Generating an index

For the generation of an index, you first have to put index entries in your document using Insert→Link→Index entry. At a second stage, you must put your cursor at the place where you want your index to be generated and click on Text→Automatic→Index. The index is than generated in a similar way as the table of contents.

In the Insert→Link→Index entry menu, you find several types of index entries. The simplest are “main”, “sub”, “subsub”, which are macros with one, two and three arguments respectively. Entries of the form “sub” and “subsub” may be used to subordinate index entries with respect to other ones.

A complex index entry takes four arguments. The first one is a key how the entry has to be sorted and it must be a “tuple” (created using M-i <) whose first component is the main category, the second a subcategory, etc. The second argument of a complex index entry is either blank or “strong”, in which case the page number of your entry will appear in a bold typeface. The third argument is usually blank, but if you create two index entries with the same non-blank third argument, then this will create a “range” of page numbers. The fourth argument, which is again a tuple, is the entry itself.

It is also possible to create an index line without a page number using “interject” in Insert→Link→Index entry. The first argument of this macro is a key for how to sort the index line. The second argument contains the actual text. This construct may be useful for creating different sections “A”, “B”, etc. in your index.