Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 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: Displaying Quick Document Statistics.

Displaying Quick Document Statistics

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated September 26, 2022)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021


Word tracks all sorts of information about your documents. If you know where to look, you can quickly display much of that information. For instance, if you want to quickly determine the number characters, words, lines, paragraphs, and pages in your document, you can display the Review tab of the ribbon and click the Word Count tool in the Proofing group. Word displays the Word Count dialog box, and quickly calculates the statistics about the document. (If you are working on a huge or complex document, the calculations may take a short amount of time.) (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Word Count dialog box.

Notice at the bottom of the dialog box is a check box that indicates whether Word should include information in the footnotes and endnotes in its calculations. You should select this option, as desired. When you are done viewing the statistics, click on the Close button.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (12379) applies to Microsoft Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Displaying Quick Document Statistics.

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

Applying Formatting in Lists

If you want to change the formatting applied to numbers or bullets in your lists, you'll appreciate the information in ...

Discover More

Combining Numbers and Text in a Cell

There are times when it can be beneficial to combine both numbers and text in the same cell. This can be easily done ...

Discover More

Using Header Information as the Filename

Save a document for the first time, and Word helpfully suggests a filename you can use or change. If you want this ...

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)

Generating a Count of Word Occurrences

Do you need to know the frequency with which certain words occur in your documents? There is no built-in way to derive ...

Discover More

Ignoring Punctuation in Names

If you have a word that includes punctuation as part of the word itself, then you may be frustrated by how Word treats ...

Discover More

Word Count in Multiple Selections

Getting a word count for an entire document is easy. What you may not know is that some versions of Word can also provide ...

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 eight more than 8?

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.