How to Use Microsoft Word’s Word Count Tool (Tutorial)

I know what you’re thinking: “What’s there to learn about the Microsoft Word word count tool? The number is right there at the bottom of the screen!” And that is certainly true. Unless you’ve changed your default settings, the count always appears in the status bar below your document. But Word’s word count tool can do more than provide the total word count. It can also give you the word count for specific sections, provide additional count statistics, and exclude everything in textboxes, footnotes, and endnotes.

Count Words in Specific Sections

To view the number of words in a specific sentence, paragraph, page, etc., select only that text. The word count in the status bar will then update to say “[#] of [#] words.” Once you deselect the text, the count will return to the total for the entire document.

Here are a few Windows keyboard shortcuts that make selecting specific text in Word a bit easier:

• Select everything from the cursor to the end of the paragraph:
  Ctrl + Shift + Down Arrow
• Select everything from the cursor to the beginning of the paragraph:
  Ctrl + Shift + Up Arrow
• Select everything from the cursor to the end of the screen:
  Ctrl +Shift + Alt + PgDn (Page Down)
• Select everything from the cursor to the beginning of the screen:
  Ctrl + Shift + Alt + PgUp (Page Up)
• Select everything from the cursor to the end of the document:
  Ctrl + Shift + End
• Select everything from the cursor to the beginning of the document:
  Ctrl + Shift + Home

View Additional Statistics and Exclude Textboxes, Footnotes, and Endnotes

To view the number of paragraphs, lines, and characters in your document, select the word count in the status bar or press Ctrl + Shift + G to display the Word Count dialog box.

Uncheck “Include textboxes, footnotes, and endnotes” if you want to exclude everything in those sections from the word count. The count with update immediately.

Further Reading: How to Delete Extra Spaces in Microsoft Word