Seemingly Random BOLD Text in Index

[phlyx]

Attached a file with an example of some random stuff that shows a situation we can't figure out. We created index entries in Word 2016 (Windows x64) for the text in the document and for some reason the text in some of the entries shows up bold, in others it's not bold. Thing is we can't see anything in the codes or fonts that would make one display as bold and another not. We have some documents we're trying to create indexes for but can't seem to control what's bold and what's not.

Also would like to know if there's a way when you're creating index entries to make a certain entry indent from the other items.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Charles Kenyon]

The text showing up as bold in your index has been directly formatted as bold in the XE field. Other text that is bold in the XE field but does not show up that way in the index has the bold formatting from the paragraph style. Like the Table of Contents, the index picks up direct formatting but not formatting based on a paragraph style.
Indices - Complex Documents

[phlyx]

Ahhhh, thanks. For some reason if I select just the line in the body that is the indexed item it shows as bold. If I highlight just the XE field it shows up as bold. Yet the index entry still shows up not bold. BUT if I select the line above the indexed item, the indexed item and the line below the indexed item and make that whole selection as bold then the index item shows up as bold. Very odd but can deal with that.

Thanks!!!

[Charles Kenyon]

Yes. If something has bold in the paragraph style and is marked as not bold in the index entry formatted using the style (so showing as not bold in the XE field), it will show up as bold in the index. Bold is a toggle switch in Word.

For a better explanation, see TOC Tips and Tricks by Suzanne Barnhill. Look at the part about direct formatting. It works the same in the Index.

[phlyx]

Was odd because the text that I indexed was showing bold in the document, the XE information was showing bold in the document, and if I highlighted the whole line it showed up as bold. If I highlighted the line above down the the line below it showed up as bold but the index was still not bold. I had to highlight the line above and the line below and although it showed it was bold (highlighted B in the tool bar), to get the index to be bold I had to turn off the bold and then turn it back on. Can live with that as long as I know what I need to do to make it look right.

On the other side, is there a way to get an indexed item to be indented from other items so the index can be something like a multi-level list?

[Charles Kenyon]

Originally Posted by phlyx

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Also would like to know if there's a way when you're creating index entries to make a certain entry indent from the other items.

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This can be done by marking it as a subentry (which assumes you have a main entry).