Plugin Name

Enhance your blog by creating multiple, three-level alphabetical indexes of your posts based on any combination of post title, author, extract, tags, categories, or custom fields of your choice. Select which posts are included in your indexes using a combination of categories and tags, display them in up to four columns on a single page or over multiple pages. For example, the AZIndex plugin can be used to:

• Create an alphabetical index of all your blog posts, based on their titles, using extracts as short descriptions.
• Create a music review index, sorted by the name of the artist and the name of their albums.
• On blogs with multiple authors, create an index of posts by each author's name.
• Create a full alphabetical index of all your blog's published pages in seconds with no PHP, HTML, or CSS required.

Full list of features:

• Index blog posts by title, extract, author, or any custom field.
• Create indexes for your blog pages. Now you can create a full alphabetical index of every page and post on your site.
• Select index contents using a combination of categories and tags.
• One, two or three-level entries - heading, subheading, and description, all customizable.
• Up to four columns on a page.
• Multiple indexes can be created, each customized with its own settings.
• Indexes may be embedded in posts as well as pages.
• Fully customizable from the WordPress admin console. No need to know HTML or PHP.
• Single or multi-page indexes with page links.
• Optional alphabetical links.
• Display alphabetical headings in your index with links back to the top of the page.
• Group items with the same heading under one entry (e.g. all the novels of the same author).
• Add your own text to the index page.
• Control over the number of index items per page.
• Indexes are cached to ensure speedy operation when dealing with large indexes.
• Customize the stylesheets for the index contents directly from the index administration page.
• Use CSS style striping to decorate your index entries (e.g. add a gray background to alternate entries).
• Use your own customized sort to sort an index.
• Customize which alphabetical links appear with your index.
• Index entries that do not begin with a character or number can be placed at the beginning or the end of the index.
• Punctuation like quotes or double-quotes can be ignored while sorting the index.
• You can exclude categories and tags from an index. Useful if you just need to exclude a few posts from an index.
• Option to automatically include child categories in the index.
• Support for the superfast WP Super Cache plugin.
• Support for national languages. Non-English characters in headings and alphabetical links should now be displayed correctly.
• Translatable text provided -- help requested for translating the strings (in azindex.pot), it would only take a few minutes of your time.
• NEW in 0.8.0 Sort indexes by tag names or category names.
• NEW in 0.8.0 New item filter allows you to tailor the sorting of the index to you needs.
• NEW in 0.8.0 Three new output filters allow you to modify the HTML of the index, or even create your own!
• NEW in 0.8.0 The table of indexes on the Index Management page is now sortable.
• NEW in 0.8.1 Item display filter, allowing you to modify the content of an item before it is displayed.

IMPORTANT NOTE: This is still a BETA release, meaning that while the plugin is stable and has undergone considerable testing, you may encounter some bugs as new features and code are added. I have not been able to test all the plugin's features on all combinations of WordPress versions, browsers, databases, and PHP versions, so some problems could remain on some of the many possible configurations. The best thing to do is just give it a try! Please read the Other Notes section before installing. If you try this plugin and like what you see, email to azindex@englishmike.net or visit the AZIndex Plugin Feedback Page to provide your feedback. Whether you're reporting a bug, requesting a new feature, or just wanting to make a comment, I will be happy to hear from you. Stay up-to-date with all the important information and updates about AZIndex by subscribing to the AZIndex Announcements Mailing List.

Installation Instructions: For WordPress 2.7 and above:

1. Navigate to the Plugins >> Add New page in your blog's administration section.
2. Search for AZIndex.
3. Click Install and follow the on-screen instructions.

For older versions of WordPress:

1. Download the plugin zip file.
2. Upload the plugin contents into your WordPress installation's plugin directory.
3. The plugin's .php files and readme.txt should be installed in the 'wp-content/plugins/azindex/' directory.
4. From the Plugin Management page, activate the AZIndex plugin.

(Note: if you haven't installed the One Click Plugin Updater plugin by Janis Elsts yet, then what are you waiting for?) Getting Started (these instructions are for WordPress 2.7 and above):

1. To create a new index, go to Tools >> AZIndex and click on the 'Add New' link.
2. Enter a title for your index and select the options you want.
3. Click the 'Add Index' button and a new index, along with a new unpublished blog page, will be created.
4. To view the contents of your new index page, go to Pages and preview the page from there.
5. Make sure you try out all the options. They can be used to tailor the look and feel of the index to your satisfaction.
6. Once you are happy with the results, publish the index page (from Pages) so your users can access it.
7. Hint: Consider using custom fields in your posts to set the headings and sub-headings of your index. For example, if you are indexing book reviews you have posted, you can create an index that uses custom fields to access the authors' names as headings, and the book titles as sub-headings. That way you can have a well organized index without having to mess with the titles of your reviews.