Indexers use software packages to arrange, format and edit the entries in an index. The most widely used such packages for producing stand-alone back-of-book indexes are CINDEX, SKY Index and Macrex (known to indexers as ‘the big three’). These packages can produce indexes in a variety of formats such as RTF, Word, HTML and XML. Because these packages use common exchange formats, indexers can work in teams regardless of the software they use. A recent addition to the market is Index-Manager.
There are several programs for assisting in the production of website indexes, including HTML/Prep and HTML Indexer.
Many indexers provide a service embedding their index terms directly in document files, such as Microsoft Word, InDesign, FrameMaker, or XML, generally using software created specifically for this purpose. Consult the Indexing ebooks page for further information.
Indexers also use special software for compiling and maintaining thesauri.
Indexing software
Major software programs
Listing does not imply endorsement by ANZSI.
- CINDEX (Mac and PC)
- Index-Manager (Mac and PC)
- Macrex (PC only)
- SKY Index (PC only)
- CINDEX discussion list
- Sky Index discussion list
Selecting and using software
- Software tools for indexing, American Society for Indexing
- Online resources: helpful software, Publishing Technology Group, Society of Indexers
- ‘Software solutions’, Sylvia Coates, The Indexer, 2009, vol. 27, no. 4, pp. 168–172
- Software and hardware, in: Glenda Browne and Jon Jermey, The Indexing Companion, Port Melbourne, Victoria: Cambridge University Press, 2007, pp. 175–19
- ‘Software for HTML indexing: a comparative review’, Heather Hedden, The Indexer, 2006, vol. 25, no. 1, pp. 32–7
- ‘Which indexing program?‘, Edyth Binkowski, ANZSI Newsletter, 2006, vol. 2, no. 1, pg. 2
- ‘Sorting in CINDEX’, Frances Lennie, ANZSI Newsletter, 2011, vol. 7, no. 8, pp. 6–7, and no. 9, pg. 10
- Software field trip: sources of software, Jan C. Wright, Wright Information, 2005
- Software for indexing, edited by Sandi Schroeder, Wheat Ridge, CO: American Society of Indexers, 2003. Google books preview
- ‘CINDEX vs Sky Index‘, Michael Wyatt, AusSI Newsletter, 2000, vol. 24, no. 9, pp. 81, 84–8
Thesaurus management software
- Thesaurus management software, American Society for Indexing
- ‘Comparative evaluation of thesaurus creation software’, Heather Hedden, The Indexer, 2008, vol. 26, no. 2, pp. 50–59
- see also Thesauri
Metadata related resources
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- AGLS Metadata Standard (National Archives of Australia)
- Tools and software, Dublin Core Metadata Initiative
‘Automated’ indexing?
- ‘PDF ‘Index’ Generator — a concordance maker with delusions of grandeur’, Jon Jermey, ANZSI Newsletter, 2010, vol. 6, no. 1, p. 8