Index on microsoft word

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An index lists the terms and topics that are discussed in a document, along with the pages that they appear on. To create an index, you mark the index entries by providing the name of the main entry and the cross-reference in your document, and then you build the index.

You can create an index entry for an individual word, phrase, or symbol, for a topic that spans a range of pages, or that refers to another entry, such as «Transportation. See Bicycles.» When you select text and mark it as an index entry, Word adds a special XE (Index Entry) field that includes the marked main entry and any cross-reference information that you choose to include.

An XE (Index Entry) field

After you mark all the index entries, you choose an index design and build the finished index. Word collects the index entries, sorts them alphabetically, references their page numbers, finds and removes duplicate entries from the same page, and displays the index in the document.

Mark the entries

These steps show you how to mark words or phrases for your index, but you can also Mark index entries for text that spans a range of pages.

  1. Select the text you’d like to use as an index entry, or just click where you want to insert the entry.

  2. On the References tab, in the Index group, click Mark Entry.
    Mark entry

  3. You can edit the text in the Mark Index Entry dialog box.
    Mark Index Entry dialog box

    • You can add a second-level in the Subentry box. If you need a third level, follow the subentry text with a colon.

    • To create a cross-reference to another entry, click Cross-reference under Options, and then type the text for the other entry in the box.

    • To format the page numbers that will appear in the index, select the Bold check box or Italic check box below Page number format.

  4. Click Mark to mark the index entry. To mark this text everywhere it shows up in the document, click Mark All.

  5. To mark additional index entries, select the text, click in the Mark Index Entry dialog box, and then repeat steps 3 and 4.

Create the index

After you mark the entries, you’re ready to insert the index into your document.

  1. Click where you want to add the index.

  2. On the References tab, in the Index group, click Insert Index.
    Insert index

  3. In the Index dialog box, you can choose the format for text entries, page numbers, tabs, and leader characters.
    Index dialog box

  4. You can change the overall look of the index by choosing from the Formats dropdown menu. A preview is displayed in the window to the top left.

  5. Click OK.

Edit or format an index entry and update the index

If you mark more entries after creating your index, you’ll need to update the index to see them.

  1. If you don’t see the XE fields, click Show/Hide Button image in the Paragraph group on the Home tab.

  2. Find the XE field for the entry that you want to change, for example, { XE «Callisto» t «See Moons» }.

  3. To edit or format an index entry, change the text inside the quotation marks.

  4. To update the index, click the index, and then press F9. Or click Update Index in the Index group on the References tab.

    Update index

If you find an error in the index, locate the index entry that you want to change, make the change, and then update the index.

Delete an index entry and update the index

  1. Select the entire index entry field, including the braces ({}), and then press DELETE.

    If you don’t see the XE fields, click Show/Hide Button image in the Paragraph group on the Home tab.

  2. To update the index, click the index, and then press F9. Or click Update Index in the Index group on the References tab.

    Update index

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  • Marking Your Entries
  • |

  • Inserting the Index Page
  • |

  • Editing Index Entries
  • |

  • Video
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  • Q&A
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  • Tips

This wikiHow teaches you how to build an index page for your Microsoft Word document. Microsoft Word comes with a built-in indexing tool that can automatically create an index based on the entries you choose. All you’ll need to do is use the Mark Entry tool to mark each word or phrase you want to add to the index. Terms in your index can point to specific pages in the document or cross-reference to other indexed entries.

  1. Image titled Create an Index in Word Step 1

    1

    Open a Microsoft Word document. MS Word lets you add an index to any document regardless of its length, style, or subject matter. Before you can add an index to your document, you’ll need to go through each page to mark the terms you want to appear in the index.

  2. Image titled Create an Index in Word Step 2

    2

    Select a word or a group of words for your index. You can select a word or phrase by highlighting it with your mouse.

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    3

    Click the References tab. It’s on the toolbar at the top of Word.

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    4

    Click the Mark Entry button. Depending on your version of word, this icon will usually appear in a panel on the toolbar labeled «Index.» It’s the icon of a sheet of paper with a minus sign and a plus sign.[1]

  5. Image titled Create an Index in Word Step 5

    5

    Change how the word or phrase appears in the index. You’ll see the word or phrase you selected in the «Main entry» field at the top of the window. As of now, this is how that word or phrase will appear in the index you’ll be creating. If you want to change the wording, capitalization, or other parameters, you can do so by editing the text in the «Main entry» box.

    • If you want to adjust the font face, size, style, or color of this entry in your index, you can do so here. Just highlight the word or phrase in «Main entry,» right-click the highlighted area, and then select Font. Make any changes you want to the font and then click OK.
  6. Image titled Create an Index in Word Step 6

    6

    Add a subentry (optional). Think about main entries as being their own lines in your index. A subentry would appear below its main entry in the index. It might be helpful to go through your document and create main entries first, and then go back and add subentries.

    • For example, if you selected the word surnames and plan to index all surnames in your document, you may want to add mark each surname in the document with the «Surnames» main entry, and then list the surname itself as the subentry.
    • You could also add a third-level entry, which would appear below a subentry in the index. To do this, just type a colon after the subentry and then type the third-level entry.
  7. Image titled Create an Index in Word Step 7

    7

    Choose the location referenced in the index entry. When Word builds an index based on your marked entries, it will simply list the page number on the entry you selected by default. For example, if you highlighted the word «Surnames» on page 2, the index will list «page 2» as the location of the Surnames entry. This is because «Current page» is the default selection in the «Options» section.

    • If you’d rather the selected entry reference a different entry (think of when you see «See also» in an index), select «Cross-reference,» and then type the name of the other entry next to «See.»
    • If you want the entry to point to a range of pages rather than a single page, you’ll need to create a bookmark for that page range. If you have a bookmark, select «Page range,» and then select your bookmark from the drop-down menu.
  8. Image titled Create an Index in Word Step 8

    8

    Format the page numbers in your index. Under the «Page number format»‘ heading, choose whether to display the page numbers in Bold and/or Italics as needed.

  9. Image titled Create an Index in Word Step 9

    9

    Click Mark to save your new entry. This button will mark the highlighted term and add it to your index with its corresponding page number, range, or cross-reference.

    • After marking an entry in the index, paragraph markers will turn on immediately, and you’ll see the selected word or phrase in your document surrounded in curly braces with special formatting, much like this: {XE "entry"}
    • If it’s too confusing for you to see your document in this format, you can switch back to the standard view by clicking the Home tab and then clicking the paragraph symbol in the toolbar.
    • If you want to mark all instances of the same word or phrase throughout your document, you can click the Mark all button at the bottom. This would add the page number for all instances of this word or phrase to its entry in the index.
  10. Image titled Create an Index in Word Step 10

    10

    Continue marking entries. The «Mark Index Entry» window stays open after you mark an entry, which makes it easy to move to the next entry you want to mark. To continue, highlight another term in your document, and then click the «Mark Index Entry» window to add it to the «Main entry» field. After customizing this entry to your liking, click Mark to save it and move to the next.

    • After marking your main entries, go through and mark any subentries or third-level entries. It’s kind of awkward to do:
      • Highlight the word or phrase you want to list as a subentry. Using our surname example, let’s say you created a main entry for Surnames and want to add the surname «Williams» to the list of surnames in the index. Start by highlighting the first instance of «Williams» in your document.
      • Next, click the Mark Index Entry window. This adds «Williams» to the «Main entry» field (for now).
      • Type or paste the subentry (Williams, in our example) into the subentry field.
      • Replace the text in the «Main entry» field with the name of the main entry (Surnames, in our example).
      • Edit any details and click Mark (or Mark all).
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  1. Image titled Create an Index in Word Step 11

    1

    Click your mouse cursor where you want to place the index. In most cases, you’ll want to place your index at the end of the document—just scroll down and click the first empty line below your existing content.

  2. Image titled Create an Index in Word Step 12

    2

    Click the Insert tab. It’s at the top of Word.

  3. Image titled Create an Index in Word Step 13

    3

    Insert a Page Break so the index is on its own page (optional). You’ll usually want your index to appear on its own page at the end of the document. To ensure that this happens, click the Insert tab and select Page Break on the toolbar to add a new page for your index.

  4. Image titled Create an Index in Word Step 14

    4

    Click the References tab. It’s at the top of Word.

  5. Image titled Create an Index in Word Step 15

    5

    Click the Insert Index button. This button is located next to the Mark Entry button on the References toolbar. This opens a window titled «Index.»

  6. Image titled Create an Index in Word Step 16

    6

    Select your index type. You can select Indented or Run-in at the top-right corner of the window. An indented index will be easier to navigate for readers, whereas a run-in index will take up much less space on the page.

    • As you make changes to the index, you’ll always see a preview in the «Print Preview» box at the top-left corner of this window.
  7. Image titled Create an Index in Word Step 17

    7

    Choose the number of columns. Your index will appear in two columns by default, but you can select a different number by clicking the up or down arrows next to the «Columns» field.

    • If you click the down arrow enough times, the value will change to «Auto,» which will automatically adjust the column numbers to best fit the amount of content in the index.
  8. Image titled Create an Index in Word Step 18

    8

    Select an index design from the «Formats» menu. This drop-down menu is below the Print Preview image. Select any of the designs from the drop-down menu to customize your index’s appearance.

    • You can also create your own design by selecting From template and clicking the Modify button at the bottom-right. This lets you customize fonts, spacing, and style for all entries and subentries to create your own design format.
    • If you want the page numbers to be aligned on the right instead of right after each entry, check the box next to «Right align page numbers.»
  9. Image titled Create an Index in Word Step 19

    9

    Click OK to save your index. This creates an index that contains all of the entries you’ve marked throughout your document. You can use this index to look up the pages where important terms and concepts are mentioned throughout your writing.

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  1. Image titled Create an Index in Word Step 20

    1

    Click the Home tab. It’s at the top of Word. If you’ve found an error in the index, such as a misspelling or incorrect term, you can correct the errors by hand and then update the index using the Update Index tool.

  2. Image titled Create an Index in Word Step 21

    2

    Scroll to the error you want to correct. First, if you’re not in paragraph view, click the Home tab and then click the Paragraph icon to display them.[2]
    Then, scroll to the «XE» entry for the entry you want to correct. Remember, all indexed references start with «XE» and are surrounded by those curly braces you saw earlier.

  3. Image titled Create an Index in Word Step 22

    3

    Make your changes.

    • Change the text inside the quotation marks: If the text is incorrect, correct it now by editing what’s inside of the quotes.
    • Delete an entry: If you want to completely remove an entry from the index, select the entire index entry field (including the curly brackets) with your mouse, and then press your keyboard’s Delete key.
    • You can click the Paragraph icon in the Home tab when you’re finished to turn off paragraph markers.
  4. Image titled Create an Index in Word Step 23

    4

    Scroll down and click your index. Now that you’ve made changes to the index, you’ll need to update it. Clicking the index selects it for updating.

  5. Image titled Create an Index in Word Step 24

    5

    Press the F9 key on the keyboard. Depending on your keyboard, you may have to press the Fn key as well to use the F9 key. This updates the index to reflect your changes.

    • If that doesn’t work, click the References tab, and then click Update Index on the toolbar.
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Add New Question

  • Question

    How do I create an index which includes the pages that the words show up on?

    FAO

    Create the index. Click where you want to add the index. On the References tab, in the Index group, click Insert Index. In the Index dialog box, you can choose the format for text entries, page numbers, tabs, and leader characters. You can change the overall look of the index by choosing from the Formats dropdown menu.

  • Question

    How many entries can I index?

    FAO

    You can create an index entry for an individual word, phrase, or symbol, for a topic, a special XE (Index Entry) field that includes the marked main entry.

  • Question

    How do I set up an index page at the beginning of my document?

    FAO

    Position the insertion pointer where you want the index to appear. If you want the index to start on a new page, create a new page in Word. Click the References tab. In the Index group, click the Insert Index button. Click the OK button to insert the index into your document.

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  • If you mark more entries in your document after inserting the index and they don’t appear automatically, click the index and press the F9 key on the keyboard.

  • Marking index entries will automatically turn on the Show all nonprinting characters option. You can turn this off anytime by clicking on the paragraph icon on the Home tab.

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About This Article

Article SummaryX

1. Click References.
2. Click Mark Entry.
3. Select a word for the index.
4. Click the «Mark Index Entry» box.
5. Format the page numbers.
6. Format the text.
7. Click Mark.
8. Click Mark All.

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Содержание

  • Написание индекса в Ворде
    • Способ 1: Инструменты группы «Шрифт»
    • Способ 2: Горячие клавиши
    • Удаление индекса
  • Заключение
  • Вопросы и ответы

Как в Ворде поставить индекс
Верхний и нижний или надстрочный и подстрочный индекс в Microsoft Word — это тип символов, которые отображаются выше или ниже стандартной строки (на ее границе) с обычным текстом в документе. Размер этих символов меньше, чем у обычного текста, а используется такой тип написания, в большинстве случаев, в сносках и ссылках, а также при записи математических нотаций и выражений.

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Написание индекса в Ворде

Возможности программы Microsoft Word позволяют легко переключаться между надстрочным и подстрочным индексами, используя для этого инструменты группы «Шрифт» или горячие клавиши. В этой статье мы рассмотрим оба варианта, а также то, как отменить подобное написание.

Способ 1: Инструменты группы «Шрифт»

Изменение индекса, в котором написан или только будет писаться текст, осуществляется в той же группе инструментов, где изменяется шрифт в целом, его размер, начертание, цвет и некоторые другие параметры. Для этого в данном блоке вкладки «Главная» предусмотрены отдельные кнопки.

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  1. Выделите фрагмент текста, который необходимо преобразовать в индекс, либо установите указатель курсора в том месте, где только планируете набирать текст в надстрочном или подстрочном индексе.
  2. vyidelit-tekst-v-word

  3. Во вкладке «Главная» в группе «Шрифт» нажмите кнопку «Подстрочный знак» или «Надстрочный знак», в зависимости от того, какой вариант написания вам нужен — нижний или верхний.
  4. knopki-indeksa-v-word

  5. Выделенный текст будет преобразован в индекс. Если же вы не выделяли его, а только собирались писать, введите то, что должно быть возведено индекс.
    indeks-dobavlen-v-word

    Для возвращения к нормальному написанию кликните левой кнопкой мышки в месте за текстом, преобразованным в верхний или нижний индекс. Отключите кнопку «Подстрочный знак» или «Надстрочный знак», чтобы вернуться к «классическому» набору.

  6. tekst-posle-indeksa-v-word

    Вот так просто с помощью инструментов на ленте текстового редактора от Майкрософт можно записать текст в надстрочном или подстрочном индексе либо преобразовать в него уже имеющуюся запись. Но есть и еще более простое и удобное в своей реализации решение.

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Способ 2: Горячие клавиши

Вполне возможно, что при выполнении предыдущего способа вы заметили, что при наведении указателя курсора на кнопки, отвечающие за изменение индекса, отображается не только их назначение, но и комбинация клавиш, отвечающих за быстрый вызов этих функций. Если выполнять те или иные действия и использовать инструментарий Microsoft Word вам проще посредством горячих клавиш, просто запомните следующие комбинации:

«CTRL» + «=» Переключение в подстрочный индекс
«CTRL» + «SHIFT» + «+» Переключение в надстрочный индекс

indeks-goryachie-klavishi-v-word

Как и в случае с кнопками на панели управления, выделите текст, который необходимо преобразовать в верхний или нижний индекс, и нажмите соответствующую комбинацию клавиш либо же просто воспользуйтесь ею, если только собираетесь записать текст в таком виде.

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Удаление индекса

Бывает и так, что требуется выполнить действие, обратное тому, что озвучено в заголовке данной статьи, либо же просто продолжить писать текст в обычном режиме. О последнем мы рассказали в конце первого способа, но кроме этого вы всегда можете отменить преобразование в надстрочный или подстрочный текст. Нюанс заключается в том, что использовать для этого нужно не стандартную функцию отмены последнего действия (круговая стрелка в верхнем левом углу ленты Майкрософт Ворд или клавиши «CTRL+Z»), а другую комбинацию.

Lumpics.ru

knopka-otmenyi-deystviya-v-word

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Так, для отмены преобразования в индекс необходимо воспользоваться клавишами «CTRL» + «SPACE» (Пробел) — после их нажатия текст примет привычный вид.

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Заключение

Мы рассмотрели то, как в Microsoft Word можно записать что-либо в верхнем и нижний индексе. Это работает как с текстом, так и с числовыми значениями, на которых применяется значительно чаще, например, для возведения в степень.

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Еще статьи по данной теме:

Помогла ли Вам статья?

Все, кому приходилось работать с формулами и математическими переменными в Ворде, когда-нибудь интересовались, как поставить верхний или нижний индекс в Word. К сожалению, многих пользователей ставит в тупик задача — поставить степень числа или переменной. На самом деле всё делается достаточно просто. Именно на этот вопрос и постараемся ответить в статье. Подробнее о том, как поставить надстрочный и подстрочный знаки в Ворде далее в статье. Давайте разбираться. Поехали!

Работа с индексами в Microsoft Word

В математических функциях часто используют специальные символы

Очень удобно, что разработчики Microsoft вынесли необходимые иконки прямо на панель вкладки «Главная». Найти нужные кнопки можно в разделе «Шрифт», прямо под полем «Размер шрифта». Пользоваться ими очень просто. Сначала введите букву или цифру, к которой хотите добавить индекс. Затем нажмите на соответствующую кнопку добавления подстрочного или надстрочного знака. После этого вы заметите, что палочка курсора стала вполовину меньше. Далее, можно ввести значение. Чтобы вернуться к нормальному формату набора текста, нажмите кнопку добавления подстрочного или надстрочного знака ещё раз. Обратите внимание на то, что, когда функция активирована, соответствующая иконка инструмента будет выделена серым.

Кнопки на панели инструментов

Второй способ — воспользоваться горячими клавишами. Такой подход поможет немного ускорить работу с инструментом. Чтобы поставить подстрочный знак, используйте комбинацию Ctrl и =. Если необходимо добавить надстрочное значение, примените комбинацию клавиш Ctrl, Shift, +.

Ещё один вариант — кликнуть по специальной иконке в правом нижнем углу блока «Шрифт» в ленте инструментов, чтобы открыть полное меню. В разделе «Видоизменение» отметьте галочками пункты «надстрочный» либо «подстрочный». В зависимости от отмеченного варианта курсор примет соответствующий вид и положение.

Выбор подстрочного знака

Если в документе большое количество уравнений, где много значений и переменных в квадрате или других степенях, будет удобнее работать непосредственно в конструкторе формул. После того как вы добавили уравнение, откроется вкладка «Конструктор». На панели инструментов находится специальная кнопка «Индекс». Нажав на неё, откроется меню, в котором необходимо будет выбрать нужный вариант расположения индекса. После того как вы выберите подходящий, на листе появятся два пустых поля в виде квадратов. Внутри большого введите букву или цифру, внутри маленького введите значение степени либо подпись. Достоинство такого подхода в том, что он позволяет одновременно добавлять несколько индексов для более сложных математических расчётов.

Разные варианты расположения текста

Каждый из описанных способов удобнее использовать в том или ином случае. Выбирайте тот вариант, который является более подходящим для решения ваших задач. Теперь работа с индексами в Microsoft Word больше не будет для вас проблемой. Оставляйте в комментариях своё мнение о статье, особенно если она оказалась полезной и задавайте возникшие вопросы по теме.


How to Make an Index in Word

An index can usually be found at the end of a document, listing the key words and phrases in a document, along with the page numbers they appear on. There are two steps involved in creating an index: defining which words you want to appear in the index and then inserting the index.

Insert an Index Entry

  1. Select the text you want to include in the index.
  2. Click the References tab.
  3. Click the Mark Entry in the Index group.

    Insert an Index Entry

  4. The Mark Index Entry dialog box opens, where you can set up how the index entry works. The main entry field is filled with the selected text, and you can also add a subentry that will appear below the main entry.

  5. Adjust the index entry’s settings and choose an index entry option:
    • Cross-reference: Adds a reference to another index entry, instead of listing the current page number.
    • Current page: Lists the current page number for the selected index entry. This is the default option.
    • Page range: Lists the range of pages that are included in the bookmark that you click in the Bookmark list. Before using this option, you’ll need to create a bookmark of the selected range.
  6. Click the Mark or Mark All button.

    Insert an Index Entry

  7. Clicking Mark will create an index entry for the selected instance of the word. Clicking Mark All will instead create an index entry for every instance of the selected word throughout the document.

    Once you mark an entry, formatting marks will be displayed so that you can see the hidden text that marks index entries. The window remains open, so you can continue to mark index entries throughout the document.

  8. Repeat the process for your other index entries.
  9. Click Close when you’re done.

    Insert an Index Entry

  10. Index entries are invisible and will not be printed. However, you can see them when the paragraph marks are turned on.

Insert an Index

Once index entries have been marked, you’re ready to insert the index.

  1. Click in your document where you want to insert an index.
  2. Indexes usually appear at the end of a document and can take up a lot of space, so a blank page at the end is ideal.

  3. Click the Insert Index button on the References tab.

    Insert an Index

  4. The Index dialog box opens, where you can set up how the index will appear.

    You can choose whether to right align page numbers and select a tab leader that appears between text and page numbers. You can also select whether to use a document’s formatting theme or select another one.

    You can choose whether subentries will be indented below the main entry or shown run-in style in a paragraph below the main entry.

  5. Customize the appearance and behavior of the index.
  6. Any changes you make to the index appearance will be shown in the Print Preview.

  7. Click OK.

    Insert an Index

The index is inserted, automatically filling itself out with all the index entries in the document.

Update an Index

When you insert an index, it automatically adds every index entry in the document. If you add or modify index entries after the index is created, you’ll need to update the index.

  1. Click anywhere in the index.
  2. Click the Update button.

    Update an Index

The index is updated, adding any newly created entries while updating the page numbers for any entries that may have moved.


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How to Create an Index in Microsoft Word

Have you ever wondered who compiles the indexes at the end of books? Traditionally, this has been a specialist profession. However, these days, you can add an index to a document yourself. In this post, for example, we’re looking at how to create an index in Microsoft Word.

When to Add an Index

Most documents don’t need an index. In fact, it is usually only book-length non-fiction that does! And even if you are writing a non-fiction book, indexing is often handled by the publisher.

However, if you want to self-publish a work of non-fiction – or if you are creating another long document such as a company handbook – you may want to add an index yourself. And this is where the indexing options in Microsoft Word become very useful. This process involves two steps:

  • Marking terms that you want to appear in the index
  • Generating the index itself

We’ll now look at how to create an index in more detail below.

How to Mark Entries

Most of the work of creating an index comes with marking text. This means going through the document to look for terms you want to include in the final index. To mark an entry:

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  • Use the cursor to select the word/phrase you want to include in the index
  • Go to References > Index on the main ribbon and click Mark Entry
  • In the new dialogue box, select the options required
  • Click Mark to mark the term selected or Mark All to mark every use of the term throughout the document

Marking index entries.

Marking index entries.

The options in the Mark Entry dialogue box mentioned above will let you:

  • Link a Subentry (i.e., a similar term) to the main term
  • Cross-reference a term with another index entry
  • Control the page number format

Index entry options.

Index entry options.

Make sure to do this for every term that you want to include in the index. If you need to “unmark” a term, you will first need to turn on hidden text in Word. You will then be able to see, and if required remove, the index entry in curly brackets. Make sure to do this for all similar entries.

A marked entry field.

A marked entry field.

How to Create an Index

Once you have marked your entries, all that’s left is to create an index:

  • Place the cursor where you want to create an index
  • Go to References > Index and select Insert Index
  • Select any required formatting options from the menu
  • Click OK to insert an index in the selected location

The index menu.

The index menu.

Microsoft Word will generate an index based on your marked entries. If you change any of the marked entries, you can then update the index at the click of a button by going to References > Index > Update Index.

This Index in Word tutorial is suitable for users of Word 2010/2013/2016/2019 and Microsoft 365.  

Objective 

Mark entries in a long document for inclusion in the index. Create an index in Word from scratch and understand how to edit and update it.  

Indexing Explained 

An index lists the terms and topics discussed in a document listed in alphabetical order. It is usually located at the end of a document. It allows the reader to quickly jump to pages of interest by clicking on the page number associated with the index entry. To create an index in Word, you must first go through the document and mark points of interest as index entries. Once complete, the index can be inserted. 

It is important to remember to update the index if anything in the document changes to ensure that the page numbers still correspond with the topic.  Note, an Index page is different from a Contents Page!

Video Tutorial 

Marking Index Entries 

In this example, I have a document that spans 9 pages. It contains various headings that have been marked with Word heading styles. To create an index in Word, I first need to go through the document and mark each heading that I want to appear in the index.  

  1. Select the heading that you want to mark 
  1. Click the References tab 
  1. From the Index group, click the Mark Entry button or press the Alt+Shift+X keyboard shortcut 

  1. Review the options in the Mark Index Entry dialog box 
  1. Click Mark 

Word will automatically turn on Show/Hide, and you will see the field code behind the entry. Do not worry too much about this as it will disappear once Show/Hide is turned off again.  

Continue through the document marking entries in the same way.  

NOTE: You will need to click Close on the Mark Entry dialog box each time you mark an entry.  

Mark Index Subentries 

To add structure and hierarchy to the index, you can mark entries as subentries of main entries. These subentries will appear indented underneath the main entry they are linked to in the index.  

In this example, ‘House Stark’, ‘House Lannister’, and ‘House Targaryen’ are sub-headings of ‘Cast and Characters’. I can show this hierarchy in the index by marking them as subentries. This means they will be indented in the index.  

  1. Select the subentry text i.e. ‘House Stark 
  1. Click Mark Entry 
  1. Press Ctrl+C to copy the selected Main Entry text to the Clipboard. 
  1. Position the insertion point in the Subentry text box. 
  1. Press Ctrl+V to paste the text into the Subentry text box. 
  1. Change the information in the Main Entry text box to indicate the main index entry to which this subentry should be subordinate. 
  1. Click on Mark 

Continue through the document marking subentries in the same way.  

Create an Index 

Once you have marked all entries to be included in the index, you can add the index to the bottom of the document.  

  1. Scroll to the last page of the document (preferably a blank page) 
  1. Click the References tab 
  1. From the Index group, click Insert Index 

Review the options in the Index dialog box. In this example, I have chosen to right-align page numbers and use a dotted tab leader between the entry and the page number.  

  1. Click OK 

Notice that the subentries are indented.  

Add an Index Heading 

You may want to add a heading for your index. You may also want to include the index heading as an index entry.  

  1. Type a name for your index and apply a heading style if desired 
  1. Select the Index heading 
  1. Click the References tab 
  1. Click Mark Entry 

Update an Index 

To include the new entry in the index, you will need to update it.  

  1. Click anywhere in the index 
  1. Click the References tab 
  1. Click Update Index 

The index heading is now included in the index.  

For more information about creating indexes in Word, please check out the following links: 

Microsoft – Create and Update an Index 

TechRepublic – How to add an index to a Word document using index tags 

If you are interested in learning more about Microsoft Word, then take a look at the following free resources:

  • How to Create and Print Envelopes in Word
  • How to Create a Contents Page in Word
  • How to Mail Merge in Word
  • How to Print Labels in Word

To learn Word with Simon Sez IT. Take a look at the Word courses we have available.

Deborah Ashby

Deborah Ashby is a TAP Accredited IT Trainer, specializing in the design, delivery, and facilitation of Microsoft courses both online and in the classroom.She has over 11 years of IT Training Experience and 24 years in the IT Industry. To date, she’s trained over 10,000 people in the UK and overseas at companies such as HMRC, the Metropolitan Police, Parliament, SKY, Microsoft, Kew Gardens, Norton Rose Fulbright LLP.She’s a qualified MOS Master for 2010, 2013, and 2016 editions of Microsoft Office and is COLF and TAP Accredited and a member of The British Learning Institute.

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