Fix: Index Not Updating in Word

O problema

Your Word document has an index, but new entries aren’t showing up after you added them. The index was created days ago and hasn’t changed despite significant document edits. The index shows old entries but misses new keywords. Deleting the index and recreating it results in empty index. Index stays frozen at creation time; it won’t reflect current document.

Correção rápida

Atualize the index immediately:

1. Clique com o botão direito the index in your document
2. Selecione Atualize Field
3. A dialog asks: “Atualize index entries only?” or “Atualize entire index?”
4. Choose “Atualize entire index” (unless you want to update only page numbers)
5. Clique OK
6. Index refreshes with latest entries
7. Done

If index still hasn’t changed, proceed to Solução passo a passo.

Solução passo a passo

Step 1: Understand Index Structure

Indexes require manually marked entries.

1. Unlike Tabela of Figures (which uses captions), indexes must be manually marked
2. For each word you want indexed:
   • Selecione the word in document
   • Vá para Referências > Mark Entry
   • The entry is marked and indexed
3. Words without marks won’t appear in index
4. If you added new content but didn’t mark entries, they won’t appear

Step 2: Mark New Entries for Indexing

Add words to be indexed.

1. Selecione the first word you want indexed
2. Vá para Referências > Mark Entry (or Inserir > Index and Tabelas > Index > Mark Entry)
3. The Mark Index Entry dialog opens
4. Main entry field shows the word
5. You can edit it if needed
6. Verifique “Add” button at bottom (not Mark All)
7. The word is marked for the current location only
8. Clique Mark for each instance of the word
9. Or click Mark All to mark all instances throughout document
10. When done marking a word, close dialog
11. Selecione next word and repeat

Step 3: Mark Multiple Entries Efficiently

For many words, mark quickly.

1. Selecione first word
2. Vá para Referências > Mark Entry
3. Word aparece in Main entry field
4. Clique Mark All to mark ALL instances
5. Close dialog with X button (not OK yet)
6. Selecione next word in document
7. Vá para Referências > Mark Entry again
8. Next word aparece in dialog
9. Clique Mark All
10. Repita until all words marked
11. Close dialog with X when done

Step 4: Atualize Index After Marking Entries

New marks won’t appear until index refreshes.

1. Clique com o botão direito the index in your document
2. Selecione Atualize Field
3. Dialog aparece:
   • “Atualize index entries only” — Atualizes page numbers but no new entries
   • “Atualize entire index” — Full refresh including new entries
4. Choose “Atualize entire index”
5. Clique OK
6. Index now includes newly marked entries

Step 5: Verify Index Entries Dialog

See all marked entries at once.

1. Vá para Referências > Mark Entry again
2. The dialog shows the window for marking (doesn’t show all current marks)
3. To see list of all marked entries:
   • Vá para Inserir > Index and Tabelas (instead of Mark Entry)
   • Might show index management view
   • Or click Mark Entry > options if available
4. This helps you verify entries are marked

Step 6: Exclua Index and Recreate If Corrupted

Most reliable fix for broken index.

1. Clique com o botão direito the index in document
2. Selecione Exclua Tabela or press Exclua
3. Index is removed
4. Certifique-se entries are marked: go through document, mark important words
5. Posicione o cursor where index should be
6. Vá para Referências > Index (or Inserir > Index and Tabelas > Index)
7. A dialog opens with index options
8. Choose format/style (e.g., “Formal” or “Simple”)
9. Clique OK
10. New index generates with currently marked entries

Step 7: Verifique Index Formato and Options

Index settings might hide entries.

1. Clique com o botão direito the index
2. Selecione Editar Field or Field Code
3. You see code like: {INDEX ...}
4. Options in code control what shows:
   • \c — Number of columns
   • \f — Field codes to index
5. If there are filtering options, they might exclude new entries
6. Best fix: Exclua and recreate without complex options

Step 8: Mark Entries with Sub-entries

Organize index with main and sub-entries.

1. Selecione a word
2. Vá para Referências > Mark Entry
3. Main entry: Type the main topic (e.g., “Animals”)
4. Sub-entry: Type related word (e.g., “Dogs”)
5. “Subentry” aparece below in the dialog
6. Clique Mark or Mark All
7. Index now shows: “Animals” with “Dogs” indented underneath
8. This creates hierarchical index

Step 9: Atualize All Fields at Depois que

For comprehensive refresh.

1. Selecione all: Ctrl+A
2. Press Ctrl+Shift+F9 (update all fields)
3. All fields in document refresh, including index
4. Wait a few seconds for update to complete
5. Clique in document to deselect

Step 10: Rebuild Index from Scratch

If index is severely corrupted:

1. Go through entire document
2. Selecione every important word/concept
3. For each, go to Referências > Mark Entry > Mark All
4. This is time-consuming but ensures clean marks
5. When all marked, delete old index
6. Inserir new index: Referências > Index
7. New index generates with all marks

Por que isso acontece

1. New words not marked — Words added but not marked for indexing
2. Index not refreshed — After marking, index wasn’t updated
3. Index corrupted — Index field code is invalid
4. Entries hidden — Marked entries might be in hidden text
5. Formatoting preventing mark — Special formatting preventing proper marking
6. Excluad marked entries — Entries were marked but then text deleted
7. Document restructuring — Major edits changed structure, breaking index links
8. Mark All marks incorrectly — Mark All might miss some instances

Como evitar

1. Mark entries as you write — Mark important words immediately
2. Use Mark All strategically — Mark All for main terms that appear multiple times
3. Atualize index regularly — Atualize weekly if document is actively edited
4. Keep entry list simple — Index 20-30 key terms, not hundreds
5. Verify marking worked — Clique com o botão direito marked word, see mark indicator
6. Atualize before sharing — Always refresh index before final document
7. Use consistent terminology — Mark “database” not “data base”
8. Test index early — Create after first entries marked to verify

Ainda não funciona? Soluções alternativas

1. Create index manually — Type list of terms and page numbers
2. Use Find & Replace — Find key words, note page numbers, create manual index
3. Use Tabela of Contents — TOC might serve same purpose as index
4. Copie from backup — If you have earlier version with working index
5. Use Google Docs — Different indexing approach
6. Export to PDF — PDF might include working index even if Word version doesn’t
7. Hire professional — For complex academic index, use professional editor
8. Contact Microsoft Support — For persistent index corruption

Pontos-chave

• Indexes require manual marking (Referências > Mark Entry)
• Mark All marks all instances of a word throughout document
• Atualize index with right-click > Atualize Field
• Use Ctrl+Shift+F9 to update all fields at once
• Create sub-entries for hierarchical organization
• Exclua and recreate index if corrupted
• Mark entries consistently (same spelling/capitalization)
• New words must be marked; automatic indexing not available