Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. 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: Creating a Normal Index.

Creating a Normal Index

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 6, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021

Once you have inserted all your index entries and subentries, as detailed in other WordTips, Word allows you to create a complete index by following these steps:

Position the insertion point where you want the index inserted.
Display the References tab of the ribbon.
In the Index group click Insert Index. Word displays the Index dialog box; the Index tab should be selected. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Index tab of the Index dialog box.

Use the controls in the dialog box to indicate how you want the index to appear.
Click on OK.

Alternatively, you can follow these steps to create a normal index:

Position the insertion point where you want the index inserted.
Press Ctrl+F9 to insert field brackets. Make sure the insertion point stays between the brackets.
Type index.
Press F9 to update the field information. Word replaces the field with the index when the document is printed.

If you decide to use the index field to create your index, there are quite a few field switches you can use to control how Word creates the index. The most useful of these switches are discussed in other WordTips or in Word's Help system.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (6017) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Creating a Normal Index.

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

Auto Creation of an Acronym List

If you use a lot of acronyms in your documents, you may want a quick way to compile those acronyms and their definitions ...

Discover More

Sorting Text as Numbers

When you are sorting by text values, Excel can be very literal, which may not get you the sorting that you want. This tip ...

Discover More

Specifying Paper Trays for Specific Pages in a Single Print Job

If your printer has multiple paper trays, you may want to send some pages to one tray and other pages to a different ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 365 applications with VBA programming. Written in clear terms and understandable language, the book includes systematic tutorials and contains both intermediate and advanced content for experienced VB developers. Designed to be comprehensive, the book addresses not just one Office application, but the entire Office suite. Check out Mastering VBA for Microsoft Office 365 today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Specifying a Collating Sequence for Indexes

The indexing feature provided by Word can be a great help, but in some situations, it may not sort your index as you ...

Discover More

Indexing a Range of Pages

After you get your document ready for indexing by inserting index fields throughout it, you may want to index only a ...

Discover More

Adding Hyperlinks to an Index

Word provides a full set of tools you can use to generate an index for your document. One thing you can't do, however, is ...

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 four less than 9?

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.