[OS X TeX] Indexes

[Bob Kerstetter]

Hello Simon:

On Dec 16, 2005, at 7:35 AM, Simon Spiegel wrote:

> So, how do people handle indexes?

For printed documents, I index at the beginning of paragraphs and  
index as I write:

\index{topic!subtopic1}
\index{topic!subtopic2}
Paragraph with topic and subtopic content.

I also use widow and orphan control like this:

\clubpenalty=10000
\widowpenalty=10000

(Because of the type of documents I do, I am not picky about ragged  
bottoms on consecutive pages.)

In this way everything is still readable and the index entries  
usually have the correct page. If they don't, then I move some of  
them to the end of the paragraph.

\index{topic!subtopic1}
Paragraph with topic and subtopic content.
\index{topic!subtopic2}

I almost never index inside of paragraphs. But sometimes it may be  
necessary:

Paragraph with topic \index{topic!subtopic1} and subtopic \index 
{topic!subtopic2} content.

But, as you say, this is pretty obnoxious for working with the  
document, making it very difficult to read.

By indexing as I write, and regularly generating the index, I can  
check the index for completeness of the index and for completeness of  
the document content. A missing topic in the index often means I  
missed the topic in the content. So it's a really nice cross-check on  
the content.

I find indexing after the fact to be too painful. I tend to go too  
fast and miss things. Or even worse, the index gets thinner and  
thinner as I get close to the end of the document.

I try to have 4 to 8 index entries per page. Sometimes more.  I also  
try to index the same content using both jargon (for the  
knowledgeable audience) and non-jargon (for the beginning audience).  
For example, these entries index the same content for difference  
audiences

\index{Domain Keys Identified Mail!concepts explained}
\index{verifying email sender!concepts explained}
\index{email sender!verification using DKIM}
Content about Domain Keys Identified Mail...

I am not an expert at this, so someone else may be able to give you  
better suggestions, but this works well for me, maybe by luck. :)

Bob

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