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<span id="Index-Entries"></span><div class="header">
<p>
Next: <a href="Printing-Indices-_0026-Menus.html" accesskey="n" rel="next">Printing Indices & Menus</a>, Previous: <a href="Advanced-Indexing.html" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Advanced Indexing</a>, Up: <a href="Indices.html" accesskey="u" rel="up">Indices</a> [<a href="index.html#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="Command-and-Variable-Index.html" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
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<hr>
<span id="Making-Index-Entries"></span><h3 class="section">11.4 Making Index Entries</h3>
<span id="index-Index-entries_002c-making"></span>
<span id="index-Entries_002c-making-index"></span>
<span id="index-Writing-index-entries"></span>
<span id="index-Index-entries_002c-advice-on-writing"></span>
<span id="index-Advice-on-writing-entries"></span>
<span id="index-Capitalization-of-index-entries"></span>
<p>Concept index entries consist of text. The best way to write an index
is to devise entries which are terse yet clear. If you can do this,
the index usually looks better if the entries are written just as they
would appear in the middle of a sentence, that is, capitalizing only
proper names and acronyms that always call for uppercase letters.
This is the case convention we use in most GNU manuals’ indices.
</p>
<p>If you don’t see how to make an entry terse yet clear, make it longer
and clear—not terse and confusing. If many of the entries are
several words long, the index may look better if you use a different
convention: capitalize the first word of each entry. Whichever
case convention you use, use it consistently.
</p>
<p>In any event, do not ever capitalize a case-sensitive name such as a C
or Lisp function name or a shell command; that would be a spelling
error. Entries in indices other than the concept index are symbol
names in programming languages, or program names; these names are
usually case-sensitive, so likewise use upper- and lowercase as
required.
</p>
<span id="index-Unique-index-entries"></span>
<p>It is a good idea to make index entries unique wherever feasible.
That way, people using the printed output or online completion of
index entries don’t see undifferentiated lists. Consider this an
opportunity to make otherwise-identical index entries be more
specific, so readers can more easily find the exact place they are
looking for.
The advanced indexing features described in <a href="Advanced-Indexing.html">Advanced Indexing</a>
can help with this, as well.
</p>
<p>When you are making index entries, it is good practice to think of the
different ways people may look for something. Different people
<em>do not</em> think of the same words when they look something up. A
helpful index will have items indexed under all the different words
that people may use. For example, one reader may think it obvious
that the two-letter names for indices should be listed under
“Indices, two-letter names”, since “Indices” are the general
concept. But another reader may remember the specific concept of
two-letter names and search for the entry listed as “Two letter names
for indices”. A good index will have both entries and will help both
readers.
</p>
<p>Like typesetting, the construction of an index is a skilled art, the
subtleties of which may not be appreciated until you need to do it
yourself.
</p>
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Next: <a href="Printing-Indices-_0026-Menus.html" accesskey="n" rel="next">Printing Indices & Menus</a>, Previous: <a href="Advanced-Indexing.html" accesskey="p" rel="prev">Advanced Indexing</a>, Up: <a href="Indices.html" accesskey="u" rel="up">Indices</a> [<a href="index.html#SEC_Contents" title="Table of contents" rel="contents">Contents</a>][<a href="Command-and-Variable-Index.html" title="Index" rel="index">Index</a>]</p>
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