Word Count in Multiple Selections

Summary: Getting a word count for an entire document is easy. What you may not know is that modern versions of Word can also provide word counts for different selections of text, as well. (This tip works with Microsoft Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, Word 2003, and Word 2007.)

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? If you are using Word 2002 or a later version of Word, you can follow these steps:

Select the first block of text you need included in the word count.
Hold down the Ctrl key as you use the mouse to select the second and any additional blocks of text.
Choose Word Count from the Tools menu or, in Word 2007, display the Review tab of the ribbon and click the Word Count tool.

That's it; the count returned represents all the words in the selected text—even though the text blocks are not contiguous.

When using an older version of Word (such as Word 97 or Word 2000), you cannot select non-contiguous blocks of text. In that case, it is best to select what you want counted, copy it to a new document, and then do the word count on what you copied. You can then throw away the new document, as you no longer need it.

Tip #3876 applies to Microsoft Word versions: 97 | 2000 | 2002 | 2003 | 2007

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Word Count in Multiple Selections