re-order index subkeywords

[Guest]

Is there a way to change the order of subkeywords in the index? We are using See and See also references, and want them to be displayed first under the main keyword.

[Captiv8r]

Hi there techscribe

There certainly is. First, you need to ensure you aren't using a Binary Index. So click File > Project Settings... > General tab and DE-select the Binary Index option.

Once you do this, you should be able to order the sub keywords as you want.

Cheers... Rick

[Guest]

Sorry to say that it didn't work. We're doing WebHelp. Although I deselected the Binary Index option, the subkeywords still sort alphabetically.

[Captiv8r]

Hi again

Well dratdarn!

I don't suppose you might opt for door number two then. Prefix the sub keywords with either 1. 2. or a. b. to force the sort order?

Cheers... Rick

[Guest]

Ha! Maybe door #3: Prefix the other subs with "the" to force them after See!

What's interesting is that in the source code for the HHK file, the entries appear in whatever order I dragged them. Something is re-rendering them alphabetically for display in the index. But what? But what?

Oh well, we tried. Thanks for your help!

[Captiv8r]

Hi again

Well, I think it's the fact your layout type is WebHelp. This is why the keywords don't automatically allow you to move them. I think it's probably because in the world of compiled .CHM, the .HHK file is used. But during the WebHelp generation process, the .HHK is converted to what WebHelp needs. And this means that an arbitrary listing will fail.

Just a thought... Rick

[AmyGfromNZ]

My trick is to prefix with "..."

So you get things like:

• 
  
• veeblefeetzers
  
  • 
    
  • ...see also: feebleveetzers
    
  • Acme brand
    
  • Potrezeebie brand
    
  
  

Note that this trick has a slight flaw in that "." is not the first punctuation character in the ordering used by RH, so certain words will still come ahead of "...see also". In my case, this shows up when I document command line flags like "-i". You may not have any index items with this problem.