Creating a Normal Index

Once you have inserted all your index entries and subentries, as detailed in other WordTips, Word allows you to create a complete index by following these steps:

1. Position the insertion point where you want the index inserted.
2. Display the Index and Tables dialog box. You do this in Word 97 and Word 2000 by choosing Index and Tables from the Insert menu. In Word 2002 and Word 2003 you choose Reference from the Insert menu, and then choose Index and Tables. In Word 2007 you display the References tab of the ribbon and then, within the Index group, click Insert Index. (In Word 2007 the dialog box is called the Index dialog box.)
3. Make sure the Index tab is selected. (Click here to see a related figure.)
4. Use the controls in the dialog box to indicate how you want the index to appear.
5. Click on OK.

Alternatively, you can follow these steps to create a normal index:

1. Position the insertion point where you want the index inserted.
2. Press Ctrl+F9 to insert field brackets. Make sure the insertion point stays between the brackets.
3. Type index.
4. Press F9 to update the field information. Word replaces the field with the index when the document is printed.

If you decide to use the index field to create your index, there are quite a few field switches you can use to control how Word creates the index. The most useful of these switches are discussed in other WordTips or in Word's Help system.