[Framers] Automated index or list of keywords in Frame or Word?

[Harding, Dan]

Good afternoon,

First a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to everyone on the list!

By way of background:

I have been typesetting an annual textbook in FrameMaker for the last 15+ years. I retired at the end of September, but that's not the cause of my inquiry. I will be continuing to do the same work moving forward on a seasonal freelance basis. No, the changes are to other positions in the editorial workflow and a necessary streamlining of the processes involved.

The book that is produced, while existing in PDF formats for electronic access by course attendees, is still primarily a printed work. We've had internal discussions regarding discontinuing the traditional index given the labor involved, given that people typically use Ctrl-f in the PDFs, however this is of no use to a person who only has the printed book. Even if there is no contextual index with content organized into entries, sub-entries, etc. (we've typically gone 3-4 levels deep), IMO there needs to at least be an alphabetical list of major terms/concepts with corresponding page numbers, i.e., a "poor-man's index."

Historically, the insertion of index markers has been done in Microsoft Word after the technical and stylistic editing is done, immediately prior to import into Frame, with further refinement and reconciliation all done within Frame. This insertion of index markers has been a manual process, but the position doing this work is being eliminated, and the SMEs and editors do not have the time in the process (or expertise) to take on this process. Outsourcing is not an option, given the idiosyncratic industry jargon that is used; any general indexing service or freelancer wouldn't have the background in our specific industry to be able to effectively index the material. We've tried using external services to do this in the past and it failed dismally due to the lack of context by the party(ies) doing the indexing. There won't be time or resources to take on a learning curve once we're in the midst of production or to vet the work at that point.

I realize full well that there is an art/skill to creating an effective index. I'm not arguing that. However, for expediency moving forward this manual process needs to be eliminated, so I am looking for alternative automated solutions that will get us part of the way there.

The chapters are produced at different times over a 6-month period, with initial index entry reconciliation work starting at approximately the 4 month mark, and the majority of the reconciliation work being done at the very tail end of the production process immediately prior to going to press (so very small window to complete the final work in Frame).

So I am looking for suggestions for either of the following:

1. Microsoft Word-based methods or plugins that will create a keyword/key-term list and insert index markers that will then flow through into FrameMaker upon import. It needs to create and insert the Word index markers; it cannot be a manual insertion process once a list is created.

2. Script/plugin for FrameMaker that does the same after the Word content is imported. Again, it needs to be an automated process that creates and inserts the index markers, understanding that some refinement and reconciliation will be needed.

If we need to incorporate the manual creation of a general terms list that chapters are then automated against, or manual vetting of a generated list, that presumably could be incorporated into the editorial stages prior to typesetting.

I'm open to other suggestions, however we are not moving the typesetting production out of FrameMaker at this time, nor are we looking to contract with a service for this work on an ongoing basis. If there are one-time up-front development costs that results in something turn-key and sustainable moving forward, that would be considered, but we are looking to avoid recurring expenses.

Thank you in advance for any input/suggestions.

-Dan Harding