IndexAssistant

Frequently Asked Questions & Troubleshooting

My manuscript is in WordPerfect or another word processor format, but I have Word. Can I use IndexAssistant for Indexing?

Yes. Export your manuscript to Word or RTF and then open it in Word, or use Word’s filters to import your document. Then proceed with building your index. You can export the final index out of Word to send to your publisher, if needed. Remember that for the purposes of indexing, the import elements of your document are: text and pagination. So long as you can get your document into Word with the text on the same pages, and have your publisher work with an index contained in a Word document or exported into another format from Word, you can use Word and IndexAssistant to build your index for publication.

I can’t open the attachment sent to me when I purchased IA.

The attachment sent to you is a self-extracting archive containing IndexAssistant. Some security software such as ZoneAlarm of Norto Anti-Virus will change the extension of this file from .exe to something else, to protect you from running executable attachments by accident. If your security software has done this, change the extension back to exe.

When I try to install IndexAssistant, nothing happens, or I get a message saying macros are disabled.

IA is programmed in Word’s macro language. To install and run IA, you need to set Word’s macro security settings to medium (Tools>Macro>Security in Word 2000 and higher; macro setting in Tools>Option in Word 97). If your settings have not already been set to medium before installation, then you will need to reopen the manual before trying to use the install process, and when you open this document, you need to tell Word to enable the macros in it. (Note about Word macro security: On the medium security setting, Word will trust macros contained in your user templates or start up template directories, which is where IA will be installed. For all other documents Word will ask whether its macros should be enabled. These are precautions against macro viruses. Do not install any Word documents that you do not trust in your user templates or start up template directories.)

When I look for the place to double-click to install IndexAssistant, I see codes between { } characters.

In Tools>Options>View, uncheck Show Fieldcodes.

I followed the directions to install my purchased copy of IA, but the demo version keeps running when I launch IA

Do a manual install as follows:

1) In Word, go to Tools>Options and then to the File Locations Tab. Identify the directory for Startup files.
2) Navigate to the folder where you are unzipped the IA files from your purchased copy; copy the file IndexAssistant.dot to the directory for startup files; make sure you delete IndexAssistantDemo.dot from the directory for Startup files.
3) Shutdown Word and restart it.

I don’t see IndexAssistant in the Tools menu in Word.

Make sure you’ve installed IndexAssistant. Also make sure that IndexAssistant is available to your document. If you installed IndexAssistant as a User Template rather than Startup Template, you will need to attach your document to the template to make it available. Select Tools>Templates and Add-Ins; click [Attach]; select “IndexAssistant.dot”; press <Enter>; click [Ok]. See the Getting Started section for more details.

I was using IndexAssistant, and have now exited it. But when I type quotes or apostrophes I don't get curly quotes anymore.

This can sometimes happen if your IndexAssistant session was not properly completed. To fix in Word: Tools>AutoCorrect>AutoFormat as You Type; turn on Straight Quotes with Smart Quotes. (IndexAssistant turns off this feature when it is loaded, to make it easier to manipulate XE field; it restores your original setting on exit, but an improper shutdown can interfere with this behaviour.)

I was using IndexAssistant, and have now exited it. But I am still seeing {XE} field codes.

This can sometimes happen if your IndexAssistant session was not properly completed. To fix in Word: Tools>Options>View; uncheck the Hidden Text box. (IndexAssistant shows hidden text when it is loaded, to make it possible to manipulate XE field; it restores your original setting on exit, but an improper shutdown can interfere with this behaviour.)