[scribus] Alphabetical index in Scribus

[john Culleton]

On Fri, 20 Jun 2014 15:29:20 +0200
ale rimoldi <ale.comp_06 at xox.ch> wrote:

> hi
> 
> as far i can tell scribus still does not have
> an index.
> 
> and i fear that nobody has yet specified how an
> index would work in scribus.
> 
> does anybody want to start a specification?
> 
> ciao
> a.l.e
> 
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I do indexes for money. first one needs to
determine what level of integration with the DTP
is to to be used. There are three levels in use.

1.  Most professional indexers use a
totally non-integrated approach. they receive a
final and paginated pdf from the publisher, print
it out, mark up the index items on the paper pages
and then enter the information using a separate
commercial program. The separate program 
generates a file that can be added to
the book by the publisher or author. 

2. The next level is semi-integration, or a tagged
index. TeX uses this technique. TeX is a
compilative system. The author works on a source
file with the suffix .tex. When a term is
encountered that needs indexing a tag is entered
at that spot. When the source file is compiled in
TeX a separate file of tagged indexed items with
the the suffix .idx is generated. This is run
through a separate program (usually makeindex)  
and a file resembling the final index is created
with the suffix .ind. A command is placed at the
end of the original tex file that imports the
index and typesets it. Typically I set up a
script that runs TeX, runs makeindex, and then
runs TeX again to import the index into the pdf
document.

3. The third version used in programs such as
InDesign and Libre office, where the indexing
function is fully integrated into the main
program. Here is how Libre Office help describbes
the process:

   Click in a word, or select the words in your
    document that you want to use as an index
    entry. Choose Insert - Indexes and Tables -
    Entry, and do one of the following:

    To change the text that appears in the index,
    type the text that you want in the Entry box.
    The text that you type here does not replace
    the selected text in the document. To add an
    index mark to similar words in your document,
    select Apply to all similar texts. To add the
    entries to a custom index, click the New
    User-defined Index icon, enter the name of
    the index, and then click OK.

There is a separate command that places the index
at the end of the document.

The third level is perhaps the most desirable but
is the hardest to implement. So I propose a
gradual approach. First, use my stand alone
program tyro.tcl This separate program actually
uses the makeindex program to generate the index,
but as you enter items the current version of
the index appears in a tk window. 

I should mention that makeindex is not the only
TeX game in town. There is another indexing
program in the TeX suite called Xindy. It is
little used. It adds additional capabilities not
found in makeindex, principally foreign alphabet
sorting. It uses style files for various
languages. I can be used with TeX (usually LaTeX),
the nroff family, and even sgm/html systems. It
is a very geeky approach to the indexing task.
But where non-romance languages are involved its
feature set is worth inspecting.

In a little bit I will create packages for Linux
and MSwindows utilizing my Tyro program for a
stand-alone indexing capability. 

Now I must go to the store before it rains :<)


John Culleton Wexford
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