Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 4, 2022)
This tip applies to Word 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, Word in Microsoft 365, and 2021
Do you need to count words in different, non-contiguous blocks of text? For instance, do you need to count the words in the body areas of a document, but not in the headings? You can follow these steps to get the count you need:
That's it; the count returned represents all the words in the selected text—even though the text blocks are not contiguous.
Another approach (if you have a hard time selecting the multiple selections) is to simply copy the selections to a new document and then do the word count on that new document. You can then throw away the new document, as you no longer need it.
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (13358) 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: Word Count in Multiple Selections.
The First and Last Word on Word! Bestselling For Dummies author Dan Gookin puts his usual fun and friendly candor back to work to show you how to navigate Word 2013. Spend more time working and less time trying to figure it all out! Check out Word 2013 For Dummies today!
When you instruct Word to tell you how many words are in a document, it treats hyphenated words or phrases as if they are ...
Discover MoreGot a list of words you don't want to appear in your documents? There are a number of ways that you can make sure they ...
Discover MoreGetting a word count for a single document is easy. Getting an aggregate word count for a large number of documents can ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)
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.
Visit the WordTips channel on YouTube
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2024 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Comments