Multiple list of tables (using TOC) in a single document?

I finally found a pretty simple solution to this very annoying problem.

And using my approach, you can put a table of tables, figures, authorities, or anything else you want in the same document and have each table numbered starting at 1.

Create each of your tables using the \a switch with the TOC field code.  Consult standard documentation for more details on the \a switch, but I've found the info to be incorrect in several places, including several places on Microsoft's own website...surprise, surprise.

Despite what the documentation says, you can't use {TOC \a tables} or {TOC \a figures} to generate tables...it doesn't do anything for me when I try this in 4 different versions of Word, including 2010.

What does work for me is using:

{TOC \a "Table"} to generate my list of tables and

{TOC \a "Figure"} to generate my list of figures.

Using the \a switch gives you a list that does not include the repeated "Table x:" or "Figure y:" all the way down the generated table.

You can also create your own label type, by using Insert->Reference->Caption and on the dialog box click the New Label button.  Then enter whatever labe you want to have in each caption you enter.  For example, say that you want to designate and label "supplemental" figures as well as regular figures.  Create a new label named "Supplemental Fig."  Then anytime you want to insert a caption for such a figure, use Insert->Reference->Caption and then choose Supplemental Fig from the drop down box.  Word keeps up with autonumbering the labels for you when you insert them, just like with Tables, Figures, etc.

But now, you could generate a list of supplemental figures at the beginning of your document by using:

{TOC \a "Supplemental Fig"}

Note that if you name the label something that contains "Figure" (e.g., Supplemental Fig), then later if you use a {TOC \a "Figure"} field code, you will get a list of ALL labels that contain the text "Figure" so keep this in mind.

So using \a, you can generate a list of any items that are numbered using a SEQ field.  The string delimited value after the switch specifies a piece of text that is present in all of the labels you are interested in.  You can also create your own labels using any SEQ value you have defined--you are not limited to the captions that Word inserts for you.

Ok, so finally, say you have all your tables generated (a list of tables and figures for example).  Modify the style Word applies to the list--which will be named Table of Figures by default.  Add numbering to the style using your desired prefs.  Now, this will numbering all the items continuously throughout all of your tables.  For m tables and n total figures in your document, the first list of tables will be numbered 1 through m and the second list of figures will be numbered m+1 through m+n.

Now goto the first item in the list of figures and click on the first NUMBER in the list--it should turn grey.  Now right click, and click Restart Numbering.  The value changes to 1.  Repeat for any other tables that follow that you want to be numbered correctly (that use that common style Table of Figures).  So this is how you can reset all the numbering for your lists so that each list is numbered starting at 1.  Of course, this will not hold through field updates, but that's easy to work around.

So what I do is the following.  When I get ready to print my document, I Edit->Select All text.  Then right click on it, and click Update Field, so that all fields in the entire document will be updated.  At each prompt asking to update the entire table or page numbers only, choose to update the entire table.  When finished, your entire document is updated.  Now go to the first item in each of your generated tables (tables that share that same style, Table of Figures) and reset the numbering to start at 1.  Now click Print.  At each prompt asking to update the tables again, just click Cancel or choose the page numbers only option--everything is updated anyway because you just did it.  (If you click the update entire table option, your numbering will get reset across the lists)

This works like a charm for me.  I know this is more of a work-around than an absolute solution, but this method is much faster and less tedious than locking the tables and editing each one by hand, doing find/replace to remove redundant "Table x:" labels, etc.  I also created my own macro by writing VBA code and then including a field code with a MACROBUTTON field code that called my macro.  In the macro, I wrote code to search through my document, gather a list of alld desired label types, and then create the list myself without including the repeated "Table x:" entries.  Then I set the fieldName.result value to a formatted string that I created by concatenating all the list values together.  Everything worked except the final formatting in the documeting--the tab leaders did not work correctly.

I truly hope this helps someone out there.  This is one of the most frustrating things I've ever dealt with in Word.