Free Book Indexing Software For Mac
Index Generator Version 6.3 is now available. Index Generator will take a PDF book and produce a list of words with associated page numbers. If the book format is in some other form it must be converted to PDF (Microsoft Word offers this as a Save As option. OpenOffice also exports to PDF). Words can then be selected to be included in an index for the book. Individual pages of a word occurrence can be excluded or included.
Words can be set to reference other words. Words can be a subheading of other words. Once the words have been selected, the output can be formatted to your liking. The index can be printed or saved as a Microsoft Word File, RTF File, Plain Text File or PDF File. The preview dialog allows coping to the clipboard for pasting into an application of your choosing.
Index Generator can now process password protected PDF files. Index Generator Setup.exe is for Windows Operating Systems. Index Generator.jar is for other Operating Systems such as Linux and Mac.
Just as buying an accounts package does not qualify you as an accountant, using indexing software will not make you an indexing expert. The packages examined are great tools but they will not turn you into a lexicographer. They will, however, help you recognise the skills and fine judgement required to compile an effective index. Indexing software is for the experts. This is just an overview so you can assess what is involved if you, as a writer, are tempted to prepare an index or if you fancy learning this skill. Three packages are inspected here. It would be unfair to use the term 'review' because a full ‘live test’ has not been carried out on each package.
These are not 'me too' products as they offer different facilities and work in different ways. The ‘look and feel’ of the packages differ. With CINDEX you put the entries on what looks like an index card.
Free Book Indexing Software For Mac Mac
The cards can be defined in a format to suit the work. For Sky Index the metaphor is that of a database. The entry sheet looks just like a spreadsheet with each row on the grid as an index entry. The latter makes your progress easily visible. Macrex has a ‘no-nonsense’ blank sheet onto which items are typed within some minimal formatting Indexing software is for the experts.
This is just an overview so you can assess what is involved if you, as a writer, are tempted to prepare an index or if you fancy learning this skill. The software earns its keep by speeding up the process of compiling and amending an index. You can repeat the page reference from the previous record with a single keystroke.
Facilities make it easy to copy fields from the previous record, duplicate records and swap fields. As you type, the program second-guesses what you are about to type, based on earlier entries and the number of times you have typed them. In Sky Index it is called 'Auto entry' facility and 'Auto-Completion' in Cindex. Keyboard-shortcuts store common terms, allowing you to type a few letters which are expanded automatically. Cindex calls these 'abbreviations' and Sky Index 'acronyms'. Sky Index achieves this with a simple mouse click while Cindex creates a separate file of abbreviations which requires some forethought. If pages are added or deleted the programs automatically increment or decrement the range of pages.
Free Book Indexing Software
With Cindex, you can drag text from outside the index but, strangely, you cannot drag it between entries within the same index, while Sky Index adopts precisely the opposite model!. Tasks such as sorting and repagination make it easy to reorganise the index. Further facilities allow the indexer to concentrate on the words and the construction of the index. If you are indexing periodicals or a multi-part publication, it is valuable to export the word list which saves time and achieves consistency.
If you are working with others, you can often import records prepared using other software and most indexing packages. You can either buy or create your own supplementary dictionary for spell checking. Sky Index and Cindex permits as many indexes as your computer’s memory will allow, which is handy if you are preparing an author as well as a subject index. The end product Most indexes will work with galley proofs that the book designer will have paginated. The index is created as a completely independent document.
It is not constructed by tagging or marking up the digital text although the latest versions of CINDEX and Sky can now embed codes to documents, allowing the word-processing software to assign the page numbers to the index. You drag index entries into an RTF-compatible program such as MS Word so the index is generated within the word-processor. (If you want to match the pages on your word processor manuscript to the printed pagination.) Having observed the evolution of software for over 20 years, I believe this specialist market for indexers has a way to go to achieve the convergence seen among the standard office packages. You can now move from one brand of spreadsheet or word processor to another and find 90% of the facilities familiar.
Free Software For Mac
It is probable that they will learn from each other over the years to provide the best range of features in one package. In the meantime, potential indexers will need to take advantage of the generous trial versions offered. (and why you might need some specialist help) CINDEX. Demonstration Copy. Student Edition $80 - Limited to 500 entries and no spell-checker.
Standard Edition $525. Publishers' Edition $750 - Provides some admin facilities for a multi-user environment.