CHAPTER 1 – About indexing

This chapter outlines a practical indexing method that has proven itself in real-world technical publishing environments. An index is a documentation tool that saves time and energy. This tool enables users to find information in documentation quickly and easily. Rapid information retrieval is critical to the success of product documentation. The most successful indexing method used by professional indexers is quick, easy, and foolproof. This method is called sequential indexing. This indexing method separates index creation (content) from index editing (format). By separating content from format, the sequential method breaks a laborious task into bite-sized tasks anyone can perform under real world conditions. By performing these simple tasks one step at a time, indexer builds accurate and usable indexes quickly and easily. Sequential indexing helps in creating usable indexes. Usable indexes improve product documentation. The more usable documentation is easier to index. Usable product documentation improves products and usable indexes contribute directly to product sales.