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: Indexing Based on a Range of Letters.

Indexing Based on a Range of Letters

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 24, 2020)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

Word allows you to create indexes for your documents easily and quickly. Other issues of WordTips have discussed how to create index entries and subentries. Once this is done, you can create an index for a range of letters by following these steps:

Place the insertion point at the location in your document where you want the partial index created.
Press Ctrl+F9 to insert field brackets. Make sure the insertion point stays between the brackets.
Type index \p followed by the range of letters for which you want an index. For instance, you could type index \p D-R to specify you only wanted an index created for index entries beginning with the letters D–R, inclusive.
Press F9 to update the field information. Word replaces the field with the partial index.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (1375) 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: Indexing Based on a Range of Letters.

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

Automatically Formatting Text within Quotes

Some people use quote marks around text to make it stand out. At some point you may want to treat the quoted text ...

Discover More

Examining Tracked Changes in a Macro

The Track Changes feature in Word is very handy when you need to see what edits are made to a document. Using a macro, ...

Discover More

Filtering to a Date Range in the Past

If you have a large number of data records, each with an associated date, you might want to filter that data so you see ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 2013 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access) with VBA programming, using it for writing macros, automating Office applications, and creating custom applications. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2013 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

Cross-Referencing Index Entries

You've probably seen an index where an entry says something like "Obsidian: See igneous rock." This sort of ...

Discover More

Chapter Numbers in Indexes and TOAs

Word allows you to define prefixes for page numbers. These are often used for chapter or section numbers in a large ...

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 three more than 2?

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.