How to Check Word Count in Microsoft Word

There are times when word count counts! Maybe you have to write a 1,000-word paper for class, develop a 300-word article for a work newsletter, or submit a 100-word bio for an online community.

You can easily check the word count on all or part of a document without opening a new window. Microsoft Word displays the word count in the status bar at the bottom of the screen. You can expand the word count tracker to get even more detailed information, such as character, line, and paragraph count.

To see the word count of your entire document at a glance, just look at the left-hand portion of the status bar at the bottom of your Word screen. It will say something like 502 words.

If you don't see the word count in the status bar:

To view the number of words in a specific sentence, paragraph, or section, select the text. The word count of the selected text displays on the left-hand size of the Word status bar, along with the word count for the entire document. It will say something like 95 of 502 words.

You can find the word count for several sections at the same time by making the first selection, then pressing and holding the Ctrl key on your keyboard while you make the other selections.

If you need more than just a simple word count, you can display the Word Count pop-up window, which shows the following information:

• Number of pages
• Number of words
• Number of characters (no spaces)
• Number of characters (with spaces)
• Paragraphs
• Lines

You can opt to include or exclude text boxes, footnotes, and endnotes.

To open the Word Count window, select the word count on the status bar. To close it, select Close or X.