You must select the text you want to index before opening the Mark Index Entry dialog box. To open the Mark Index Entry dialog box, press ALT+SHIFT+X.

If you add, delete, move, or edit index entries (index entry: A field code that marks specific text for inclusion in an index. When you mark text as an index entry, Microsoft Word inserts an XE (Index Entry) field formatted as hidden text.) or other text in a document, you should update the index. For example, if you edit an index entry and move it to a different page, you need to make sure that the index reflects the revised entry and page number. Try the following solutions:

• Update the index field An index is inserted in your document as a field (field: A set of codes that instructs Microsoft Word to insert text, graphics, page numbers, and other material into a document automatically. For example, the DATE field inserts the current date.). To update the index, click to the left of the index and press F9.
• Hide fields or hidden text Index entries and table of authorities entries are inserted in your document as fields in hidden text format. To hide these fields or other hidden text in your document, click Show/Hide on the Standard toolbar (toolbar: A bar with buttons and options that you use to carry out commands. To display a toolbar, press ALT and then SHIFT+F10.). Then update the index by clicking in the index and pressing F9.

• Display the hidden breaks between sections or pages Your document may contain section breaks (section break: A mark you insert to show the end of a section. A section break stores the section formatting elements, such as the margins, page orientation, headers and footers, and sequence of page numbers.) or page breaks (page break: The point at which one page ends and another begins. Microsoft Word inserts an "automatic" (or soft) page break for you, or you can force a page break at a specific location by inserting a "manual" (or hard) page break.) that are in hidden text format. First, display the hidden text by clicking Show/Hide on the Standard toolbar. Then find and remove the hidden text format.

  How?

  1. On the Edit menu, click Find.
  2. On the Find tab, click Format, and then click Font.

     Note   If the Format button is not visible, click More.

  3. Select the Hidden check box, and click OK.
  4. Click Find Next.
  5. Select the hidden section break or page break, and on the Format menu, click Font.
  6. In the Font dialog box, clear the Hidden check box.

  After you remove the hidden text format, update the index by clicking in the index and pressing F9.

An index is inserted in your document as a field (field: A set of codes that instructs Microsoft Word to insert text, graphics, page numbers, and other material into a document automatically. For example, the DATE field inserts the current date.). If you see something similar to {INDEX} instead of the index, the field is being displayed instead of the field results (field results: Text or graphics inserted in a document when Microsoft Word carries out a field's instructions. When you print the document or hide field codes, the field results replace the field codes.). To view the results for the index, select the entire index field, including the braces {}, and then press SHIFT+F9.