Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: Deleting Index Entries.

Deleting Index Entries

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 14, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

Word provides the tools for you to create complete indexes for your documents. After creating all the index entries, as described in other WordTips, you might decide later to remove an index entry. To do this, follow these general steps:

Make sure you have Word set to display text that is formatted as hidden.
Use Find and Replace (Ctrl+F) to locate the index entry you want to delete.
Select the entire field, including the field braces, and press Del. The index entry is deleted.
Repeat steps 2 and 3 for each entry you want to delete.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (792) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) here: Deleting Index Entries.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Footnotes for Tables

Word includes a powerful feature that allows you to add footnotes and endnotes to your document. What if you want them at ...

Discover More

Sticking with the Dashes

By default, dashes don't "stick" to the text that follows them. Here's one way around this normal formatting convention.

Discover More

Strange ATAN Results

You may use Excel's trigonometric functions to do some quick calculations, and suddenly notice that the results in your ...

Discover More

Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2021 or Microsoft 365. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word Step by Step today!

More WordTips (menu)

Putting Bold Words in an Index

There are several ways you can create an index in Word, but the first step is always to figure out what should go in the ...

Discover More

Creating an Index Entry

In order to create an index, you first need to create the entries that will be used to compile the index. Here's how you ...

Discover More

Specifying an Index Entry Separator

One of the switches you can use with the index field allows you to specify how index entries should be separated from the ...

Discover More

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is eight more than 8?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.