There are three types of text style in Affinity Publisher which are used for differing purposes.
There are no restrictions on what text attributes and properties can be applied to a text style, regardless of its type. Instead, the type determines the predominant purpose of that text style.
There are three types of text style:
A Group text style cannot be applied directly to text on the page. Instead it defines the foundations on which other text styles are built and allows you to quickly create a text style hierarchy.
Group text styles only display in the Text panel and are best understood when Show hierarchical is set on the panel's Panel Preferences.
The Group style can be considered as the group's parent or master text style. All other styles which are based on a Group style are considered to be child or subordinate styles.
You can create subordinate text styles within a group by selecting the Group text style as the Based on style.
You can display text styles in hierarchical groupings.
By default, you'll create another group style within the group, but you can create a Character or Paragraph style type using the settings instead.