How to Create an Index in Word

This wikiHow teaches you how to create an index page in Microsoft Word that looks up important terms discussed in the document and the pages where they are mentioned.

Table of Contents

Highlight term

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Open the Microsoft Word document. MS Word allows you to add an index to any document, regardless of subject length, style or content.

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Click the References tab. This button is located in the MS Word toolbar at the top of the screen, next to other tabs like Home , Insert and Review . The References toolbar opens at the top of the Word window.

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Click the Mark Entry button. This button has a blank page icon with a green arrow and a red line inside. Look somewhere between the Insert Caption and Mark Citation options on the References toolbar in the upper-right corner of the screen. When you click, a dialog box titled Mark Index Entry will appear for you to choose important terms and phrases for the index.

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Select the word or group of words for the index. Use your mouse to double-click the word, or use the keyboard to highlight what you want to select.

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Click the Mark Index Entry dialog box. The term you just selected in the document will appear in the text field next to the Main entry heading.

In addition, you can enter a secondary entry in the subentry box or refer to the cross-reference box to add to the main index. Sub-items and cross-references will be listed below the respective main entry in the index.
You can also add a tertiary entry by entering the secondary index text in the Subentry field, followed by a colon (:), and finally entering the content of the tertiary entry.

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Format the page number in the index. Under the heading Page number format , check the corresponding box if you want the index page to be bold or italic .

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Format the text for the index entry. Select the text in the Main entry or Subentry field, right-click, and then click Font . A new dialog box opens where you can customize the font style, size, color, and text effects, as well as advanced options like character ratio, spacing, and position.

You can learn more online about how to format text in Word, the different fonts, and character options you can apply on any Word document.

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Click Mark . This button will highlight the highlighted term and add it to the index along with the corresponding page number.

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Click Mark All . This button will search the entire document of the index and highlight any examples where the term is mentioned.

Insert index page

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Scroll down and click below the last page.

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Click the Insert tab. This button is in the MS Word toolbar at the top of the screen.

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Click the Page Break button in the Insert toolbar. This button has an icon for the bottom half of the page above the top half of another page. This will end the previous page and start the new one.

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Click the References tab. This option is in the MS Word toolbar at the top of the screen.

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Click Insert Index . This button is located next to the Mark Entry button in the References toolbar. The Index dialog box opens.

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Select the index type. You will choose between Indented and Run-in . An indented index makes it easier for readers to navigate, while a continuous index takes up less space on the page.

You will be able to preview different types and formats in the Preview pane while customizing the index.

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Select the index design in the Formats section. You can customize the index by choosing a design from among the preformatted presets.

You can also create your own design by choosing From template and clicking the Modify button. You’ll then be able to customize fonts, spacing, and styles for all entries and subsections to create a design format that’s uniquely yours.
You can preview different format designs in the Preview box before deciding.

Warning

When you highlight index entries, the Show all nonprinting characters option turns on automatically. You can turn this option off at any time by clicking the paragraph icon located in the Home tab.

Steps

Highlight term

Insert index page

Warning

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