@RichardMarsot , thanks for replying! I appreciate all the help you provide on the forums. You're correct I didn't zero in on the section include. Three things to mention if you'll bear with me.

First, I'm also trying to style things not in a table, so unsure if your advice still applies. I tried the section include just now, applying the style to the "include". I got the same result, illustration attached. Does this technique work only in tables? Or at all these days?

Second, if you can reread my original post, I'm not trying to style an autocomplete. My complaint is that the controls' configuration typically presents a property list popup (section include notwithstanding) when you type a period in the custom style cells. This is misleading and useless, right?

Third, I arrived at an approach to conditional styling that the UI team might find useful if it could be incorporated into the product. I'll post a little article tomorrow using "Start a discussion" if you keep an eye out.