Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 4, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003
Word keeps track of summary information for a document. You can see the information maintained by Word simply by displaying the Properties dialog box for your document. One of the pieces of information maintained is the number of words in the document. This information is updated whenever the document is saved or printed. Word allows you to insert this bit of summary information in your document by following these steps:
Figure 1. The Field dialog box.
If you prefer to not use the Field dialog box (for whatever reason), you can insert the number of words into your document by following these steps:
WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (556) applies to Microsoft Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Word (Word 2007 and later) here: Inserting a Dynamic Word Count in Your Document.
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