Can one add index references to created topics in one step?

[wmrowen]

Having not made an index for a booklet in years, I looked at the Create an Index help. It says that you can make up a list of topics (or import a pre-existing list). So I assumed then there's a step where you can get InDesign to go thru and Add All page references to all those topics. But either I'm wrong or just unable to find that command.

What I can find is that you can manually select the word(s) that you want to Add All page references to one at a time. Not for the whole Topics List that one constructs first.

This seems to mean that the Topics list that one might construct or import is useless except as a comparative item later to see if you missed any in your second time thru the entire book—once to create the Topics list and then again to actually re-select each word(s) adding page references, This strikes me as double work.
What am I missing or is the creating of Topics of marginal value?
Thank you.

[cramosm]

I have the same problem right now (June 23, 2020). I do remember distinctly that in my last book (2010) I was able to import topic list from a simple .txt file and then had the references marked immediately without my intervention. Now one has to create an .ndd file with the topic list in order to be able to import it. But that's no use if the index panel does nothing with the topic list. I had not used InDesign for a while but this has me stumped. I cannot believe now we have to do find (search) topic-mark topic in the book text.

[Laubender]

Hi cramosm,

maybe you used a script by Peter Kahrel or Martin Fischer to add topics to your index based on a word list or based on words marked with a distinct character style?

Indexes and concordances

by Peter Kahrel

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

Regards,
Uwe Laubender

( ACP )