Chapter 10: Tools For Indexing

Chapter 10: Tools For IndexingBy: Eloiza Tagarda

Outline• Introduction• Manual Methods

– The 3” x 5” Index Card Method– The Text File Method

• Automatic Indexing– Intellectual versus Algorithmic Analysis of Text

• Computer-aided Indexing– Embedded Indexing Software

*Practical Problems*Technical Problems

– Dedicated Indexing Software

Introduction

Introduction• This chapter will discuss various methods used to

produce indexes.• “The right tool for the Job”• The first portion of the chapter will present manual

methods for index production. The automatic indexing tools will be discussed next, followed by a discussion of computer-aided software tools. Lastly, ideas about the future of indexing tool will be presented.

• Each indexer has her or his own way of working.

“The best way to make an index is the way that the indexer finds most convenient. If the result is a good index, nobody will care whether it was with a notebook, a computer, or knots in a piece

of string”-Delight Ansay

(quoted in Knight 1979,39)

Manual Method

Manual Methods• Professional indexers may find the idea of writing index

entries by hand on 3” x 5” cards ludicrous, the manual method of indexing still has its place.

• While it is cost-effective for professional indexers to invest $500 or so in dedicated indexing software, authors who index occasionally will likely not want to purchase such software.

• In the long run, occasional indexers may be able to produce indexes more quickly using manual methods.

• Two methods: The use of index cards and the typing of entries into text file on a computer.

The 3” x 5” Index Card Method• The procedures involves writing entries on cards,

alphabetizing the cards, editing the cards, and typing an index manuscript from the cards.

• Each card usually has one index entry. In this context, an INDEX ENTRY refers to a main heading, subheading and reference locator; or a main heading and cross-reference.

• If sub-headings are used then the card will contain the main heading, subheading, sub-heading, and reference locator.

The 3” x 5” Index Card Method• The following formatted index entry would be broken down

into three index card records:

dogs feeding of, 56 walking of, 89 See also American Kennel Club

dogs See also American Kennel Club

dogs walking of,56

dogs feeding of,56

The 3” x 5” Index Card Method

The 3” x 5” Index Card Method• When the cards are written, they are not immediately

alphabetized. Instead, the cards are placed face down in a stack so that before the entries become scattered throughout the alphabetic sections of the index, the reference locator can be verified for each card.

• Prior to alphabetizing, the cards will be in page number (or other locator) order.

• It will then be reviewed and some will be edited.

The last stage of process is typing the index manuscript. At this point all term selection decisions and editing tasks have been completed. The index entries are typed in a word-processor file in the correct format. The file is then sent to the publisher.

The Text File Method• The entries are typed into a text file. Subheadings are placed

under main headings are placed under main headings and indented, usually with a tab character.

• As the indexer adds entries to the file, the entries are placed in an alphabetical order.

art classes mono Printing, 56 watercolor, 89

For example, the subhead painting, 149 would be inserted as the third line

Drawbacks• The indexer must think of not only term selection but also

alphabetizing at one and the same time. The indexer working with index card can focus on term selection and perform alphabetizing tasks at another time.

• As the file grows in length, moving from the end of the file to the beginning of the file to insert a new entry in the various sections of the alphabet can be quite tedious.

Benefits• Include the ready availability of common-word processing

tools. For instance, the text file can be quickly searched if the indexer wishes to look up another entry.

• The index can be printed at any time, providing a useful reference for the indexer working with long indexes. There is no separate step required for typing the index manuscript.

Automatic Indexing

Automatic Indexing

• It is an oxymoron. There is nothing automatic about the index-writing subject. There is no automatic indexing tool available that could produce the index in the back of this book. Many of the automatic indexing tools available are not intended to be used with book-length narrative text. Instead they were designed to process massive amounts of textual data in open systems.

Intellectual VERSUSAlgorithmic Analysis of Text• Automatic tools for indexing are distinguished from computer-

assisted indexing tools primarily by their lack of intellectual analysis of text.

• When computer-assisted tools are used, a human selects the text to include in the index; the computer manipulates the text and produces a listing in the format of an index.

• When an automatic tools are used, the software selects text for the index on the basis of the algorithms that are part of the software's instruction set.

• While there is interesting and challenging work going on in natural language research, computers are not able to analyze and synthesize text as efficiently as the human mind can.

Intellectual VERSUSAlgorithmic Analysis of Text• What we have here is a terminology problem. The common

feature found in word-processing software is not automatic indexing; rather, it is automatic concordance generation.

• A concordance is a list of words that appear in a document followed by a reference locator. Unlike an index, no analysis of the text is required to produce such a list. There will be no subheadings in such a list, no cross-reference, no gathering together of related information.

• When access to information is the goal, the intellectual and analytical skills of human beings are far superior to the algorithmic skills of a computer.

Computer-aided Indexing

Computer-aided Indexing• Ideally, computer-aided indexing tools free indexers from

mundane tasks such as alphabetizing and allow them to focus attention on term selection and the structure of the index.

• Two categories: Embedded and Dedicated

Embedded Indexing Software• Generally feature found in word-processing or page design

software such as Microsoft Word or Adobe Framemaker.• It allows the indexer to insert index entries (or tags for

entries) into a document’s text files or files.• The indexer inserts entries in one of two ways:1. The entries are typed using special codes or commands that

distinguish the entries from the actual text.2. Terms in the text are marked in a unique way that identifies

them as index entries.

Embedded Indexing Software• After entries are embedded, the software will generate an

index by scanning the text, extracting the embedded entries, attaching page numbers, and then sorting and merging the entries to construct an index.

• In some programs, embedded index entries are treated as “hidden text”. This means that after an entry has been inserted, it is not visible on the computer screen unless a special command is issued.

Practical Problems• Time – the essence when an indexer is creating an index from

page proofs of a book, as had been pointed out many times.• File Management

• Cumbersome for the indexer to move between various parts of the text.

• Coding can easily be corrupted

Technical Problems• Problems related to actual index entry manipulation:

-Index entry manipulation includes the sorting of entries, the formatting and placement of cross-reference, the handling of reference locators, and the formatting of the index as a whole. Many embedded indexing programs do not even offer a choice between word-by-word and letter-by-letter alphabetizing.

Technical Problems• Problems related to user interface design

-User Interface Design refers to the way a user works with software and includes what the user sees on the computer screen. Most embedded indexing programs lack an automatic inversion.Far too many embedded indexing programs require opening and closing of dialog boxes in order to create an entry.The weakest aspect of the user interface embedding indexing programs is during the index editing programs. Although some programs and plug-ins display index entries previously created, the displayed entries are usually in a separate window with extremely limited functionality.

Dedicated Indexing Software• Devoted solely to the preparation of indexes. The top three

programs used by book indexers are MACREX, SKY Index, CINDEX. They are stand-alone programs in that they do not work with the text files of the document being indexed. Instead, they are designed to enable indexers to type in index entries and reference locators while working from page proofs of the document. Such programs free the indexer from clerical tasks such as the sorting and formatting of index entries; the indexer is able to focus on term selection and the overall structure of the index.

Dedicated Indexing Software• These programs have also been fine-tuned to sort index

entries according to index entries according to different schemes. The indexer can choose letter-by-letter or word-by-word alphabetizing. Leading prepositions, articles, and conjunctions can be ignored for sorting purposes.

• Cross-references can be verified. Various index formats-such as indented or run-in – can be automatically produced. Generic codes can be automatically inserted.