1. A method comprising: receiving a document comprising raster images, using an optical scanner; automatically identifying topical items within said raster images based on raster content in said raster images, using a processor, said raster content being pixel-based and being distinct from recognized characters produced in optical character recognition processing; automatically associating said topical items with topics in said document based on previously established rules for identifying topical sections, using said processor; automatically cropping said topical items from said raster images by copying pixel patterns of said topical items within said raster images to produce cropped-image portions of said raster images, using said processor; automatically creating an index for said document by combining said cropped-image portions of said raster images organized by said topics, using said processor, said index comprising multiple ones of said cropped-image portions combined together and organized by said topics; and outputting said index from said processor.