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For a book-length document, using the memoir documentclass, inputting many files, and using many packages, the pdf index has two pages of utter junk, consisting of per-cent signs and spaces, as shown in the screen shot below.

Given that the document is so complicated, I am unable to reproduce the behavior with a simple document so as to get a MWE.

The very last thing in my document source (in a subsidiary file) is:

\printindex\cleardoublepage%
%
\endinput

The end of my .ind is:

\item \idxmark{Zorn's Lemma}, \hyperpage{121}
    \subitem \gobbleone , \also{Hausdorff maximal principle}{121}
\item \idxmark{Zorn's lemma}, \mainref{114}, \hyperpage{114--117}

\end{theindex}

The definition of \idxmark from my preamble is:

\newcommand{\idxmark}[1]{{\let\gobbleone\relax\markboth{\sffamily\bfseries#1}{\sffamily\bfseries#1}}#1}

The unremarkable .ist file is:

% MakeIndex style file
% output main entry <entry> as: \item \idxmark{<entry>}, 
item_0  "\n\\item \\idxmark{"
delim_0 "}, "
% not forgetting the subitem case
item_x1 "} \n \\subitem "
headings_flag 1
heading_prefix "{\\medskip\\hfill\\large\\textsf{\\textbf{"
heading_suffix "}}\\hfill}\\medskip\\nopagebreak\n"

Any idea of what the source of this very peculiar output might be? or at least how to proceed to find its cause?

Junk at end of index

murray
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    You need to provide something for us to replicate. Otherwise, who knows. – daleif Nov 10 '19 at 17:36
  • The pattern looks kind of nice though, why not leave it in :D But for a real solution you will have to make an MWE. It may be a lot of work but otherwise it is near impossible to guess what is wrong. Copy your document and all extra files to another folder and start deleting content piece by piece until the problem disappears. Then put the problematic content back and delete all other content until you are left with a minimal example that reproduces the problem. – Marijn Nov 10 '19 at 17:52
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    Looks a bit like this bug which I reported yesterday. Does the problem go away if you add \RequirePackage[2018/11/30]{latexrelease} to the top of your document? – Robert Nov 10 '19 at 18:16
  • @Robert: I can't tell, since if I add \RequirePackage[2018/11/30]{latexrelease} then it causes havoc on compiling at all. E.g., it chokes on various pdf figures (with "Argument of \@tempa has an extra }" error), telling me that \textprime is already unavailable in T1 encoding; or telling me that various math command such as \vec are already defined. My document uses MathTime Pro 2, fonts but similar obstacles occur if I try to use newtx fonts or cm plus amssymb fonts. – murray Nov 10 '19 at 19:54
  • @Robert: However, if I do not use that \RequirePackage but instead include the suggested code from the first method in https://tex.stackexchange.com/a/513685/13492, then the index error disappears! So it looks like it is that bug. – murray Nov 10 '19 at 20:04
  • Then I would probably wait until tomorrow or so, when the update (patch level 3) should be available, and in the meantime, contemplate this abstract art work... – Robert Nov 10 '19 at 21:41

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