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...

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What is 2 + 2?

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).

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