Show word count
Word counts the number of words in a document while you type. Word also counts pages, paragraphs, lines, and characters.
When you need to know how many words, pages, characters, paragraphs, or lines are in a document, check the status bar.
For a partial word count, select the words you want to count. The status bar shows the word count for that selection and for the entire document.
Tip: Find the number of characters, paragraphs, and lines by clicking on the word count in the status bar.
Count the number of characters, lines, and paragraphs
You can view the number of characters, lines, paragraphs, and other information in your Word for Mac, by clicking the word count in the status bar to open the Word Count box. Unless you have selected some text, Word counts all text in the document, as well as the characters, and displays them in the Word Count box as the Statistics.
Count the number of words in a part of a document
To count the number of words in only part of your document, select the text you want to count. Then on the Tools menu, click Word Count.
Just like the Word desktop program, Word for the web counts words while you type.
If you don’t see the word count at the bottom of the window, make sure you’re in Editing view (click Edit Document > Edit in Word for the web).
Click the word count to switch it off and on.
Maybe you noticed that Word for the web gives you an approximate word count. That’s because it doesn’t count words in areas like text boxes, headers, footers, and SmartArt graphics. If you need an exact count, click Open in Word, and look at the word count at the bottom of the Word document window.
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Are you looking for an easy way to check the word count in your Microsoft Word document? Word has an easy-to-use, built-in tool that keeps track of your word count in each of its versions, including desktop, mobile or online. This wikiHow article will teach you how to view the word count for a section of text or your entire document in Microsoft Word.
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Launch Microsoft Word. This can be done by double clicking on the Word icon on your desktop, in your Taskbar (Windows) or Dock (Mac). If you don’t see an icon, click on the ‘Start» menu in the lower left of your PC’s screen. Click on the ‘All Programs» drop down and select Microsoft Word.[1]
- On Mac, click on the Launchpad (a gray rocketship) icon in your dock. Type ‘Word’ in the search bar at the top of the screen.
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Navigate to an existing document. To open a document, go to the File menu, and then click on Open. A dialog box will appear with a list of available documents.[2]
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Select a document. In the dialog box, navigate to the document you wish to open. Select the document, and once it’s highlighted, click on Open in the lower right of the dialog box.
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Select Tools. Once your document is open, select the Tools menu at the top center of the window.[3]
- This step only applies to a MAC OS.
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Scroll to Word Count. In the Tools menu dropdown, click on «Word Count.»
- If you’re not using a Mac, you won’t see any Tools heading at the top. In this case, go to the Review tab at the top of your document. Once there, you’ll see «Word Count» on the left-hand side of the section.
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Review your word count. A box will open displaying the number of words, as well as the number of characters, paragraphs, lines and pages, contained in your document.
- In many documents, the word count is displayed live on the left side of the bottom bar of the document window. Click on this word count to get additional information, such as the number of pages and characters.
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Place your cursor at the beginning of the text you wish to count. Click on the beginning of the sentence, paragraph or section of text for which you want a word count.
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Highlight the section of text. Drag your cursor to the end of the text section, which should now be highlighted in blue.
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Click on the Tools menu. Select the Tools menu at the top center of the document window.
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Click on Word Count. Select Word Count from the Tools menu dropdown. A box displaying the number of words, characters, lines, pages and paragraphs will appear on the screen.
- The word count for a selected portion of text will usually be displayed in the bottom bar of your document.
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Launch the Microsoft Word mobile app. On your smartphone or tablet, tap on the Word app to launch it.
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Open a document. The app will usually open the last document you were working on. If not, you will see a list of recently-opened files. Tap on the file you wish to work on.
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Tap the Edit menu. Once your document is open, tap on the Edit menu (a capital «A» with a pencil icon) on top center of your screen. The Edit menu will open in the bottom half of your screen.
- In Word for iPad, simply tap on the «Review» menu at the top center of the tablet’s screen.
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Tap on «Home.» Home is located on the left side of the Edit menu bar. This will open a pop-up menu.
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Tap on «Review.» The Review menu is near the bottom of the Edit menu pop-up.
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Tap on «Word Count.» Word Count is near the bottom of the Review menu. When you tap it, the number of words, characters and pages in your document will be displayed.
- In Word for iPad, word count is an icon, several lines with the numbers «123» displayed in the upper left, in the main menu bar under the Review menu.
- Highlight a section of text by tapping on it with your fingers, then tap on Word Count to display the number of words in the highlighted portion of your document.
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Launch Word online. Navigate to office.live.com and log in with your Microsoft ID and password or choose to use the free version.
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Open a document. On the left side of your screen, select a recent document.
- If you don’t see the document you want to edit, select Open from One Drive or Open from Dropbox in the lower left corner of the window.
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Review the word count. Once you have an open document, check the bottom left, side of the document. The word count automatically appears in the lower scroll bar.
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Add New Question
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Question
How do I select the area to word count in Word 2016?
Highlight the passage; it should show the word count.
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Question
When I am in the header area, Word will not show me a word count. What can I do?
Select all of the words in the header and the word count for the words you highlighted will be displayed in the word count box on the status bar.
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Question
I don’t see Word Count in the lower left corner. Why not?
Right click on the status bar and click on «Word Count» so that it has a tick next to it.
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On Word for PC/Mac, make sure the Microsoft Word window is fully maximized. Otherwise, the window can be moved within your viewable area, and the Word Count in the lower portion of the document could be hidden.
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To ensure the word count is always visible in your documents, select View from the Preferences menu in the upper left corner of your Mac or PC. The check the box to the left of «Live Word Count.»
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About This Article
Article SummaryX
1. Open the document.
2. Find the word count at the bottom-left corner.
3. Click the word count for more info.
4. Highlight a section to see the word count for that section.
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Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 918,954 times.
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Typing out essays and theses on a computer is obligatory in colleges and universities nowadays. Most academic documents are restricted in length, be it 1,000 or 80,000 words. It’s important to stay within the limit, as exceeding the limit can incur a penalty. Similarly, writing too few words can cost you marks [source: City University]. Most people type out their documents in Microsoft Word. However not everyone is familiar with Word’s many little tricks. Here’s how to count the number of words in your document using Microsoft Word.
In order to count words, the computer has to know what words you want to count. You tell it this information by highlighting the text in question. If this is the entire document, press the Ctrl key and press the A key at the same time. This will highlight the whole text. You can remove your fingers and the text will remain highlighted.
Here’s how to count words in Microsoft Word 2003:
- Select Tools from the tool bar on the top of the page.
- Select Word Count from the dropdown menu that appears. A box will appear, giving you information about the text that you highlighted, including the number of words it contains.
- Include the words in the footnotes and endnotes if those words are counted in the total number of words allowed in your paper. Simply click on Include footnotes and endnotes, in the lower left corner of the box, and these words will be included in the total number of words [source: Microsoft].
Here’s how to count words in Microsoft Word 2007:
- Highlight the text whose words you would like to count. The number of words you’ve highlighted will be displayed on the status bar at the bottom of the screen, as a fraction of the total number of words in the document.
- Include footnotes in the word count by selecting Review on the toolbar. Then select Proofing, and then Word Count. Select Include Textboxes, Footnotes and Endnotes. The total number of words counted will be displayed in the status bar [source: Microsoft].
Originally Published: Jun 30, 2011
Count Words in Word FAQ
How do I get the word count in Word?
To see the number of words in a whole document, simply find the word count in the status bar at the bottom left of the page. Alternatively, ensure no text is highlighted and right click to see a status bar and select “Word Count.”
How do you count the number of words in a paragraph?
To get the word count of a specific paragraph in MS Word, use your cursor to click and drag over the text until it’s highlighted. Then check the displayed word count in the lower left status bar.
What is the shortcut key for word count?
In Microsoft Word, the keyboard shortcut for opening the word count dialog box is Ctrl + Shift + G.
How do I count the words in a Word table?
You can count the number of words in Tables in a Word document by holding down on left click and scrolling down until the whole table has been highlighted. The number of words in the table will appear at the bottom of the Word document in the status bar.
Does the word count in Word include comments?
Yes. Comments are included in the word count of a document of Microsoft Word. However, endnotes, footnotes and appendices are not counted.
Get an accurate character count and word count in Microsoft Word
Updated on October 4, 2019
When you work on blog posts, technical manuals, academic papers, and other documents, you may need to know how many words are in the document or the number of characters in the title. Microsoft Word contains multiple ways to get an accurate count of the number of words or characters in a document. Word also calculates the number of words or characters in selected blocks of text.
Instructions in this article apply to Word for Microsoft 365, Word 2019, Word 2016, Word 2013, Word 2010, and Word Online.
How to Display Word Count in Microsoft Word
To turn on the word count in Word:
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Open Word.
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Right-click the Status bar at the bottom of the window.
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Select Word Count.
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The word count for the entire document displays in the Status bar.
In Word Online, if the word count doesn’t display at the bottom of the window, select Edit Document and choose Edit in Word for the web.
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To display the word count for a particular selection, highlight the text you want to count.
How to Get Detailed Information on Word Count
To view more detailed information about the word count:
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Open the Word document.
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Go to the Review tab.
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In the Proofing group, choose Word Count.
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The Word Count dialog box lists the number of pages, word count, character count, paragraph count, and line count. You can opt not to include text boxes, footnotes, and endnotes.
How to View Word Count in Microsoft Word With a Shortcut
To use a keyboard shortcut to view the word count and other information:
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Open the Word document.
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Press Ctrl+Shift+G.
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In the Word Count dialog box, clear the Include text boxes, footnotes and endnotes checkbox if you don’t want to include these in the word count.
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Select Close when you’re finished.
In Word for Mac, to count part of the words in a document, select the text you want to count, go to the Tools menu, then select Word Count.
How to Show the Word Count in a Field
Another way to display the word count of a document in Word is to add a field to the document.
To display the word count in a field:
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Place the cursor where you want the word count to appear.
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Go to the Insert tab.
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In the Text group, select Quick Parts, then choose Field.
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In the Field names list, choose NumWords, then select OK.
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Right-click the field and select Update Field to update the word count.
Word updates the word count automatically when you print the file. Select File > Options > Display, then go to the Printing options section and select Update fields before printing.
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Translators charge a transparent price per word. Are you unaware of the number of words in your text?
The following instructions enable you to determine the word count of your documents and calculate a total estimate for your English to Dutch translation project.
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How Many Words on an A4 Page?
On average 400-500 words per a4 page
You might wonder how many words fit on an A4 page. As a rule of thumb, a standard A4 page with default margins, 12 point font size, and 1.5 line spacing contains on average 400 to 500 words.
When you include subheadings, white spacing, or images, you can expect an A4 sheet to have about 350 words.
How to Determine the Exact Word Count
Follow the instructions below to count words in Word or other word processors and determine the exact word count in your document.
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Word Count in Word
The word processor of Microsoft Office
Microsoft Word automatically displays the number of words in your document on the status bar.
If you do not see the word count in the status bar, do the following:
- Right-click the status bar
- Check the box Word Count
Find the number of words, characters (spaces included or excluded), paragraphs, and lines by clicking on the displayed word count in the status bar at the bottom of the screen.
Alternatively, on the Review tab under Proofing, click Word Count to see the detailed statistics (shortcut Ctrl+Shift+G).
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Word Count in Google Docs
The word processor of Docs Editors
Check Display word count while typing and then click OK to find the word count while you type or do the following:
- At the top of the page, click Tools
- Then, click Word count to find the total number of words, characters, and pages
- Alternatively, use shortcut Ctrl+Shift+C
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Word Count in Writer
The word processor of LibreOffice
LibreOffice Writer shows the number of words and characters on the status bar.
To display extended statistics, double click the word count in the status bar or choose Tools (shortcut Alt+T) and then Word Count (shortcut Alt+W).
How to Determine the Total Cost for a Dutch Translation
Once you have determined the word count of your document, it’s easy to calculate a ballpark figure for the total cost of your English to Dutch translation project using the translation price calculator.
You can also simply multiply the number of words in your document with the quoted unit price.
If you need an exact price, it is best to send your document and request a tailor made quote for the project.
request a quote
Whether you’ve written yourself a daily writing goal, are cramming word count for a final essay, or are just curious how long your novel is so far, calculating how many words you have written is a fairly common task. There are many ways to get an accurate word count including counting each word by hand, using an online word counter tool, or the easiest way of all…right in your word processor! That’s right, Microsoft Word (and Google Docs) have built-in word counters. Today we’ll walk you through how to use Microsoft Word’s word count tool.
Count Words as You Type in Microsoft Word
The simplest way to use the word counter in Microsoft Word is to just type your text and then look at the bottom left corner. Next to the page count, you should see your word count as you can see in the screenshot below:
If you’re unable to see the word count, you may need to right-click on the bottom left bar and select it:
If you want more details about your document, such as character or paragraph counts, you can click on the word count and a new pop-up will display with these details:
Getting Word Count Through the Ribbon
Another way you can get word count is through the Microsoft Office ribbon at the top of Microsoft Word. If you click on the “Review” tab, you’ll see “Word Count” right next to “Spelling & Grammar” and “Thesaurus.” This will open the same details pop-up as above.
Count Words in a Selection
If you only want the amount of words in a certain selection of text, you can simply highlight that text and the word counter at the bottom will update to show only the word count in that selection:
Additionally, the details pop-up will also show the new selection data:
Conclusion
Hopefully, this guide gave you a quick overview of how to do a word count in Word. If you won’t feel like copying your text into Word everytime you want to count the number of words, you can always use an online tool. We have a word counter tool and we’ve also built simple word counting into our title capitalization tool.
This post was proofread by Grammarly. Try it — it’s FREE!
Capitalize My Title is a dynamic title capitalization tool used to make sure your titles or headlines use proper capitalization rules according to various style guides include APA, AP, MLA, and Chicago. It also counts your words and checks for grammar issues.
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