Location of <indexterm> elements

<indexterm> elements can occur in topic prologs, anywhere else in DITA topics, and in DITA maps.

The location of an <indexterm> element determines the point in the document that the element references.

Topic prologs

An <indexterm> element that is located in a topic prolog is a point reference to the title of the topic. If an <indexterm> element has an @end attribute, it is a point reference to the end of the topic, including any sub-topics.

Anywhere else in a DITA topic

An <indexterm> element that is located in a topic (and not in the topic prolog) is a point reference to the location where the <indexterm> element occurs.

DITA maps

An <indexterm> element that is contained within a <topicref> element is a point reference to the title of the topic. If an <indexterm> element has an @end attribute, it is a point reference to the end of the branch that is specified by the topic reference. If the topic reference is not bound to a resource, the <indexterm> element has no stated purpose.