WD: Index Field \e or \l Switch Limited to Number of Characters

ID: Q193189

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 1.0, 1.1, 1.1a, 2.0, 2.0a, 2.0a-CD, 2.0b, 2.0c, 6.0, 6.0a, 6.0c
• Microsoft Word for Windows 95, versions 7.0, 7.0a
• Microsoft Word for the Macintosh, versions 6.0, 6.0.1, 6.0.1a

SUMMARY

In Microsoft Word, if you use the INDEX field with the \e switch, there is an upper limit of five contiguous characters (three in Word 2.x and earlier versions) that you can use to separate the index from the page number. The default character is a blank space.

Similarly, if you use the \l switch with the INDEX field to specify a page number separator, Word imposes a limit of five characters (three in Word 2.x and earlier versions). The default character is a blank space.

If you specify more than five characters to use with either switch, Word will use only the first five (three in Word 2.x and earlier versions).

In the following example, periods are used to separate the index from the page number, and a semicolon separates the page numbers:

   {index \e "..." \l ";"}

REFERENCES

"Microsoft Word for Windows Technical Reference," page 170

"Microsoft Word for Windows and OS/2 Technical Reference," page 359

Additional query words:

Keywords          : kbdta kbfield winword macword word6 word7 word95 
Version           : MACINTOSH:6.0,6.0.1,6.0.1a; WINDOWS:1.0,1.1,1.1a,2.0,2.0a,2.0a-CD,2.0b,2.0c,6.0,6.0a,6.0c,7.0,7.0a
Platform          : MACINTOSH WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbinfo

Last Reviewed: February 13, 1999