Subentry-Word 2003

[Bennie]

Hey!
How do I list more than one subentry in the MARK INDEX ENTRY dialog box? I
used commas and semi-colons between them, and all of the subentries ended up
on one line in the Index, with the page across from them of the first
subentry--even though the other subentries were typed on different pages in
the document, and were indicated as such in the same Index under their
individual Alphabetical listings.
I used the "Classic" format for my Index, so the subentries should have been
listed one-under-the-other, each with their associated page numbers on the
right.
The "Help" Instructions seem to indicate that you can add multiple
subentries at once in the MARK INDEX ENTRY dialog box.
Am I doing something wrong, or do the "Help" Instructions need help?
Thank you,
Bennie
P.S. Please consider doing a "Training Exercise" on Indexes. Your Training
Exercises are very thorough, and quite easy to follow. The formatting of the
"Help" Instructions are for the birds.

 

[Stefan Blom]

You will have to edit the field codes directly to have more than two levels
in an index entry. Display hidden text to see the XE (index entry) fields.
Use a colon to separate different levels: { XE "first level:second
level:third level" }. When you are done, update the index with F9.

For information about index creation in Word, see also the article at
http://word.mvps.org/faqs/formatting/Createindex.htm.

 

[Jay Freedman]

Also, to clarify a possible misunderstanding: When you put several
levels into a single XE field like this, you're making *one* entry in
the index. If you want separate subentries at the same level, like
this:

President
Johnson
Andrew
Lyndon

then you must create separate XE fields:

{XE President:Johnson:Andrew}
{XE President:Johnson:Lyndon}

You cannot combine the separate entries into one XE field.

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the
newsgroup so all may benefit.

 

[Bennie]

Dear Stefan & Jay,
Thank you so much for your prompt and informative replies to my "Subentry"
questions. I can see now that only a single Subentry can be placed in the
MARK INDEX ENTRY dialog box when you're "marking" a Main Entry in that box.
Any additional Subentries to that Main Entry have to be added manually, using
the XE field codes that you both mentioned, right in the document itself.
I wasn't sure exactly where in a document to place the XE field codes, so I
did a little experimenting. I started with a New Blank Document each time,
making 12 documents altogether, then typed the word PLANETS at the top of the
page, and the word EARTH on the next line. Then I scrolled down the page
until "Page 1" turned to "Page 2" on the "Status bar" on the lower left of my
screen, and typed the word MARS on Page 2. I hit ENTER twice, to create a
place where I would later locate my INDEX, and then went about "marking," in
the MARK INDEX ENTRY dialog box, the three words I'd just typed--all three as
Main Entries in the first 6 documents, then just the word PLANETS as a Main
Entry in the last six documents. This is what the first 6 documents looked
like, with the Show/Hide formatting button engaged:

Planets{XE "Planets"}
Earth{XE "Earth"}

Mars{XE "Mars"} (on the second page);

and this is what the second six pages looked like:

Planets{XE "Planets"}
Earth

Mars (on the second page).

I then made Indexes for all of the documents using the INDEX AND TABLES
dialog box.

I then proceeded to type-in the "Subentry" XE field codes in the different
documents, in different ways, to see what would happen. In the first
document, I put the cursor just to the right of the right bracket on the
first line, ( Planets{XE "Planets"} ), and typed: {XE "Planets: Earth"}, to
get this result:

Planets{XE "Planets"}{XE "Planets: Earth"}.

I then scrolled down the page to my INDEX, that I had placed on the second
page, right below MARS, and selected the INDEX by clicking in the "Selection
area" to the left of the INDEX, and then hit the F9 key to "update" the
INDEX, and see what my first-ever XE field code insertion would look
like--and Voila!--nothing happened. Now I know that you can't just type
brackets in a document yourself to insert an XE field--you have to hit
CTRL+F9 to do that.
So, I went back and put my cursor to the right of the right bracket on the
first line...and hit CTRL+F9, to insert a blank XE field there. I typed in
XE "Planets: Earth" between the brackets, and to make a long story short, I
found out this:

If you type XE field codes on the same line that the Main Entry is on,
they'll work, but only for Subentries you've typed on the first page.
Subentries on another page, like in this case MARS, on the second page, will
show up under PLANETS on the updated INDEX alright, but their page number
will be listed as "1" instead of, as in this case, the correct page number
"2."
So, don't insert an XE field code on the same line as the Main Entry.
Instead, insert it next to the chosen Subentry, just to the right of the XE
field code that's been inserted there by the the MAIN INDEX ENTRY dialog
box--if your choice for a Subentry was already "marked" as a Main Entry by
you in the MAIN INDEX ENTRY dialog box--or insert the XE field code directly
after your chosen Subentry, if you've choosen to not have a separate Main
Entry listing for it in the INDEX.
The End

P.S. In WORD'S "Help" section, they discuss a software "add-on," as it's
called, called "DEXter." It enables you to do all sorts of stuff in a
document without you ever having to type in a single XE field code!
Thanks again, Stefan and Jay, and have a nice holiday, everyone!
Bennie

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

I think you're making extra work for yourself. If you create the following
XE fields (in any order):

{ XE "Planets:Mars" }
{ XE "Planets:Earth" }
{ XE "Planets:Mercury" }

what you will get in the index is:

Planets
Earth
Mars
Mercury

Isn't that what you're after? See
http://word.mvps.org/faqs/formatting/Createindex.htm for more.

It also occurs to me that possibly what you're really after is a table of
contents rather than an index, which would allow you to have three or more
levels quite easily and would not require any marking at all provided you
use the built-in heading styles or styles with an outline level assigned.
See http://www.ShaunaKelly.com/word/toc/CreateATOC.html.

The distinction is that a TOC is usually found at the beginning of a
document. It includes titles of chapters and subheadings along with page
numbers, in the order in which they appear in the book. An index is usually
placed at the end of a book and contains topics (not necessarily
headings--they can be names of people, places, companies, etc., or subjects
discussed) in alphabetical order, with page numbers.

 

[Bennie]

Dear Sue,
It's Saturday night. Why aren't you drunk!
But seriously, I wasn't particularly looking for anything. I've read and
watched all of the Word Demos and am almost through with the Training
Courses; and, after having just finished "TOC's 2...," I wanted to find out
how to make an Index, as I'm attempting to find out about every nook and
cranny in WORD. The "Create an Index" Help Instructions were rather lacking,
so I thought maybe some smarty-pants on this Discussion thing would know
something. And sure enough, they did! Now, I can make an Index if I ever have
anything intelligent to to say!
And thanks for that additional info. Every bit helps.
Say, how do I know you're a girl? You don't think my real name is "Bennie,"
do you? Why, you could be a 90 year-old Sherpa for all I know. Not that
there's anything wrong with that.
Hasta la vista,
Bennie

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Say, how do I know you're a girl? You don't think my real name is
"Bennie,"

do you? Why, you could be a 90 year-old Sherpa for all I know. Not that
there's anything wrong with that.

You are quite welcome to post under any name you like, but many of us who
are here for the long haul see no reason not to use our real names. I've
never posted under any other name, and I've never munged my email address,
but that's just me.

 

[Bennie]

Dear Suzanne,
So that's your real name! I thought maybe you chose some famous name from
History, like, say, "Jethro Tull," to use as a pseudonym. The way the
instructions for signing up for this place admonish you to use a fake E-mail
address & name, I thought I was entering a dark alleyway full of pestilence!
But I guess you've found it to be tame.
Say, what does "munged" mean? Is that anything like "truculent"? The closest
entry that my MERRIAM-WEBSTER'S COLLEGIATE DICTIONARY has is "mung
bean"--interestingly, something Sherpas eat.
I invited "Lorrie," over at "what is a Word 2003->Table & Contents
'Subentry'?," to come over here and read what's been posted so far. She had
the same question that I did, as did someone named "Ali," over at "subentry."
I never realized how popular "Subentries" were.
Someone should write an easy-to-understand, deliberate, step-by-step article
on the who's and why-fors of "Subentries."
Thank you for writing, Suzanne S. Barnhill, and a fond ado.
Bennie
P.S. You can call me Subby.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

I don't post through the communities portal. Most of us who post regularly
use an NNTP newsreader (Outlook Express in my case), and my msnews account
is set up with my real name and email address. A "munged" email address is a
false one or one that has NOSPAM or the like inserted in it to make it
nonfunctional. Yes, I get a lot of spam, but every time I try to reply to
someone with a spamproofed Reply To address and forget to change it, it
really annoys me, and I don't like to be a cause of annoyance, however
trivial.

The subject of index subentries is not at all recondite; I think you were
attempting sub-subentries, which are less common.

 

[Beth Melton]

The they recommend you use a fake email address is so you're not subjected
to email address harvesters and suddenly find yourself receiving even more
spam just because you posted in the newsgroups. It's not an admonishment -
it's a recommendation. (And if memory serves, this explanation for why this
is recommended is included on the page. ;-) )

Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email cannot be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

Coauthor of Word 2007 Inside Out:
http://www.microsoft.com/MSPress/books/9801.aspx#AboutTheBook

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/

 

[Bennie]

The they recommend you use a fake email address is so you're not subjected
to email address harvesters and suddenly find yourself receiving even more
spam just because you posted in the newsgroups. It's not an admonishment -
it's a recommendation. (And if memory serves, this explanation for why this
is recommended is included on the page. ;-) )

Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email cannot be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

Coauthor of Word 2007 Inside Out:
http://www.microsoft.com/MSPress/books/9801.aspx#AboutTheBook

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/

 

[Bennie]

Dear Beth,
Did you ever write a long E-mail, hit "Post," and have the thing disappear?
That's just what happened to me.
Let me see if I can recreate that E-mail for you from memory. It went
something like this:

Hello Beth Melton. Welcome to the mix!
As I was trying to fall asleep last night, it hit me like a lead balloon
that the solution to my problem was to go down to the Book Store and find a
book that had info about Indexes in it. Having just re-read Joan Preppernau's
STEP-BY-STEP FOR WINDOWS XP for the third time, and STEP-BY-STEP FOR OFFICE
XP for the second, I should have figured right off that a book like yours
would be just what the doctor ordered to decrease my reconditiousness
regarding Indexes. But alas, I have "Office 2003" on my computer, not "2007,"
and can't presently afford an upgrade, or even the gas to get to a Book Store
to peruse your work.
Times and fortunes will change, I hope, but in the meantime there's plenty
of free learning available on the Microsoft Office Online Website.
Say, do you hang with Joan? Her book brought me into this whole computer
world like butter. If you see her, say "hi."

That's all I can remember, Beth.
Yours truly,
Bennie

 

[Beth Melton]

I'm sorry, I don't know Joan. :-( You are absolutely correct about Office
Online -- there is a wealth of information to be found. I appreciate you
thinking of me and I wish you the best of luck in your newfound ventures!


Please post all follow-up questions to the newsgroup. Requests for
assistance by email cannot be acknowledged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton
Microsoft Office MVP

Coauthor of Word 2007 Inside Out:
http://www.microsoft.com/MSPress/books/9801.aspx#AboutTheBook

Word FAQ: http://mvps.org/word
TechTrax eZine: http://mousetrax.com/techtrax/
MVP FAQ site: http://mvps.org/

 

[Bennie]

Dear Beth,
I like the way you put words together. I can't wait to read your book.
Bennie

 

[Bennie]

Hey Gang!
Suzanne was kind enough to point out to me, over at "what is a Word 2003->
Table & Contents "Subentry"?" that an "XE field" can be in a "relative
position" to what it's "marking" on a document, as opposed to it needing to
be right at the mark's side.
I decided to test her theory out, and below you can see the results:

My Favorite Discussion Groupies{ XE “My Favorite Discussion Groupies†}*
Suzanne
Beth
Stefan
Jay
CyberTaz{ XE “My Favorite Discussion Groupies: Suzanne†}*



M
My Favorite Discussion Groupies, 1
Suzanne, 1




* These are the recondite XE fields that I created (CTLR+F9+â€Textâ€), and
where I located them on the document, that resulted in the Index that you see
above. As is evident, the "mark" (Suzanne) and its "XE field" ({ XE "My
Favorite Discussion Groupies: Suzanne" }) are separated on the document, and
the Index is correctly constructed!
Good job, Suzanne.
Bennie

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

You're still not really getting it. If you use { XE: "My Favorite Discussion
Groupies:Suzanne" } (note, no space after colon unless you want an extra
space in your index entry), Word will create the entry:

My Favorite Discusson Groupies
Suzanne

You don't need to create a separate XE field for "My Favorite Discussion
Groupies" unless you want (a) page number(s) for that as well, which would
rather defeat the point of the subentries.

In other words, this is the difference between, say:

My Favorite Discusson Groupies
Suzanne 1
Beth 2
CyberTax 3

and

My Favorite Discusson Groupies 1, 2, 3
Suzanne 1
Beth 2
CyberTax 3

 

[Bennie]

Dear Suzanne,
Point well taken. It would defeat the purpose.

SCORE:
Suzanne--1
Bennie--0

Say, do you agree with me that we're heading into the cellar with all of
those Subentry levels in the window to the left of us?
How low can we go!
Bennie

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Only to the left of you. I have Outlook Express set to Hide Read Messages,
so I see only the new posts.

 

[Bennie]

â€What do you have to do to get a Horizontal Scrollbar around here!â€

Create YOUR Index Subentry Levels the RIGHT way. The Sub-way!
Sub-way-train-ing®...by Suzanne!
"Don't miss the training!"

 

[Bennie]

POETRY INTERLUDE


As you know, HAIKU is a Japanese verse form of three unrhymed lines of 5,7,
and 5 syllables respectively (total 17 syllables), usually on some sub-ject
in nature.

In honor of this occasion, I offer the following Haiku:

Reconditeness is
revealed when you field your schemes
in Suzanne's ballpark .

We've all found out a little this weekend. Thank you for coming--and good
night!

Bennie

{Your ad here. Ask me how.}