# Can an entire index be N padded in Miseq Reporter?

Yes, N's are considered wild cards in MiSeq Reporter (MSR). For example, an index can be assigned "NNNNNNNN".

This is useful in the following cases:

1. Index quality may be low and N padding can help reduce loss of index fidelity
2. A run was setup as dual index but single-indexed samples were included in the loaded library. In this case, MSR will not be able to detect barcode collision between the two sample types.

See Illumina Knowledge Article [**Using an N wildcard in index sequences in different Illumina FastQ generation software**](https://knowledge.illumina.com/software/general/software-general-reference_material-list/000003560) for more information.

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