Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 97, 2000, 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: Counting the Instances of a Text String.

Counting the Instances of a Text String

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 11, 2020)
This tip applies to Word 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003

When you are working in a large document, you may want to know how many times a particular text string occurs within a portion of the document. One way you can find this information is to create a macro that will examine a selected range of text to see how many instances it contains. Consider the following macro:

Sub CountString()
    Dim MyDoc As String, txt As String, t As String
    MyDoc = ActiveDocument.Range.Text
    txt = InputBox("Text to find")
    t = Replace(MyDoc, txt, "")
    MsgBox (Len(MyDoc) - Len(t)) / Len(txt) & " occurrences of " & txt
End Sub

Select the text you want analyzed and then run the macro. It assigns the selected text to the MyDoc variable (so nothing in the actual document is affected) and then asks you to enter the text string you want to find. The Replace function is then used to replace all the instances of that string within the MyDoc variable. The text, after the replacement, is assigned to the variable t. The length of the "before" text (MyDoc) and the "after" text (t) is compared and the number of replacements calculated.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the WordTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (3788) 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: Counting the Instances of a Text String.

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. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Quickly Displaying Formatting Specs

It's easy to apply formatting to text, but often hard (after the fact) to know exactly what was done. If you often need ...

Discover More

Disappearing Status Bar

Ever had your Excel status bar disappear unexpectedly? Here's some ideas on why this may be happening.

Discover More

Removing All Comments

Need to get rid of all the comments in your document that are added to your text? You can do so by using the regular Find ...

Discover More

Learning Made Easy! Quickly teach yourself how to format, publish, and share your content using Word 2013. With Step by Step, you set the pace, building and practicing the skills you need, just when you need them! Check out Microsoft Word 2013 Step by Step today!

More WordTips (menu)

Inserting Text with a Macro

Need to have your macro insert a bit of text into your document? It's easy to do using the TypeText method.

Discover More

Changing ToolTips for a Macro Button

Want to change the ToolTip that appears when you hover the mouse over a button on a toolbar? It's a bit more involved ...

Discover More

Automatically Inserting Tomorrow's Date

Do you routinely need to work with tomorrow's date? Why not create a template that automatically adds tomorrow's date to ...

Discover More

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.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is 0 + 7?

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.