FM 10 Index section numbering issue

Question

I have created an index and everything is perfect except how the section numbers have been generated. The number 10 is generating before 1-9. (Please note the reason 10 generates before 1-9 is because within the Reference page, I have switched the tags to read as follows: <$numerics><$alphabetics><$symbols>). I have also tried the <$paranumonly> tag, and that did not help. However, If <$numerics> is after <$alphabetics> and before <$symbols>, the section numbers will generate: 1, 10, 2-9.
Here are a few examples:
Massachusetts
6.4.10 441  
6.4.11 442  
6.4.12 443  
6.4.13 445  
6.4.14 445  
6.4.15 446  
6.4.8 439  
6.4.9 439 
- showing that 6.4.8 and 6.4.9 should go before 6.4.10
federal law
10.5.5 625  
10.5.6 627  
10.5.7 628  
10.5.8 632  
1.2.11 37 
- 1.2.11 should go before 10.5.5
I have researched this for a couple days and cannot find an answer. Please help me.
Thank you!

Answer 1

Emalie – I think there are some basics you haven’t got the hang of:
Square brackets in entries are optional; if they don’t exist, it’s the ordinary, non-bracketed text, that is indexed.
if you do add square brackets to the index entry, the entry is considered in two parts.
The text outside the brackets is what is printed in the index, i.e. what the reader will see.
The text in the brackets is the sort order and does not appear in the visible entry.
It’s useful if you want to index St as Saint, for example: St Paul’s Cathedral[Saint Paul] would be indexed before Stepford; or to list names in firstname-surname order, but alphabetise them by surname, such as Tony Blair[Blair T], George W. Bush[Bush G], which would make an index in which Bush follows Blair, despite the fact that George would come before Tony.
Note that you don’t need to put the whole entry inside the brackets, just enough to make sure it sorts as you wish. The content is never seen by the reader.
Now that I see more of your index, I’m prompted to ask a more fundamental question. It’s there to guide the reader, and would normally contain terms that the reader is going to look up. Are entries such as 6.4.13.445 meaningful to someone consulting your index? Forgive the interference, but do they need to be indexed at all?