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Index - grouping page ranges


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When creating an index, the Index panel has an option Group page ranges, which when checked groups ranges of three or more consecutive page numbers (for example, pages 1,2,3,4 will become 1-4).

Is there any way to group just two pages in the index, so for example, pages 1,2 will become 1-2?

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20 minutes ago, DB_ said:

Is there any way to group just two pages in the index, so for example, pages 1,2 will become 1-2?

No, but I have to ask what is the actual difference between 1, 2 and 1-2? No semantic difference, a very slight aesthetic difference. Plus, I have been trained by decades of reading to see x-y as "more than two pages" so it would confuse, and irritate, me to see 1-2 instead of 1, 2. It is a convention, to see it not honoured would make me question the value of the index and therefore question the validity of the entire book.

Aside: If you think I am harsh my sister would return or not purchase the book because of something like this and send a strongly worded letters to the author, editor and publisher.

Mac Pro (Late 2013) Mac OS 12.7.4 
Affinity Designer 2.4.0 | Affinity Photo 2.4.0 | Affinity Publisher 2.4.0 | Beta versions as they appear.

I have never mastered color management, period, so I cannot help with that.

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Quote

I have to ask what is the actual difference between 1, 2 and 1-2?

To me, this is a big difference:

  • 1, 2 suggests two separate mentions
  • 1-2 suggests text about the indexed topic continuing from one page to the next.

I just checked the index of a book published elsewhere about a similar topic. For some entries, it contains entries of the form 1-2, for just two consecutive pages.

I am just looking for a way to achieve something that is clearly used by other indexers, even if you would not use this option or like it.

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I just checked and InDesign has many options for page grouping:

You can create index entries that include a page range (such as cats 82–87) instead of a single page number. The Type pop‑up menu in the New Page Reference dialog box includes the following page-range options:

Current Page
The page range does not extend beyond the current page.

To Next Style Change
The page range extends from the index marker to the next change of paragraph style.

To Next Use Of Style
The page range extends from the index marker to the page where the next occurrence of the paragraph style specified in the adjacent paragraph style pop‑up menu appears.

To End Of Story
The page range extends from the index marker to the end of the current thread of text frames that contain text.

To End Of Document
The page range extends from the index marker to the end of the document.

To End Of Section
The page range extends from the index marker to the end of the current section as defined in the Pages panel. (See Document numbering options.)

For Next # Of Paragraphs
The page range extends from the index marker to the end of the number of paragraphs specified in the adjacent box, or to the end of as many paragraphs as exist.

For Next # Of Pages
The page range extends from the index marker to the end of the number of pages specified in the adjacent box, or to the end of as many pages as exist.

Suppress Page Range
Turn off page range.

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  • Staff

Hi @DB_,

Welcome to the Affinity Forums :)

1 hour ago, DB_ said:

Is there any way to group just two pages in the index, so for example, pages 1,2 will become 1-2?

Unfortunately as Bruce has mentioned, there isn't such an option in Publisher currently, as only 2 indexes grouped will always display as 1,2 etc.

I'll be sure to move this thread to the feedback section of our forums, for the devs to see and consider adding this in a future update.

I hope this helps!

Please Note: I am now out of the office until Tuesday 2nd April on annual leave.

If you require urgent assistance, please create a new thread and a member of our team will be sure to assist asap.

Many thanks :)

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1 hour ago, DB_ said:
  • 1-2 suggests text about the indexed topic continuing from one page to the next.

so 3-9 means at least 5 pages exclusively about the topic? I would read that and think the topic is mentioned on each page starting with 3 and ending with 9, could be 6 mentions or 36 mentions on the six pages.

Mac Pro (Late 2013) Mac OS 12.7.4 
Affinity Designer 2.4.0 | Affinity Photo 2.4.0 | Affinity Publisher 2.4.0 | Beta versions as they appear.

I have never mastered color management, period, so I cannot help with that.

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2 hours ago, Old Bruce said:

so 3-9 means at least 5 pages exclusively about the topic? I would read that and think the topic is mentioned on each page starting with 3 and ending with 9, could be 6 mentions or 36 mentions on the six pages.

 

15 minutes ago, sfriedberg said:

Not exclusively.  There could be other topics discussed on those pages, for which there could be other index entries.

Here's an example. The book is about Wine in the world. Chapter 2 (say p20-50) is France. Within France, each region has a few pages. p25-30 covers Bordeaux, p30-35 covers Champagne, p36-40, Savoie p41-42.

Within the Bordeaux section, it could even happen that the word "Bordeaux" is not mentioned on every page. But the pages are still about the subject of Bordeaux.

The index should show:

  • Bordeaux 25-30
  • Burgundy 36-40
  • Champagne 30-35
  • Savoie 41-42

It's not impossible that the Burgundy section might mention also Bordeaux, say on pages 37, 38 and 39. These should NOT be grouped, but should appear individually as they are separate mentions, even if they are on consecutive pages. For these the index should show:

  • Bordeaux 37, 38, 39

Making overall for Bordeaux:

  • Bordeaux 25-30, 37, 38, 39

As this is very much a basic, generic requirement of an index, the user should have a way to achieve this.

Edited by DB_
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