Index generates garbage

[jefb75295167]

In the paperback 2 volumes of my first book, the generate index does not match the entries in the chapters. It leaves out topics and erroeous pages for many entries. How tofix this?

[kglad]

is this an adobe story question?

[jefb75295167]

No, it is my trying to publish paperback 2nd edition of my first book. The indexing functions does not draw from the chapter by chapter index. And the pages are wrong much of the time; missing topics, etc. My thoughts are to try it with CS5 instead of my CS3 on a different computer.

[kglad]

do you have a question about an adobe program?  if so, which program?

[jefb75295167]

Indesign CS3. Generate Index does not reference the indexes tied to each book document.

[kglad]

[moved from Creative Suites to InDesign]

[jane-e]

jefb75295167  wrote

And the pages are wrong much of the time; missing topics, etc. My thoughts are to try it with CS5 instead of my CS3 on a different computer.

Do you have CS5 on another computer? Because you can't buy it anymore.

And what operating system?

First: Open the book panel and confirm that your chapters are in order and the page numbers are correct. Show a screen shot if necessary.

Second: Open all chapters in the Book. Open the Index panel and enable Book (upper right). You won't see all Index entries unless you do both steps.

Third: Examine the Index entries and confirm each is correct.

Fourth: Regenerate your Index, including Book chapters.

[jefb75295167]

My wife has CS5 pro at work and she is putting it on her computer to work at home. Windows 10.

And did you mean to open all chapters like you would to work on them. I've never had to do that in the past in generating the index.

[jane-e]

You don't need to open all the chapters to generate the index—you don't need to have any chapters open, except the index chapter (as you know, because you do this!)

But when I am trouble-shooting or creating an index, I use the Index panel. Even when you click "Book" in the upper right, you only see entries for the chapters that are currently open.

So if my topic is "Cats, Siamese", and it's referenced in multiple chapters, I like to confirm that I don't have "Siamese Cats" as an index entry in another place. (Yes, it's okay as a cross-reference—not the same thing.) So I open all the chapters. It's the only way to see all the entries. This is where you make sure the Index markers are in the right places and the page numbers are correct.

Your wife may have trouble installing CS5 with Windows 10. And if she succeeds, it may crash a lot. Google CS5 and Windows 10.

If you download the trial version or buy a monthly or yearly plan, be sure to save each file in .idml, which can be opened in CS4 and later. You may want these for your next revision!

[jefb75295167]

i TOOK MY NOW pART b OF MY FIRST BOOK and opened all the chapters. Then i tried to correlate the index in the book (chapters) to the index created at the end. Almost nothing matched. then i went thru the A's and reviewed the marked words in the chapter index the index tied to the chapter.. They matched except for 1 item?? Then I generated the index with all the chapters opened and got the same index as before. What the ....  It makes no sense!!!!

[jefb75295167]

I have CS5 on another computer, but I cannot save my CS3 files as other than a document or templete in CS3.indd.

[Barb Binder]

CS5 can open up CS3 files.

~Barb

[Laubender]

BarbBinder  wrote

CS5 can open up CS3 files.

~Barb

Note: Without CS4 you'll never be able to save back to CS3.

The route for saving back would be:

CS5 > IDML > CS4 > INX > CS3

Regards,
Uwe

[jane-e]

Is CS4 the last one that can save back to .inx, Uwe? I was trying to remember the inx details.

[Laubender]

Hi Jane,

CS4 is the only version of InDesign that can export to INX and IDML.
CS5 and later: Only export to IDML.

Regards,
Uwe

[jefb75295167]

Any ideas on how to determine why the files will not open inCS5?

[Laubender]

Yes. Check this script by Jongware:

[Ann] Identify Your InDesign File

Besides that: Were any 3rd-party plug-ins used with your CS3 documents?
Any error messages when trying to open the documents with CS5 ?

Regards,
Uwe

[jefb75295167]

No plug ins or error messeages. I'm at tan ending point. I'm just going to create the index from all the entries in each chapter. Time consuming, but i will know its right.

Thank you all for your help.

[jefb75295167]

Thank you. but so far I cannot open my files in CS5??. Since I'm done with CS3 after I publish this 2nd edition, I will use the newer version later.

[Barb Binder]

Hi Jeff:

Issues in the generated index are coming out of the entries in the Index panel. There are a few commands in the Index panel menu that may help: Show Unused Topics and Remove Unused Topics but mostly you just need to comb through the entries to remove the junk.

~Barb

[Barb Binder]

After re-reading your second post, two more thoughts:

1. Be sure Include Book Documents is enabled in the Generate Index dialog box and
2. What operating system are you using, exactly? CS3 was released in 2007, CS5 in 2010. Neither is supported on current operating systems, nor are they expected to work smoothly, if at all. There will be no further updates for either one, so if you have issues with no apparent user mistakes, that may be why.

~Barb

[jefb75295167]

Except that my CS3 files will not work with latest version of CS. So am I just screwed here? I do not mind paying the monthly fee to get my old files finally done, but they say that will not work.

[BobLevine]

Who's they?

What makes you think CS3 files won't open with the latest CC version of InDesign?

[jefb75295167]

I saw it on the adobe website, I think?

[Barb Binder]

You can give it a try by downloading the current version of InDesign (CC 2018) here:
Free InDesign | Download Adobe InDesign CC full version

I would suggest holding off on the download until you have time to work on this. It is a free, 7-day trial. If you decide you want to commit to this version (recommended), then you can explore the various subscription plans here:
Creative Cloud pricing and membership plans | Adobe Creative Cloud

Note that the yearly subscriptions are a better value, but there is a penalty for cancelling early. If you are still undecided after the trial expires, you might try the Single App month-by-month and continue for another month. They all auto-renew, so pay attention to that date.

~Barb