InDesign INDEX: range of pages

We are always happy to help, Marcello. Come back and see us the next time you have an InDesign question.

~Barb

Hi Marcello:

I'm just going to add something to Peter's comments that surprises my students: Indexing is a career path. There's a lot more to creating a good index than just mastering the index commands in programs like InDesign, FrameMaker and Word. See https://www.asindexing.org/become-an-indexer/so-you-want-to-be-an-indexer/.

The most common mistake for someone new to indexing is to index every occurrence of a word and then list all the page numbers with no context. For example:

B

Bitmap image, 4, 6, 12–15, 17, 19, 25, 51–60, etc

Sometimes the page numbers will wrap several lines so the reader has absolutely no idea which page to go to to locate what they are looking for. A good indexer reads for context, and then adds topics and subtopics. (InDesign supports four levels, I am just showing an example of two.) They may index words, but are also indexing concepts expressed in a paragraph or page, or range of pages. They are often subject matter experts who not only understand the subject, but also what someone else with less knowledge may be looking for.

B

Bitmap image

  converting from vector, 12–15

  defined, 4

  formats, 6, 19

  limitations of, 17

  resolution, 25, 51–60

It's by all accounts a thankless job because a good indexer makes it so easy to find what we need that we don't even think about the work that went into developing that index. We find our topic, then our subtopic, navigate to the page, read what need and move on. If they did their job well, we don't give them a second thought. 

Anyway, our job as Adobe Community Experts is to help users figure out how to use Adobe applications and even though you are disappointed in the InDesign feature set, I hope that we have done our job explaining how indexing works, along with providing the third party solution and a script. How you move forward from here is up to you. I wish you the best!!

~Barb

> select "add all" you get all the pages where the word in question is present

This places index markers on every occurrence of the word. And indeed InDesign simply lists all page numbers, as it should. the fact that a word occurs on pages 10, 11, and 12 doesn't mean that those page numbers can be spanned just like that. Maybe it should be 10-11, 12 or 10, 11-12.

If you're serious about creating an index you shouldn't use Add All. Instead, use any of the page-range options provided in the Type dropdown, as shown in Barb's screenshot.

> It seemed strange to me that a function that should be basic in a leading editorial layout program was missing and instead you have to use tools.

The function that you think is basic is in fact used only in substandard indexes. And as to using tools, what's wrong with that? Since when was was anything accomplished without tools?

> because the program knows in which pages the word in question is present and it would be enough for it to do the range of consecutive pages up to the end of the document.

No, the program has no idea on which pages words occur. The whole point of the index function (not only in InDesign) is to tell the program on which pages sensible references to words occur.

As Barbs pointed out, there are several ways to indicate page ranges: next number of paragraphs (though that one has  some problems, see https://creativepro.com/files/kahrel/indesign/index-fixes.html) , next number of pages, to end of section, to end of story, etc.

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

Hi Marcello:

I reached out to the person who wrote IndexMatic³ to see if it would be a good match for you, and received the following reply:

Well, iX³ is certainly a solution in the sense that it generates clean, highly customizable page ranges that would meet the needs of the OP. However, my program does not rely on the native Index feature so it won't tweak or fix what is done in the frame of a regular InDesign index. IndexMatic³ builds an independent index; this somehow involves giving up native functionality and adopting a new paradigm. If the user has already started working with InDesign topics etc, changing their approach can make life more difficult.

 

Anyway, it's worth mentioning that IndexMatic³ now has an experimental import feature intended to translate existing topics into a query list: https://indiscripts.com/blog/public/scripts/en_IndexMatic3-Manual.pdf#page=105.

~Barb

Hi Marcello:

That is exactly what I am saying. When you add an index marker, you determine if the topic is discussed on the current page, to the next style change, etc. You can read more about InDesign's indexing controls here: Helpx: Adobe InDesign Index Online Help. 

There is a third party product that extends InDesign's indexing options called IndexMatic. I don't know if it will do what you want—I have only generated indexes using InDesign's feature set—but perhaps you will want to look into it. 

Scripting can also extend the InDesign feature set. You may be able to come up with scripting solution that can locate consecutive pages 1,2,3 and 6,7,8 and convert them to 1–3 and 6–8 for example, but I'm not the one who can help you with that. 

~Barb

Hi Marcello:

When you specify a range like 9–13, you are telling the reader that topic referenced is discussed on on pages 9–13.

If the topic is discussed on pages 9–10 and then again on pages 13–14, you need two index markers, one for each discussion range.

InDesign is not looking for a specific word or phrase, it needs you to read for context and then tell it how long a particular discussion lasts. 

~Barb