An Index Report allows you to create a "Table of Contents" or road map for all the reports generated by the Report Writer. This helps to organize reports and create easy accessiblity by providing links. It is a good idea to set up a series of index reports before defining any other reports.

Index Reports can be created for any folder within the directory tree. Indexes are accessed by selecting a 'folder' from the tree, or by choosing the 'Return to Index' link at the bottom of each report. An Index Report must be defined for particular folders, and individual reports must be added to the folder in order to appear in the index (folder/filename). In other words, an Index Report searches the entire folder it was created for and makes a list of all files saved within that folder. These Index Reports are available from within the Report Writer, and are also saved with the scenario folder to be available in other applications.

In most forestry simulations, you will probably want to organize different sets of reports pertaining to volumes, areas, patching, route costs, old growth, and silviculture, for example. You would create an index report for each one of these categories. You can do this simply using the report wizard (have your cursor at the top of the directory tree when right clicking on "Add Report"). When you select "Add a new folder" under the "Common Reports", you only need to supply the report title and name to create an index report. For a more automated approach, you can also supply the syntax in your PIN file (see the section called “Index Report”). In order to make sure that each report ends up in the proper index, don't forget to include the index name in the report filename.