

Regards,

Peter

_______________________

Peter Gold

KnowHow ProServices

This information is somewhat potentially misleading. An index consists of two parts:

• the individual index markers, placed in the chapter files
• the generated and formatted index, using these markers to create its content

The reusable part is the index file itself, containing the page layout, paragraph formats and entry definitions (on the reference page). You may reuse such an index file for a new book, however, if this new book (and its chapter files) don't contain the index markers of the other book, nothing will show up in your new index. If you have used the old chapter files (containing index markers) for the new book, it will work.

The FM help file just refers to reusing a complete index file as a pre-formatted template for a new index in a new book, so you don't have to rebuild (or import) all the layout information. The contents of this file still needs index markers in the chapters. What the help file says:

• if you have a book file open and want to add an index, do this with the corresponding command
• now you have an index listed in the book file, however, the file doesn't really exist until you generate it for the first time
• now copy your (correctly formatted) index file from whereever it sits to the folder that contains your new book files
• rename this file to the name which is listed as index file in the book

When generating an index now, the book finds the copied file, and writes the index marker content into this file, thus using the correct formatting. If you left these steps out, the first generation of an index creates an unformatted index.

Bernd