I think any lengthy reference manual or instructional/informational publication should have an index. Even if the TOC is detailed and thorough, an Index serves other functions. It can help someone make a decision about buying the product (or the book). When people scan manuals, they flip from the back. One of the first things they look at is the index. I know that I will look up the top 2 or 3 things about the subject that come to mind and if they are not in the index, I tend to think that manual is not going to be a lot of help to me.
An index can also help educate your readers about related topics, terminology, and additional features. I think every one of us has looked up something in an index, and seen a nearby entry that caught our eye. When clients won't give me the right amount of time on a project, I have often told them that I can deliver, but without an index. I estimate at least a week to index a 300-page manual. I don't like having to sacrifice the index, but sometimes there's not a lot of choice. I prefer not to index as I go, but after the publication is complete. That gives me a better sense of what I want to index. I do, however, make some notes about what I might index as I'm writing, and then catch those up when I do the full index. --Beth -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Lisa M. Bronson (TCP) Sent: Tuesday, December 12, 2006 6:00 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [TCP] Indexing How many of you do indexing as a part of your job? Where I work, we unfortunately do not index our manuals. My predecessor told me that we have such a detailed Table of Contents that we don't need one. Now, I disagree with that idea, but am faced with the reality that in the 8 years I've worked here, there has only been one time that I haven't been swamped with just keeping up with day-to-day work. What about the rest of you? Do you index your manuals? ______________________________________________ Author Help files and create printed documentation with Doc-To-Help. New release adds Team Authoring Support, enhanced Web-based help technology and PDF output. Learn more at www.doctohelp.com/tcp. Are you a Help Authoring Trainer or Consultant? Let clients find you at www.HAT.Matrix.com, the searchable HAT database based on Char James-Tanny's HAT Comparison Matrix. Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] for details. _______________________________________________ Technical Communication Professionals Post a message to the list: email [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, unsubscribe, archives, account options, list info: http://techcommpros.com/mailman/listinfo/tcp_techcommpros.com Subscribe (email): send a blank message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe (email): send a blank message to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Need help? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] Get the TCP whole experience! http://www.techcommpros.com
