2024 Preconference Workshops

Spread Your Indexing Wings
Bryn Mawr College
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Tuesday, June 4

First Flight: or, A Jam-Packed Introduction to Indexing for New Indexers

9:00 AM–4:00 PM Fred Leise.
Designed for those individuals considering or beginning a career in indexing, this workshop provides an introduction to and overview of the basics of indexing, the indexing process, and the indexing business.

Topics to be covered include characteristics of indexers; what indexes are and how they are structured; the index creation process, including indexable concepts, metatopics, term selection for headings and subheadings, locators and index editing; administration of indexing projects; and the business of indexing.

You won’t become a practicing indexer after just this workshop, but you will be able to understand what an index is, the business context for creating indexes, and the complexities of running an indexing business. In sum, whether indexing is right for you.

Lunch is included.

Intermediate/Advanced Workshops

Marketing Flight School

9:00 AM–12:00 PM Kendra Millis.
The goal of this workshop is to help you develop marketing materials and a marketing plan. This is a hands-on workshop, so bring a laptop or notebook and be prepared to write and take notes! Topics will include branding, methods, formats, introductory letters, and ongoing marketing. When you leave, you should have a plan for what your marketing materials will look like, a list of what materials you plan to use, a draft of your first letter, and ideas for how to put it all together.

Lunch is included, after the workshop.

Embedded Indexing in Microsoft Word

1:00–4:00 PM Devon Thomas.
This is an introductory, hands-on exploration of embedded indexing in Word. Beginning with the basic principles of embedded indexing and how the process differs from back-of-the-book indexing we will then explore the indexing functions in Microsoft Word, including marking indexing entries, force-sorting, creating page ranges, cross-references, and entries in footnotes and endnotes. We will also generate the index and make edits with the indexing module and directly in the index tags.

With a solid grounding in how the Word indexing module works we will then look at some of the tools that can be used with Word to make the indexing process more efficient. While after this workshop you will be able to construct an index in Word alone, you will see why many indexers use additional tools.

Note that this workshop will not discuss indexing principles and assumes a basic knowledge of index construction. Participants will need to bring a laptop with Microsoft Word already installed. Add-on tool installation is encouraged for hands-on participation or questions, but not required. A list of suggested tools will be provided. This workshop does not cover embedded indexing in other platforms, such as InDesign or XML. Although the basic principles of embedded indexing apply to all platforms, time does not allow for an in-depth look at the all the variations in implementation.

Lunch is included, before the workshop.

Software Workshop

Fresh Start with Cindex 4.3

2:00–4:00 PM Maria Sullivan.

Join us for an exciting session as we explore the newly open-sourced Cindex 4.3. Whether you’re a seasoned Cindex user or just getting started, this session has something for everyone. Let’s dive into the basics, uncover hidden gems, and discuss advanced features. Bring your questions and let’s embark on this Cindex journey together!

1. Back to Basics
- Creating, navigating, and editing indexes
- Managing projects and formatting options
- Exporting indexes
2. The "Why" Behind the Features
- Understand the rationale behind settings and functions
- Discover everyday functionality you might have missed
3. Advanced Exploration
- A brisk walk through powerful features
- Unleash the full potential of Cindex
4. Q&A and Discussion
- Share your experiences and project needs
- Let’s learn from each other