Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Indexing Based on a Range of Letters.

Indexing Based on a Range of Letters

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 23, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365

Word allows you to create indexes for your documents easily and quickly. Other issues of WordTips have discussed how to create index entries and subentries. Once this is done, you can create an index for a range of letters by following these steps:

Place the insertion point at the location in your document where you want the partial index created.
Press Ctrl+F9 to insert field brackets. Make sure the insertion point stays between the brackets.
Type index \p followed by the range of letters for which you want an index. For instance, you could type index \p D-R to specify you only wanted an index created for index entries beginning with the letters D—R, inclusive.
Press F9 to update the field information. Word replaces the field with the partial index.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (12395) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Indexing Based on a Range of Letters.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Automatically Saving Versions

The versioning feature in Word can be very handy as you develop your documents. Here's how to set it up so that a new ...

Discover More

Nesting IF Worksheet Functions

The IF worksheet function is very handy to make conditional evaluations. You are not limited to a single IF comparison, ...

Discover More

Sorting within a Chart

When creating a chart based on data in a worksheet, you may want to sort the information in the chart without rearranging ...

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! Are you ready to harness the full power of Word 2013 to create professional documents? In this comprehensive guide you'll learn the skills and techniques for efficiently building the documents you need for your professional and your personal life. Check out Word 2013 In Depth today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Creating an Index Entry for a Range of Pages

Putting together an index for your documents can be challenging, but Word provides some great tools to make the task ...

Discover More

Inconsistent Formatting in an Index

When indexing a document, you may find that some of your index entries aren't formatted the same as your other index ...

Discover More

Improper Index References

When indexing a document, you may get some funny results once in a while. If you get single index entries when you were ...

Discover More

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is five more than 8?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.