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

[acraig at shaw.ca]

Hi Dan:

In his retirement, my husband Don has taken up a third career as an indexer
- and no, I'm not trying to sell you his services. ;-)

He recently completed a Word project with 250,000 indexable words (39
articles for a publication on the Anthropology of Technology) and for that
he used an SaaS product called "Index Manager" (link is below with the info
he forwarded to me). He says the company that makes the product supports
Structured Frame - although I don't have any details about what that
entails.

As an SaaS product, Don signed up for only one quarter as most jobs allow
him to use another product that works with print-ready PDFs from the
publisher. If he needs it again, he'll sign up again.

He says that you could definitely work on a chapter-by-chapter basis then
stitch it all together at the end to create a single index (again, I don't
have details on how that's done).

And yes, the program inserts Word index markers into the Word file even
though you work in the SaaS software.


+++++
Embedded Indexing Links

"Index Manager": https://index-manager.net/en/home/?v=3e8d115eb4b3  

It has a bit of a learning curve, especially for advanced features. The
company is very responsive and helpful with any problems.

Lots of people also use one of the following.

"DexEmbed": I believe this is a 32-bit program,
https://www.editorium.com/dexembed.htm  

"WordEmbed": https://jalamb.com/

+++++


If you have any specific questions, contact me offline and I'll let him
reply.

Alison
acraig at shaw.ca 

============================================================================
==
-----Original Message-----
From: Framers <framers-bounces+acraig=shaw.ca at lists.frameusers.com> On
Behalf Of Harding, Dan
Sent: December 31, 2021 10:45 AM
To: An email list for people using Adobe FrameMaker software.
<framers at lists.frameusers.com>
Subject: [Framers] Automated index or list of keywords in Frame or Word?

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
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