How to make an index in Word

how to make an index in word

Having basic knowledge of Microsoft Word is something we take for granted. The vast majority of companies ask to have a certain mastery of the tools of the Office package and not only that, but in university degrees or Intermediate and Higher Degrees it is also a requirement to be able to start acquiring a higher level. On this occasion in which we meet, we are going to teach you how to make a Word index in a very simple way.

Assume that you are working on a final degree project and it is very extensive, depending on what topic you are dealing with and the number of annexes you include, you can have dozens of pages, that's why it is essential to know how to make an index in this tool, to work with order and facilitate the search for the person who receives said work.

In Word, you will be able to make an index by hand using lists and indents to the right side, but this option can lead to errors when you try to enter the page numbering or it just becomes a long process. Another alternative is make an index through the different titles that you have created and in this way the index will be generated automatically. Pay all your attention that we begin.

What is an index?

what is an index

We are going to start from the most basic, and that is to know what an index is. From here, we will go forward and talk about its function and the different types that exist, to finish teaching you how to make one in Word.

In a very basic way, An index is a section that is added to books, documents or other types of publications. This section consists of a list of points that represent the most important titles of the content of the document. In other words, it is a hierarchical guide to the content of the publication.

The indexes depending on what type of publication we are working on, They can be organized by chapters or sections., that is, they can be identified as “Chapter I”, “Chapter II”, etc. And on certain occasions, they include subdivisions below each main point.

It is also possible to make indexes aimed at information content such as graphics, annexes, webgraphs, etc. Whatever you do, the most important thing is that you must follow an order when making your index and it must be hierarchical.

Therefore, the main function of the indexes is to serve as an orientation to the people who are going to read that certain publication, to indicate where the content marked by the page number is. It is a fundamental and essential section for any type of document.

Index Types

index types

The indexes that we can find in different publications, they can be varied depending on the information we are presenting to the readers. We can find the following:

  • Table of contents: would be the most common index of all, that is, in which we are detailing the contents that our document collects. A list organized hierarchically, through the use of main titles and subsections.

Saul Bass, the king of the design world p. 14

        Chapter I p. 16

         Chapter II p.27

         Chapter III p. 39

  • subject index: this second type of index is the one that focuses on specific terms for the reader, that is, concepts that may be of interest organized alphabetically. It should be noted that it can also be a summary or index of material.

Fossils: 5, 7, 11, 15

          Geology: 5, 6, 10, 15, 18

   Color index: 8, 9

  • name index: in this case, we are talking about a index of authors mentioned in the document. They must be organized alphabetically by their last names and indicating the page number.

     Body, Neville: 16, 38, 56

 Glaser, Milton: 7, 12, 18

Scher, Paula: 11, 13, 26

  • bibliographic index: composed of bibliographical references that help the reader to find the cited texts in the main text. They will be arranged in order of appearance.

Hernandez, Michael

Elegy (1936): 55

Neruda, Paul

I Like It When You Shut Up (1923): 85

  • Index of annexes: this last type of index, refers to the one that is composed of graphics, illustrations or other types of figures. It is only used to indicate the content attached to the written document, that is, to support material.

Figure 1. Graph of the evolution of the punk movement

        Figure 2. Images of the art exhibition in New York

How to make an index in Word?

index in word

An index as we indicated at the beginning of this publication, It is a fundamental section when presenting any type of publication., it can range from a final degree project to a presentation of a design project. It's convenient, and that's why we're here, how to do one.

To start indexing in Microsoft Word, The first thing you should do in your written document is to highlight both the titles and the subtitles of your document.. When you have everything well organized, it is time to create a table of contents that will be an element similar to our index.

Highlight titles or sections

There are two ways to take into account, when making our index. One of them is to write the text in the same format and once finished, give it the shape we are looking for. Or, change as you write.

In order to be able to make the index, it is essential to point out the different sections such as: Heading 1, Heading 2, etc. Always, following a hierarchy between them. Here we leave you an example so that you can see it in a clearer way.

  1. Introduction (Heading 1)
  2. Origin of the idea and object of study (Title 2)
  3. State of the matter (Title 3)

The titles of each of the sections, they can be added as we write or at the end of the work. When we finalize the document, you can make changes whenever you want so it won't cause any problems.

Select the text you need, and go to the top right of your screen to the styles option, in case you can't find it you can search for it in the search bar "What do you want to do?" and select the one that best suits your idea.

You must select each of the titles or sections that you want to include in the index and apply a style to it., depending on the hierarchy your content follows. When you have everything marked, everything you want to appear in the index, the next step you must take is to place your mouse cursor on the sheet of your document where you want to add the index.

Create table of contents

In the references tab of your Word screen, at the top, you will see an option called "Table of Contents", so the indices are also called by the program. When you have in your document all the styles marked as Heading1, 2, etc., and all the sections marked as well, it is time to create the table of contents.

Remember no section can be unmarked or in "normal" since otherwise the index will not be created automatically. Go to the page where you want to create the Word index and follow the following steps that we are going to name.

  • Stand at the top of your screen
  • Click on the “References” option and click on “Table of Contents”
  • As you will see a screenshot is made
  • Choose the design you want to appear

When you have completed all these steps, Automatically you will see how an index is created in your Word document on the blank page that you have indicated. You will have the possibility to change both the size and the font at any time without modifying the content or its pagination.

Go to the indicated page

One of the main advantages of this option to make an index is that each of the titles or subtitles that we have added corresponds to a specific page of our document, which we can go directly to.

You can use the add links method or you can go from the program page. To do this, you only have to hold down the Ctrl (Control) key on your keyboard and click on the point you want in your index. Automatically, you will be directed to the corresponding page of the section you have selected and where said content is found. As simple as that.

Updated table of contents

Another option working with tables of contents is to have a custom, that is, create an index in Word to your liking. The steps to follow are similar to those we have been seeing, so it will not cause any complications.

  • Stand at the top of your screen
  • Open the “References” option and click on “Table of Contents”
  • Choose “Custom Table of Contents”

By choosing this option, A window will appear where you will be able to select several options and with the help of the preview, see how it is looking. You can decide if you want numbers to be displayed or not, if you want to use hyperlinks instead of page numbers, etc. When you finish, you only have to click on the “Accept” button:

As you have seen, making an index in Word automatically is very simple by following a few steps. Remember that you also have the possibility of doing it manually, but it is always more expensive and can generate some type of error when setting the pagination. Don't waste time or despair and try to make a personalized index through the table of contents option that we have explained to you.


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