6.14. Indexing

Although Microsoft may hate to admit it, few people actually use Word to publish books. Most "real" books may be written in Word, but they're usually then poured into a proper page-layout program like PageMaker, QuarkXPress, or InDesign for the rest of the process.

That doesn't stop Microsoft from wishing its word processor were up to the challenge, though. As evidence, here's Microsoft's indexing feature, which can spew forth a professional-looking index for a document, complete with page numbers, subentries, and the works. (The operative word, however, is can; indexing involves considerable patience and tolerance on your part. As you'll soon find out, indexing often involves a descent into Word's sub-basement of field codes—a pseudo-programming language that's not intended for casual experimentation.)