Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Inserting a Dynamic Word Count in Your Document.

Inserting a Dynamic Word Count in Your Document

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 29, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365

Word keeps track of summary information for a document. You can see the information maintained by Word simply by displaying the Properties dialog box for your document. One of the pieces of information maintained is the number of words in the document. This information is updated whenever the document is printed. Word allows you to insert this bit of summary information in your document by following these steps:

Position the insertion point where you want the number of words to appear.
Make sure the Insert tab of the ribbon is displayed.
Click the Quick Parts tool in the Text group. Word displays a number of choices from which you should choose Field. Word displays the Field dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Field dialog box.

Using the Categories drop-down list, choose Document Information.
Select NumWords from the Field Names list.
Click on OK.

If you prefer to not use the Field dialog box (for whatever reason), you can insert the number of words into your document by following these steps:

Press Ctrl+F9. This inserts a pair of field braces within your document.
Type "NumWords" (without the quote marks).
Press F9 to collapse the field and display the field's results (the number of words in the document).

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (7353) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Inserting a Dynamic Word Count in Your Document.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Default Picture Location

When you insert pictures into a document, the first folder that Word opens up is normally the My Pictures folder. You can ...

Discover More

Calculating an Age On a Given Date

Start putting dates in a worksheet (especially birthdates), and sooner or later you will need to calculate an age based ...

Discover More

Highlighting Cells Containing both Letters and Numbers

Conditional formatting is a great tool for changing the format of cells based on whether certain conditions (rules) are ...

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! Are you ready to harness the full power of Word 2013 to create professional documents? In this comprehensive guide you'll learn the skills and techniques for efficiently building the documents you need for your professional and your personal life. Check out Word 2013 In Depth today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Implementing a Dynamic Document Control Table

Accurately and repeatedly referencing information within a document is a common task that needs to be done. One way to ...

Discover More

Printing Field Codes

Field codes allow dynamic information to be included in documents and can be a great boon. At some point you may want to ...

Discover More

Inserting the Subject in Your Document

One of the properties you can specify for a document is a subject. You can then use a field code to insert this subject, ...

Discover More

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is four minus 0?

2018-10-10 10:07:54

Chris

Sir, once again, you have proven that you are the GO TO office staple.
Thank you.

2018-09-01 16:20:17

A reminder that if you enable the feature, there is a dynamic word count continually displayed at the bottom of your Word document in the Status Bar.

Right click in the Status Bar at the bottom of the Word Window and a Customize dialog box pops open where you can select/deselect many options to be continually displayed, including the Word Count.

If you highlight a portion of your document, then the Word Count displays both the number of words highlighted and the total number of words in the document.

If you double click on that displayed Word Count box, a dialog box will open giving you more dynamic statistics about your document. This dialog box can also be found on the Ribbon under Review (far left side).

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.