[KarenF]

I have often created character styles for applying to selected words and
characters, and mostly this works well. However I do have a specific problem:
the SI (international standards organization) specifies certain formatting
rules, e.g. a variable (x, y, etc) should be in italic font, to distinguish
it from a constant (the speed of light = c). Unfortunately these fonts are
supposed to be absolute, so even in a paragraph of italicised text, these
variables should still be in italics. Word doesn't let me do this but rather
has a toggle effect (italic + italic = plain font). Does anyone have a
solution to this?

Related to this, I have often wondered what the difference is between
defining a character style based on "Default Paragraph Font" and basing it on
"(underlying properties)" - I have never yet found a difference in behaviour.
This is where the point about cumulative styles comes in: say that I have a
number of words in a sentence in boldface for emphasis, using one character
style, but then I want to highlight one word in red because I'm not sure it's
correct, and I use another style. So far I have never managed to superimpose
two styles: the second one always erases the first one. So what does
"(underlying properties)" mean anyway??

I'd be very grateful for any pointers!

Thanks

Karen