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I renamed TOC 2 to TOC 2,Topic then inadvertently deleted it.

Now I cannot get the TOC 2,Topic style back, nor can I the factory TOC 2 style; i.e.:

  • I cannot find TOC 2 in any variation in the Manage Styles list.
  • I cannot recreate it. Word reports "It already exists or is reserved for a built-in style.
  • I cannot copy the style from another document into this one. Word reports "The style refers to more than one style in the destination document."

I know I can fake a recovery by, for example, creating another TOC 2 variation such as TOC 2,Topics (plural). Or by copying everything into a new document. But this has happened before, so I'd really like to know how to recover from the problem, to prevent the problem, or both.

Note: This question may be related to another that I just posted: https://superuser.com/questions/1041748/how-to-prevent-custom-toc-styles-from-automatically-updating

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  • Have you tried the obvious - closing word and reopening the document?
    – DavidPostill
    Feb 16, 2016 at 22:14
  • Yes, several times. I also considered rebuilding normal.dot, but the time stamp indicates that it has not been changed. Oddly, Building Blocks.dotx did have an updated time stamp. Though there was no reason for it, I looked at it just in case and could not find anything related to TOCs.
    – RJo
    Feb 16, 2016 at 23:17

1 Answer 1

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From the Manage Styles dialogue box, sort the styles alphabetically and un-tick 'Show recommended styles only', because Word must have re-created TOC2 but not as a visible style (or recommended one)

If TOC2 is not in the list yet, insert a table of contents (REFERENCES -> Table of Contents) and check the list in Manage Styles. This probably will re-generate TOC missing styles.

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  • Yes, that regenerates the TOC 2. However, I cannot rename it to TOC 2, Topic. Word gives the error "The style name already exists or is reserved for a built-in style." So my custom rename is still lurking somewhere in Word's dark underbelly.
    – RJo
    Feb 17, 2016 at 2:33
  • Well, why particularly you want such a name? You can never name a style that begins with reserved strings for built-in styles. Try to name a new style as Heading 5,smith; you can't do it even if you hadn't rename Heading 5 to that name, but using Heading 5smith is OK.
    – Sanny
    Feb 17, 2016 at 11:54
  • Why do I want such a name? Per my original post: For headings, to make evident the structural names of the document (part, chapter, etc.); and for TOC levels, to make evident the mapping between headings and TOC levels. // No disagreement about naming strings with built-in, reserved names. Your examples, however, are faulty. Heading 5smith or Heading 5 smith results in Heading 5,Heading 5 smith ("Heading 5" repeated twice in the style name). Heading 5,smith results in Heading 5,smith. // In any case, "heading" is not the issue. "TOC" is.
    – RJo
    Feb 17, 2016 at 18:47
  • (1) My example is valid and clear; you cannot name a NEW STYLE as Heading 5,smith (not rename a default one as you misunderstood me). It was meant to demonstrate that default style names like TOC, Table List 1, etc. are reserved, and that's why I used Heading. However, try to name a NEW STYLE as TOC 5,smith; still, you can't. (2) The numbers in style names should clarify paragraph levels, at least how developers at Microsoft thought. Level 1 is for chapters, Level 2 is for main sections, Level 3 for sub-sections, and so forth.
    – Sanny
    Feb 17, 2016 at 19:30

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