How to Edit a Concordance File Using Word 2000

Word 2000 can mark all of your terms for you by using a document called a concordance file. The first step is to create an index. This file is a separate Word document that consists of a two-column table of the text that you want to appear in the index. Creating a concordance file helps save time so that you do not have to mark entries manually, scrolling through each document and identifying each word that should be included in the index.

Instructions

1. Open the document that contains a table and text that you wish to index. Choose the text that you want to index by highlighting it. Click on the menu bar and choose "Tools" then "AutoCorrect." This opens the "Autocorrect" dialog box. Click on the "Autocorrect" tab. Uncheck the box next to "Capitalize First Letter of Sentences." Uncheck this option because as you type entries in your file, you want to be sure that your Word program doesn't automatically capitalize your entries that you want to be in lower case.

2. Place your cursor in the last cell of the table of your index text. Press the "Tab" key on your keyboard to create the new row. In the new row, place your cursor in the first cell of the new row. Type the text that you want as your index. For example, if you want "net income" as your index, type it here. This will cause your Word program to prompt for every instance of the word "net income" to be marked. Repeat this in the second cell of your table. This shows how it will appear in your index.

3. Press your "Tab" key to create a new row if you want to create a subentry. In the second row's first cell choose text that will serve as your index. For example, you can type "Executive services." Press the "Tab" key to go to the second cell. In this cell, re-type your text, but separate the words with a colon. For example "executive; services." Separating it with a colon allows Word to create a subentry out of "executive." Subentries allow you to group similar items together.

4. Verify that Word uses the concordance file and marks it with index entries in an open document. Click on the menu bar and choose "Insert" then "Index and Tables." Click on the "Index" tab and click the "AutoMark" button. This opens the "Open Index AutoMark File" dialog box. Double-click on the concordance file that you wish to use. Your program searches through the documents for the words you chose in the first column of your concordance file. The first occurrence of each of an entry in each paragraph.