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#INDESIGN ADOBE SOFTWARE#
#INDESIGN ADOBE PROFESSIONAL#

(Turnover lines and the second and succeeding lines in any one index entry.)

The aim here would be that main entries are at the left margin, subentries are indented slightly from the left margin, and all turnover lines for both levels would indent to the same point. We have to take this into account when we set the indentation for our main entries, to keep readers from getting confused. Okay, so how about a 2-level index? The second level entries have to be indented so they appear underneath and obviously subsidiary to the main entries. This is what such an index would look like: For reasons we’ll discover in a minute, I use a fairly small indent, usually 9 points (.125 inches, usually known as 1/8 inch). In a simple index with only one level (all entries are main entries) this is pretty easy to accomplish. That depends on how many levels of entries you have. All entries will use a hanging indent where the first line of the entry is longer than subsequent lines, which are more deeply indented.

Probably the most confusing part of formatting an index is the way the indentation works. (Don’t forget that once you get the file placed in InDesign, you’ll want to swap out the local formatting-usually there’s a lot of italics in indexes-for a character style.) Establish Levels, Set Indents

The important thing is to make sure you are mapping your paragraph styles accurately to the styles or tags included in the index file. InDesign gives you a lot of choices including format-dependent searches and the aforementioned Import Options. You might want to do this through InDesign’s Import Options dialog (check the box for “Show Import Options” when you go to Place the file) or however you usually do this with your text files.

#INDESIGN ADOBE SOFTWARE#

This program can “export indexes as formatted documents (Rich Text Format, QuarkXPress, InDesign, plain text, tagged text)”ĭepending on the software used, the format the file was exported to, and whatever your personal workflow is, you’re going to need to assign paragraph styles to the various index elements and levels. Indexers use dedicated programs such as Cindex indexing software. Typically the file for your index will come from the indexer with formatting information included, otherwise you would have no way to tell which are main entries and which are subentries. Once we get the file from your indexer into InDesign, we’ll need to format each of these elements to complete the index.

jumps-when entries span a column or a page, you’ll usually find a ( continued) flag to let you know that you’re looking at the continuation of an entry.

cross references-you’ll find these in main entries in the form of “see” or “see also” instructions that point to related concepts.

Most indexes include entries that are subsets of the main entries, and in complex indexes, you might find 2, 3, or 4 levels of subentries

subentries-the simplest indexes (like the ones created in word processing programs) only have one “level” of entries-main entries-which are all equal.

entries-the basic unit of the index, each refers to a word or concept in the book and points to where it can be found.

alpha navigators-grouping your index entries under each letter of the alphabet is the standard way to organize an index, and these letters show you where to look.

index title-this should look the same as other opening pages for front or back matter like your Contents page.

Indexes usually include various elements, each of which is treated differently: Instead we’ll look at the typographic requirements and I’ll show you from the inside how I create a standard index in Adobe InDesign. In this article I’m going to leave aside the editorial concerns of what’s included or not included in an index, how the entries are cross referenced, and all similar concerns. The index for a typical nonfiction book can look bewildering, with its entries and subentries, each with its own indentation plan. When it comes time to format your index, you may find it challenging. By cross-referencing other, related topics, the index achieves an integration of citations and underlying ideas that’s hard to replicate, even in the age of Google.

#INDESIGN ADOBE PROFESSIONAL#

An index is constructed from the concepts behind the terms and people cited within your book.įor that you need an indexer, a skilled professional who understands how readers will use this customized “search” section of your book. Although it seems that more books are published without indexes every year, savvy self-publishers know that including an index is one way they can make their print books stand out.Ī proper index can’t be produced automatically by your word processing software. There are many nonfiction books that need an index to be complete.