Microsoft Word keeps a running count of the words in your document, so you usually do not need to calculate it yourself. The count is available from both the status bar and the Review tab.
Check the word count in Word
- Open the document in Word.
- Look at the status bar along the bottom of the window.
- Click the displayed word count to open the Word Count dialog.
- Review the totals for words, pages, characters, paragraphs, and lines.
If you do not see the count on the status bar, right-click the status bar and make sure Word Count is enabled.
Count only part of a document
Select the paragraph, section, or other text you want to measure. Word changes the status-bar count to show the selected words along with the document total. You can also open Review > Word Count while the text is selected.
The Word Count dialog includes an option for text boxes, footnotes, and endnotes. Check that setting when you are working with an assignment or publication that has specific rules about what belongs in the final count.
Matt Jacobs has been working as an IT consultant for small businesses since receiving his Master’s degree in 2003. While he still does some consulting work, his primary focus now is on creating technology support content for SupportYourTech.com.
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