On Wednesday 03 November 2010 15:10:01 stefano franchi wrote: > Dear Lyxers, > > does anyone know any script that would convert a text/tex/lyx file to a > sorted list of words (after removal of all punctuation)? That would be very > helpful when creating the index, but I could not find anything with the > usual googling techniques. Notice that I am not talking about automatic > indexing tool. More modestly, I am looking for some sw help on generating a > provisional list of words to be pared down (and later inserted) manually. > There is an old page describing the procedure I would like to follow here: > http://www.karakas-online.de/mySGML/lyx-automatic-index-generation.html. > Unfortunately, the awk script it describes seems linked to an old version > of Lyx. > > Steve Litt describes the same technique in an old post, but he seems to > assume it would be trivial to whip up the needed script. Not true for me, I > am afraid... > > Any help appreciated, > > Stefano
Hi Stefano, I no longer use such scripts, because they make indexing more difficult and lower quality, even if used just as a guide. In my last book, "Quit Joblessness, Start Your Own Business", I indexed by putting an index start at the beginning of each chapter, section, or subsection, and an index end at the end of same. This eliminated index entries where the word just happens to be mentioned but isn't really important. This also eliminated me looking and looking for occurrences of words. It also eliminated my looking for words but missing the phrases to which they belonged. It also turned indexing into a relative pleasure. I used to describe indexing as "like working in a sewer". Now it's just a rote, not especially unpleasant activity. I've done indexed about 3 books guided by a list of words (concordance), and it was always an ugly and long lasting job. When I did it by chapter, section and subsection, it took less time and was easier. There's a possibility I missed some index entries with my method, but it's balanced by the fact that I probably missed some index ranges the other way. HTH SteveT Steve Litt Recession Relief Package http://www.recession-relief.US Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/stevelitt
