[texhax] Hyphenation problem with makeindex

[Rodolfo Medina]

On Thu, Mar 29, 2007 at 08:47:20PM +0200, Rodolfo Medina wrote:

>> It seems that makeindex cannot hyphenate words: it produces an overfull box
>> instead of hyphenating.  I broke the word with: `ex\-ample', as usual in
>> plain TeX, but nothing.



Oleg Katsitadze <olegkat at gmail.com> writes:

> Makeindex does not hyphenate words.  All it does is take an input file
> (.idx), sort the entries and produce an output file (.ind), which
> contains nothing but a set of macros with index entries.  When you
> input the .ind file, how the words are hyphenated depends on how these
> macros are implemented.  Usually, the index is set in two narrow
> columns and the lines have very little stretchability/shrinkability,
> so index macros might be designed to set the entries in the
> ragged-right justification.  In short, the behavior you observe
> depends on the definitions of the actual macros you use to typeset the
> index, so you might want to check there (or tell us which macros you
> use, preferably with a minimal/small example to work with).



I'll take a look at those macros, which, if I understand what you say, cancel
TeX's capability of hyphenating?

But, on the other hand, I've always wanted to do without `makeindex' and use a
self, home made indexing program, which I could customize and modify at
pleasure: maybe the moment has come. I was taking a look at the two scripts:
index1.icn and index2.icn which are part of Tex for the Impatient, but don't
manage to make them work.
Please any indication with them?

Thanks, cheers
Rodolfo