How to Manage Index Topics

Every topic in your index has its own page in the Index panel. Open it to rename the topic, add the other words your text uses for it, indent it under another topic, send readers elsewhere, merge it or delete it.

Every change applies at once, as a step Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+Z⌘ Cmd+⇧ Shift+ZCtrl+Shift+Z undoes. There is no Apply. To open the panel, see where to find the Index panel.

How to find a topic

The panel lists every topic in the order your index prints them, under letter bars, with N topics · N references at the top.

In the list	To
Search topics…	Find a topic by its name or its other spellings.
Needs attention	What to fix, each with its button (see what Needs attention means).
The chips on a row	Where the topic’s references are, one chip per section. Click one to go there; click again for the next.
N not indexed	The topic has that many mentions not filed yet.
The trash can	Delete the topic (point at its row to see it).
A topic’s name	Open its page.

How to edit an index topic

Click the topic in the list. Its page opens.
Change what you need. Each change applies as you make it.

On a topic’s page	To
Back to topics, the arrows	Go back to the list, or to the topic before or after this one.
Topic name	Rename it. The old name stays as another spelling, so its references still match.
Sort as	File it under another letter: The Hobbit sorted as Hobbit. Leave it empty to sort by the name.
Also matches	Other words your text uses for the topic: a nickname, a short form. Plurals ending in s or es are found without one.
Match case exactly	Match only as capitalized: Turkey but not turkey.
See also	Send readers to another topic.
Subentry of	Indent it under another topic.
References	Every place filed under the topic, by section. Click one to go there, star the main discussion, or × to remove one.
Merge into	Fold this topic into another.
Delete topic and N references	Delete the topic and its references at once (undo brings them back).

When you add another spelling, Lacuna counts where your book uses it and offers Index N mentions to file them all. Also list (“Abe Lincoln. See Lincoln, Abraham”) prints the spelling as its own entry that sends readers to this topic.

The star on a reference marks the topic’s main discussion: the place readers should turn to first. With Bold the main discussion on (it is to start), its page number prints in bold. Star it on the topic’s page, or click the indexed word in your text and click its star.

How to make a topic a subentry

A subentry sits indented under its main topic: wild under cats.

Open the topic’s page.
Under Subentry of, pick the main topic, or type a new name to make one.

Topics nest up to three levels. Click the × beside Subentry of to make it a main topic again. To file many at once, type cats > wild in Add topics.

How to add See and See also cross-references

Open the topic’s page and click Add a See or See also. A new line appears, set to Automatic and your first topic.
Choose the kind.
Choose the topic to send readers to. Only topics already in your index are offered.

Kind	Prints
Automatic	See while this topic has no references of its own, See also once it has. New cross-references start here.
See	Sends readers to the topic that holds the page numbers: Honest Abe. See Lincoln, Abraham.
See also	Adds a related topic after this one’s page numbers.
Custom	Your own words in place of See, such as See under.

The Renders line under them shows how the entry reads, with sample page numbers. Click the × at the end of a line to remove it.

How to merge two index topics

Merge two topics that mean the same thing: Harris and Harris, Betty.

How to merge two index topics

Open the topic whose name should go.
Under Merge into, pick the topic that keeps its name.
Read what will happen and click Merge.

Its references move to the other topic, and its name stays there as another spelling. When Lacuna spots two topics that look alike, Needs attention offers Merge for them too.

How to delete index topics

Deleting a topic also removes its references from your text. The words themselves stay.

To delete	Do this
One topic, from the list	Point at its row, click the trash can, then Delete topic.
One topic, from its page	Click Delete topic and N references at the bottom.
Every topic	Open Index options (the settings button beside Add topics), choose Delete all topics…, then Delete all topics.

Press Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+Z⌘ Cmd+⇧ Shift+ZCtrl+Shift+Z to bring a topic and its references back.

What Needs attention means

The box at the top of the topic list shows what to fix, each row with its button. It hides when there is nothing left.

When it says	Then
You do not have an index section…	Yes adds one at the end of your book (the Index section). No puts the question away.
N mentions are not indexed yet	Review lists them all.
“A” looks like the same topic as “B”	Merge folds the first into the second.
“X” has no references	Delete topic, or find its mentions with another spelling first.
“X” is filed under “T”, but its words no longer name it	You changed the words. File them under the topic they name now, keep them as another spelling, make a topic of them, or remove the reference. Show where lists the places.

Questions

Why does Needs attention say my topic has no references?

The topic is in your index, but no place in your text is filed under it, so it would print with no page numbers. Its words may be spelled differently in your book: add that spelling under Also matches, then Index N mentions. Delete it only if your book never mentions it.

Can I undo deleting a topic?

Yes. Press Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+Z⌘ Cmd+⇧ Shift+ZCtrl+Shift+Z: the topic and every reference come back, in one step.