Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2002 and 2003. If you are using a later version (Word 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Word, click here: Word Count in Multiple Selections.

Word Count in Multiple Selections

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated September 16, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 2002 and 2003


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 Word 2003 you can follow these steps:

  1. Select the first block of text you need included in the word count.
  2. Hold down the Ctrl key as you use the mouse to select the second and any additional blocks of text.
  3. Choose Word Count from the Tools.

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.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (3876) applies to Microsoft Word 2002 and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) here: Word Count in Multiple Selections.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Moving Rows and Columns with the Mouse

Like to use the mouse to help you with your document editing? You can move table rows and column with the mouse by using ...

Discover More

Clearing the Undo Stack in a Macro

Excel keeps track of the actions you take so that you can undo those actions if any are taken in error. You may want to ...

Discover More

Referencing a Worksheet Name

Excel provides ways to reference the column or row number of a cell, but it doesn't provide a built-in way to reference a ...

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! Are you ready to harness the full power of Word 2013 to create professional documents? In this comprehensive guide you'll learn the skills and techniques for efficiently building the documents you need for your professional and your personal life. Check out Word 2013 In Depth today!

More WordTips (menu)

Displaying a Live Word Count

You can use Word's built in tools to figure out how many words are in your document. If you want a real-time, constantly ...

Discover More

Word Count for a Section

Dynamic word counts for your entire document are easy to get when you use using fields. There is no built-in method to ...

Discover More

Ignoring Hyphens in Word Counts

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 More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is five more than 3?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the menu interface (Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, or Word 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Videos
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.