Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Word in Microsoft 365, and 2021. 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: A Quick-and-Dirty Word Count.

A Quick-and-Dirty Word Count

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 16, 2024)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Word in Microsoft 365, and 2021


3

In other issues of WordTips you learn how you can use one of Word's fields to insert a word count in your document. Many authors, editors, and publishers adhere to the rule that you determine word count by dividing the number of characters in your document by an average word size, such as 5. Thus, if there were 24,317 characters in your document, there would be 4,863 words. You can use fields to insert this type of word count in your document in the following manner:

  1. Position the insertion point where you want the word count placed.
  2. Press Ctrl+F9 to insert a set of field braces. Make sure the insertion point remains between the braces.
  3. Press the equal sign (=).
  4. Press Ctrl+F9 to insert another set of field braces. Make sure the insertion point remains between the new braces.
  5. Type numchars.
  6. Press the right arrow twice. The insertion point should be between the two right braces.
  7. Type /5 (divided by 5). Your compound field should now look like this:
  8.      { ={ numchars }/5 }
    
  9. Press F9 to update the field.

You could, if you wanted, also include a bit more of a formula in your field in step 7. For instance, if you wanted to make sure that the value returned was an integer, you could use this as your field code:

     { =int({ numchars }/5) }

There is one other thing to keep in mind. If you compare the value returned by this approach to the value returned by Word's internal word counter, the values will be different. This "divide by 5" approach is an old rule of thumb for those in the publishing business. Word's internal counter calculates words by, essentially, looking at the number of spaces and punctuation in a document—the elements that normally denote the end of a word.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (10026) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Word in Microsoft 365, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: A Quick-and-Dirty Word Count.

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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Changing the Default Font

If you don't like the font that Excel uses, by default, in a workbook, you can change it. Here's how.

Discover More

Calculating the Day of the Year

Need to know what day of the year a certain date is? You can figure it out easily using the formulas in this tip.

Discover More

Deleting Index Entries

When you construct an index you need to insert all sorts of index fields throughout your document. If you want to later ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 2013 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access) with VBA programming, using it for writing macros, automating Office applications, and creating custom applications. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2013 today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Showing a Dynamic Number Range in a Header

If you are creating a reference document of some type, you may want to include in the header of that document an ...

Discover More

Inserting the Template Name in Your Document

Templates are a powerful part of the Word experience, as they allow you to create and format documents based on patterns. ...

Discover More

Moving Footnote References Using Find and Replace

When you are editing a document, you may need to modify where the author placed footnotes relative to surrounding ...

Discover More
Subscribe

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.

What is 2 + 2?

2024-03-18 09:41:48

Andrew

Characters ÷ 5 is good if you're a typing teacher trying to determine words per minute. But quicker and dirtier would be { numwords }.


2024-03-18 03:44:36

GFIN Sunny

Thanks, your tip helps Enterprise users not to use online tool to show character count while typing. However, I need more help what needs to be done to { ={ numchars } }?
Why is it not outputting correct count of characters?


2024-03-16 05:57:17

Marc

What should the text in the compound field be if I wanted the word count to include Characters (with spaces), please? I think the one given above is for Characters (no spaces).


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.

Videos
Subscribe

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

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.