An alphabetical index provides access to the given information via keywords.
To find the information, users must know and use the right keywords. If they don’t, they won’t find the information.
Other than full-text search, a good index contains synonyms so that users can also find a topic if they know at least one alternative term for what they’re looking for. For example, a good index will direct users to a topic named “vehicles” even if they’re looking for “cars,” “trucks,” or “motorcycles.”
In contrast to full-text search, a well-designed index takes readers directly to the relevant topic rather than giving them a long list of hits to choose from.
In contrast to a table of contents, an index isn’t used for browsing. The index doesn’t show related information. It also doesn’t indicate the global context of a topic.
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