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Writing Software Documentation A Task- Oriented Approach Chapter 14 – Designing Indexes

Kelly Vincent and Robert Farrell 4/576 Online Documentation April 9, 2011. Writing Software Documentation A Task- Oriented Approach Chapter 14 – Designing Indexes. Designing Indexes. Good general overview Plan Your Indexing Strategy Review the User Analysis Mark the Index Entries

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Writing Software Documentation A Task- Oriented Approach Chapter 14 – Designing Indexes

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  1. Kelly Vincent and Robert Farrell 4/576 Online DocumentationApril 9, 2011 Writing Software DocumentationA Task- Oriented ApproachChapter 14 – Designing Indexes

  2. Designing Indexes • Good general overview • Plan Your Indexing Strategy • Review the User Analysis • Mark the Index Entries • Build the Index • Edit the Index

  3. Designing Indexes • Decide What to Index • Commands and Functions • Concepts • User Terms and Questions • Glossary Terms • Proper Names of Products and Companies • Tasks and Procedures

  4. Designing Indexes • Identify the Level of Detail • Mirror the Chicago Manual of Style for Indexes • Decide on Phrasing and Format • Above all, be consistent • Criticism • No definition of alphabetization • Inconsistent use within the text examples

  5. Designing Indexes • Edit and Proofread • Editing an index is a daunting task • Have someone else look at it • Criticism • Does an automatic indexing program have the same intuition as a human? • Are the online indexing sights listed still in existence? • Interesting that Barker talks about profession indexers

  6. Designing Indexes • Why do we need indexes? • More in-depth than a Table of Contents • Alternative way to find specific information

  7. Designing Indexes • What Now? • Print versus online versus keywords • Each is too different. They cannot be compared • Each is specific for the method of information delivery they are designed for • A product of their time

  8. Designing Indexes The End Have a Nice Weekend

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