Reply To: Automatic numbering

Hi Deborah
Hmmm. Interesting…

I think it’s possible using 3 paragraph styles:
1) Level 1 if not followed by a level 2 (such as 1. and 4. here)
2) Level 1 if followed by a level 2 (such as 2.a., 3.a. and 5.a)
3) Level 2 such as b. (or c., d…)

For 1) nothing special to mention.

For 2) set it as a level 1 numbered list + format 1,2,3… and manually enter “a.” in the list numbering:
^#.a.

Now set 3) as a level 2 numbered list + format a,b,c
At this stage, you should end up with something like this:

1.
2. a.
a.
3. a.
a.
4.
5.a.

Which is still not good enough, right?
Question is: how can you make 3) start at b, then c, d and so on.
Here comes the trick. Be aware it’s a tweak: I tested it on my CS6 version and it works, but I don’t know about CC versions…

Now, set 3) “Mode” = “Start at 2”
Before clicking OK, revert back to “Continue from Previous”.
“2” is now greyed out, but somehow, Indesign uses it as a starting point, while allowing you to make it continuous.

Hope that helps.
Vinny

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