I need to have 2 heading hierarchies available in the same template, and I've set these up with 2 lists in Outline Numbering.

1
1.1
1.1.1

A
A1


A1.1
A1.1.1

My issue is I'd like both hierarchies to be followed by the same Body Text style, which is formatted with alpha referencing (a, b, c). This referencing needs to automatically restart after each heading. (I can't rely on users to do it manually.)

I'm pretty sure I can't link the same style to 2 different lists, so is there any way to achieve this?

I'm using Word for Mac 2011 but have access to various Windows versions as well.

Many thanks.

Use the principles in How to create numbered headings or outline numbering in Ribbon Versions of Word by Shauna Kelly and Outline Numbering in Word for OS X - Brandwares Best Practices - Office Best Practices for your numbering.


This links your numbering to styles. Use the styles to set your numbering, not any buttons on the ribbon or toolbar.
Have the styles in both numbering schemes that you want followed by your a.b.c. body text set to use that style for the next paragraph. See Question and Answer Styles for an example of some styles set this way.

You are correct in that you can't link the same style to 2 different lists so there isn't an ideal solution to your question.

However, an outline list can hold up to 9 levels and you have listed 7 headings in your question. If this is as deep as your headings go, and you don't keep mixing the heading series, then you can set up the outline list so it is one list only
1 - 1st level
1.1 - 2nd level
1.1.1 - 3rd level (restart on higher)
A - 4th level but don't restart on higher levels
A1 - 5th level and restart on higher.
A1.1 - 6th level
A1.1.1 - 7th level
a - 8th level and restart on higher

Thinking about this further, I suspect this won't really work for you so it is probably better to come up with an alternate plan. Perhaps you should explore other alternatives.

Although you wanted the single body text style I think the only way to do this is with two styles for body text - although there are two variants on that. One is to have align one with one heading list and one with the other.

The other possibility is to use three separate lists and include a reset style for your body text styles. For this to work, you would align the body text style as level 2 on its own outline list and use another style for level 1 in this list. Then use that level 1 aligned style any time to reset the list to a.

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Andrew Lockton
Chrysalis Design, Melbourne Australia