2020

DOCUMENT CONSTRUCTION
Software can automate the process of typing, formatting, and updating page
numbers in an index, but a person has to decide what goes into a meaningful,
useful index. Since the process cannot be fully automated, it may take extra time to
create an index, but when your readers are able to find the information they need,
it will be time well spent.
Specifying the index marker color
When you add a word to an index, QuarkXPress tags it with brackets or a box; these
are called index markers. Index markers are displayed in a document when the
Index palette is open (Windows > Index). You can customize the color of index
markers using the Index Preferences dialog box.
Choose QuarkXPress/Edit > Preferences > Index.
1.
Click the Index Marker Color button to display a color picker. 2.
Use the sliders, arrows, fields, or color wheel to specify a color for the index 3.
markers.
Click OK to close the color picker; then click OK to close the Index Preferences
4.
dialog box.
When you index a range of text, it is marked with brackets. When you place the

Text Insertion bar in text and enter an index entry, the location is marked with a
box.
Creating index entries
Each item in an index, whether it is one word or several, is called an entry. Each
entry is assigned a level. Levels indicate the hierarchy of the entry, from first to
fourth. First level entries are the most general, and fourth level entries are the most
specific.
QuarkXPress lets you create four levels of index entries in a nested index and two
levels of index entries in a run-in index.
Creating a first-level index entry
A first-level index entry is a primary topic sorted alphabetically in an index.
Before you start adding words to the index, you need to decide whether you are

creating a nested index or a run-in index. A nested index has up to four levels of
information with entries separated by paragraph returns and different style sheets. A
run-in index has two levels of information with second level entries immediately
following first-level entries in the same paragraph.
Place the Text Insertion bar in the text or select a range of text to establish the
1.
beginning of the text you want to index.
To enter text for the first-level entry in the Text field of the Index palette (View
2.
menu), select text in the document or type in the field.
To override the alphabetical indexing of the entry, enter text in the Sort As
3.
field. For example, if the entry is “20th Century,” you might want it sorted as
“Twentieth Century.” This does not affect the spelling of the index entry.
396 | A GUIDE TO QUARKXPRESS 2020