Many books contain an index at the end. This helps in easily locating words, keywords, and phrases in the book. MS Word offers a simple method of adding an index in a document.
In this tutorial, we will show you how to:
- Select References for an Index Entry
- Insert the Index
- Update the Index
We will use simple, step-by-step instructions for creating an index in MS Word.
Let us begin.
Method #1: Select References for an Index Entry
This method prepares the words that will appear in the index.
Step #1: Open a Word Document
Open the Word document in which you want the index to appear.
Step #2: Select a reference
Select the words that you want to add as index entries.
Click on the References tab in the main menu bar to change the ribbon.
In the References ribbon, in the Index section, click on the Mark Entry icon.
Step #3: Enter a subentry
A Mark Index Entry dialog box will open.
Under Index, the box for Main entry: is already filled with the text you selected.
Optionally, you can add a subentry in the box next to Subentry:
Step #4: Enter options
Under Options, you can enter any of the following:
- Cross-reference: — Enter the cross-reference if necessary
- Current page — Default page entry for index
- Page range — You can set a page range (must be in the form of a bookmark).
For this tutorial, we have chosen the default, current page.
Step #5: Enter page number format
Optionally, you can show the page number in the index in bold and in italics.
Select and click on Bold and Italics under Page number format.
Step #6: Mark the index entry
Click the Mark button at the bottom.
The text in the document changes to show the index entry.
The dialog box stays open to allow selecting further references.
Step #7: Select the next reference
Select other words that you want as the next reference.
Step #8: Enter a subentry
Under Index, the box for Main entry: is already filled with the selected reference.
Optionally, you can add a subentry in the box next to Subentry:
Step #9: Enter options
Under Options, you have the options of entering:
- Cross-reference: — Enter the cross-reference if necessary
- Current page — Default page entry for index
- Page range — You can set a page range (must be in the form of a bookmark).
For this tutorial, we have chosen the default, current page.
Step #10: Enter page number format
Optionally, you can show the page number in the index as bold and in italics.
Select and click on Bold and Italics under Page number format.
Step #11: Mark the index entry
Click the Mark tab at the bottom.
The text in the document changes to show the index entry.
The dialog box stays open to allow selecting further references.
Step #12: Select additional references
Repeat Step #7 – #11 for selecting additional references.
Once you have covered all references, click on the Close button to close the dialog box.
Method #2: Insert the Index
This method allows inserting the index anywhere in the document.
Step #1: Open a Word Document
Open the Word document where you have already selected references for indexing.
Step #2: Select index location
Navigate to the location where you want the index to appear.
Note: You can position the index at the beginning or at the end of your document. For this tutorial, we will position the index at the end of the document.
Step #3: Insert the index
Type INDEX, and hit Enter on your keyboard.
In the top ribbon bar, in the section Index, click on the Insert Index icon.
The Index dialog box will open.
Click on the Index tab at the top.
Click on Right align page numbers.
Click on the OK button at the bottom.
Word creates the index.
Method #3: Update the Index
This method updates the index after you have made changes to your document.
Step #1: Open MS Word Document
Open an MS Word document that has an index.
Navigate to the index.
Step #2: Update the index
Click anywhere within the index.
Click on the References tab in the main menu bar to change the ribbon.
In the References ribbon, in the Index section, click on the Update Index icon.
Word updates the index to reflect any change in the document.
Conclusion
We have shown you an easy way of creating and updating an index in MS Word. Use our method to create useful indexes for your documents.
After looking at several instructions on creating index in MS Word, I found this one to be the easiest. The instructions are clear and straightforward.