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: Counting Values in Table Cells.

Counting Values in Table Cells

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated May 11, 2024)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Word in Microsoft 365, and 2021


Dan has a document with a huge table with many rows and six columns. In one of the columns he enters a single character (F, P, or B) for each row. Periodically Dan needs to count the total occurrences of the Fs, Ps, and Bs in that column. He wonders if there is some kind of macro that he can use to do the counting.

It is possible to do this with a macro, but the macro would not be simple. It is far easier to do a simple find and replace operation to get the desired totals. Follow these general steps:

  1. Select the column that contains the single characters. (If the first row in the column contains some header text that contains F, P, or B, then don't include the first cell in your selection.)
  2. Press Ctrl+H to display the Replace tab of the Find and Replace dialog box. (See Figure 1.)
  3. Figure 1. The Replace tab of the Find and Replace dialog box.

  4. In the Find What box, enter the letter you want to search for (F, P, or B).
  5. In the Replace With box, enter "^&" (without the quote marks).
  6. Click Replace All.

The result is that the character is replaced with itself, and Word lets you know how many replacements were made. (If Word asks you if you want to make the replacements in the rest of the document, turn down the kind offer.) You can repeat the steps for each of the other characters in the column, and you will have your desired counts.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (11258) 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: Counting Values in Table Cells.

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

Converting Text to Uppercase in a Macro

Macros are often used to process documents. If part of the processing involves making text selections uppercase, Word ...

Discover More

ScreenTips without Hyperlinks

ScreenTips can be a helpful feature in some documents but adding them also means you need to add a hyperlink. Here's a ...

Discover More

Problems Pasting Information into a Worksheet

What do you do if pasting information into a worksheet brings Excel to its knees? This tip looks at just a few ideas you ...

Discover More

Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2013. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word 2013 Step by Step today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Displaying Table Gridlines

For those times when you remove the borders from your tables, Word provides a way that you can display non-printing ...

Discover More

Blank Lines Before Tables

Adding a blank line before your table is easy, but Word's behavior as you attempt to make the insert can depend on where ...

Discover More

Adding Table Columns to Columns with Merged Cells

Word's table editor allows you to modify the structure of tables in a wide variety of ways. If you want to add columns to ...

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 6 - 0?

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.

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.