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Publishers that don't add indexes--RANT
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<blockquote data-quote="engrishonly" data-source="post: 2765986" data-attributes="member: 38460"><p>If you write for professional reasons in industries where indices matter, then the actual creation of an index is not a problem. You simply flag text in your source files AS you are writing - long before you compile the source files as a final book... and the index is compiled during the final run. (And it's not like checking random index entries as part of the final checklist for analyzing your finished product adds a lot of time, IMO... plus, the art department shouldn't be mucking around in the index anyway. You can bet that we don't spend much time actually writing an index in other professional writing areas... there's no time to waste when it comes to publishing deadlines.)</p><p></p><p>Since page numbering often has nothing to do with your source files (especially when art gets added), using software to track indexed text is unbelievably useful and good... especially with revised editions. You just can't rely on page numbers to stay stable throughout the process, and this is why an index has to be compiled at run time. The only trick is teaching your writing peons to use the tools the right way.</p><p></p><p>Now, if you're not using actual professional writing tools to produce your manuals (Microsoft Word is not very good for anything beyond a couple pages) and/or you have never used the indexing tools in your software, then I can see where creating an index might be an issue. Then you'd have to actually flip through page by page and create an index afterwards... which sounds ass-backwards to me, but I'm sure it's done.</p><p></p><p>The licensing cost of tools like Adobe Framemaker might be prohibitive for lower-run RPG books though... and page count considerations are definitely a problem for anyone who produces physical books.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="engrishonly, post: 2765986, member: 38460"] If you write for professional reasons in industries where indices matter, then the actual creation of an index is not a problem. You simply flag text in your source files AS you are writing - long before you compile the source files as a final book... and the index is compiled during the final run. (And it's not like checking random index entries as part of the final checklist for analyzing your finished product adds a lot of time, IMO... plus, the art department shouldn't be mucking around in the index anyway. You can bet that we don't spend much time actually writing an index in other professional writing areas... there's no time to waste when it comes to publishing deadlines.) Since page numbering often has nothing to do with your source files (especially when art gets added), using software to track indexed text is unbelievably useful and good... especially with revised editions. You just can't rely on page numbers to stay stable throughout the process, and this is why an index has to be compiled at run time. The only trick is teaching your writing peons to use the tools the right way. Now, if you're not using actual professional writing tools to produce your manuals (Microsoft Word is not very good for anything beyond a couple pages) and/or you have never used the indexing tools in your software, then I can see where creating an index might be an issue. Then you'd have to actually flip through page by page and create an index afterwards... which sounds ass-backwards to me, but I'm sure it's done. The licensing cost of tools like Adobe Framemaker might be prohibitive for lower-run RPG books though... and page count considerations are definitely a problem for anyone who produces physical books. [/QUOTE]
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