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<h3 class="section">13.3 Defining the Entries of an Index</h3>

<p><a name="index-Defining-indexing-entries-625"></a><a name="index-Index-entries-626"></a><a name="index-Entries-for-an-index-627"></a><a name="index-Specifying-index-entries-628"></a><a name="index-Creating-index-entries-629"></a>
The data to make an index come from many individual indexing commands
scattered throughout the Texinfo source file.  Each command says to add
one entry to a particular index; after formatting, the index will give
the current page number or node name as the reference.

  <p>An index entry consists of an indexing command at the beginning of a
line followed, on the rest of the line, by the entry.

  <p>For example, this section begins with the following five entries for
the concept index:

<pre class="example">     @cindex Defining indexing entries
     @cindex Index entries, defining
     @cindex Entries for an index
     @cindex Specifying index entries
     @cindex Creating index entries
</pre>
  <p>Each predefined index has its own indexing command&mdash;<code>@cindex</code>
for the concept index, <code>@findex</code> for the function index, and so
on, as listed in the previous section.

  <p><a name="index-Writing-index-entries-630"></a><a name="index-Index-entry-writing-631"></a>Concept index entries consist of text.  The best way to write an index
is to choose entries that are terse yet clear.  If you can do this,
the index often looks better if the entries are not capitalized, but
written just as they would appear in the middle of a sentence. 
(Capitalize proper names and acronyms that always call for upper case
letters.)  This is the case convention we use in most GNU manuals'
indices.

  <p>If you don't see how to make an entry terse yet clear, make it longer
and clear&mdash;not terse and confusing.  If many of the entries are several
words long, the index may look better if you use a different convention:
to capitalize the first word of each entry.  But do not capitalize a
case-sensitive name such as a C or Lisp function name or a shell
command; that would be a spelling error.

  <p>Whichever case convention you use, please use it consistently!

  <p>Entries in indices other than the concept index are symbol names in
programming languages, or program names; these names are usually
case-sensitive, so use upper and lower case as required for them.

  <p><a name="index-Index-font-types-632"></a>By default, entries for a concept index are printed in a small roman
font and entries for the other indices are printed in a small
<code>@code</code> font.  You may change the way part of an entry is
printed with the usual Texinfo commands, such as <code>@file</code> for
file names (see <a href="Marking-Text.html#Marking-Text">Marking Text</a>), and <code>@r</code> for the normal roman
font (see <a href="Fonts.html#Fonts">Fonts</a>).

  <blockquote>
<b>Caution:</b> Do not use a colon in an index entry.  In Info, a colon separates the
menu entry name from the node name, so a colon in the entry itself
confuses Info.  See <a href="Menu-Parts.html#Menu-Parts">Menu Parts</a>, for more information about the
structure of a menu entry. 
</blockquote>

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