Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, 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: Including Footnotes and Endnotes in Word Counts.

Including Footnotes and Endnotes in Word Counts

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated July 30, 2022)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365

Word includes a feature that allows you to quickly determine a number of statistics about your document. For instance, you can determine the number of words, sentences, and paragraphs in your document. By default, Word doesn't include anything in footnotes or endnotes in these statistics. But you can specify that text in those areas be included by following these steps:

Display the Review tab of the ribbon.
Click the Word Count tool (in the Proofing group). Word displays the Word Count dialog box. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Word Count dialog box.

Make sure the Include Textboxes, Footnotes and Endnotes check box is selected.
Review the document statistics, as desired.
Click on Close.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (8300) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Word in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Including Footnotes and Endnotes in Word Counts.

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

Indenting a Table

Insert a table into your document and it normally appears aligned with the left margin. Word allows you to indent the ...

Discover More

Protecting Macros in the Normal Template

You can spend quite a bit of time developing macros that enhance your use of Word. Protecting those macros when they are ...

Discover More

AutoCorrecting Non-Typed Text

You may need to regularly work with text that you didn't type. In those cases, you might want to use AutoCorrect to ...

Discover More

Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2021 or Microsoft 365. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word Step by Step today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Deleting Footnotes and Endnotes

Deleting either footnotes or endnotes is a simple process. Just select the reference mark and delete it. Assuming you are ...

Discover More

Removing Spaces before Footnote References

If you need to remove a space before a footnote reference, doing so may seem an impossible task. However, you can use two ...

Discover More

Adding Footnotes to Endnotes

Word does footnotes. Word does endnotes. Word doesn't do footnotes within endnotes. Here's a discussion as to why and ...

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 nine more than 6?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)

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.