Trouble with index formatting in FM8

Report · Jun 15, 2009

I'm using Framemaker 8 on Windows XP and I'm trying to set up my index with automatic formatting but I'm struggling with one aspect. I'm using my catalog numbers instead of page numbers in the index and sometimes I have many matches to a subject. This creates a multiline entry in the index. I have the formatting set up with a tab leader and the tab is right justified. The problem is that the second line left justifies the first entry and then puts a dot leader over to the rest of the entries that are right justified. I don't want the dot leader in the second line.

It currently looks like this:

Communication..........A1200, A1201, A1202, A1202

A1203.............A1204, A1205

I want it to look like this.

Communication..........A1200, A1201, A1202, A1202

A1203, A1204, A1205

Can anyone think of something I can do to make this change?

Report · Jun 15, 2009

Mark,

Can you please post what your SeparatorsIX and IndexIX entries look like (from the Reference IX page). Also, which point release of FM8 are you using?

Report · Jun 15, 2009

I'm on release 8.0p266.

I think you want to see the first and last line from the reference page but I'm not sure so I'm posting the whole thing. The first line is "SeparatorsAIX" and the last one is "AuthorAIX". Let me know if I'm assuming wrong and I'll try to get you what you're looking for. There's a tab at the start of the last line.

1, 2–3

<$symbols><$numerics><$alphabetics>

-_–—

Level1AIX

openObjectId <$relfilename>:<$ObjectType> <$ObjectId>

Report · Jun 16, 2009

Is this an Author Index? If not, then there's supposed to be an IndexIX entry as well.

Also, what's the <vnum> supposed to be? It's not a FM building block.

To have a tab in front of the page numbers, you are supposed to add that in the first position of the SeparatorsIX line e.g. "\t1, 2–3".

Tip: Use the "\t" building block on the Reference pages (instead of an actual tab) so that you can see what components are supposed to be there.

The tab at the start of the AuthorAIX will just indent the index entry.

Report · Jun 16, 2009

I appreciate you working with me but perhaps I led you too far down the wrong path to start. This is not so much about the index as about the format of the paragraph. If I can figure out how to fix the formating issue I can just change that as the index already has the right information just not the right format.

I was describing how and why this type of paragraph is created so I thought I should describe the index and I'll try to answer your questions below but once the index is created, how can I change the format of the paragraph to elimitate the dot leader on the second or third line of the paragraph and have it only appear on the first line. This used to work differently in FM5 and I'm using essetially the same document and setting so I'm not sure if something has changed or if this is no longer possible to do.

As for the indexing, it is an Author index. I have an author and a subject index set up the same way but typed out an example from the subject index because it was more generic than listing someones name. The reference page listed in this thread is copied directly from the refernce page of the <filename>AIX.fm file which is my Author index. The <vnum> is a character format that is applied to the <paratext> entries causing them to be bolder and slightly smaller than the author names. I have always had the tab in front of the last line and it certainly puts a tab into the flow for me when I generate the index. Do you think moving it to the top might change the formatting problem? I know I can use the "\t" but I almost have the text symbols on so I can see the tab.

Report · Jun 16, 2009

Mark,

That's what I was trying to indicate - the formatting for the single visual entry on the Body pages actuall comes from a combination of sources. The tab + dot-leader, should only be present in the SeperatorsIX entry and will only add a single tab with dot-leader for all index entries of the same name/text. Since you're also getting the dot leader elsewhere in the sequence, you must have added this to one of the other IX components.

Report · Jun 16, 2009

That's it!!

I had the tab on the line that was inserting it before every entry (catalog number) in the index. Moving it to the first line adds just the one tab before all page numbers or in my case <paratext> and fixed the problem.

Thank you for your help.