How to get a character count in a Microsoft Word document

<p><img src="https://static1.businessinsider.com/image/608b76c135c46f0018c0b61d-2400/GettyImages-1137032800.jpg" border="0" alt="typing in document" data-mce-source="Deagreez/Getty Images"></p><p></p><bi-shortcode id="summary-shortcode" data-type="summary-shortcode" class="mceNonEditable" contenteditable="false">Summary List Placement</bi-shortcode><p>On occasion, you may need to ensure your document has a particular number of words. Microsoft Word makes it easy to keep track of your word count two different waysvia the status bar at the bottom of the screen and in the Review tab of the ribbon. It's less common to need the character count, but it's just as easy to find via the ribbon's Review tab.&nbsp;</p><p>Word tracks many statistics for you: the total number of pages, paragraphs, line, words, and characters. Word distinguishes between the total number of characters in your document with or without including spaces. There might be times when you need to know one or the other, but if you have a need to write a certain number of characters and the requirements don't specify, you can usually assume it's the total number of characters including spaces.&nbsp;</p><aside class="breakout-box headline-regular"><h2><strong>How to get a character count in Word</strong></h2><p>The method for finding the character count in Word is exactly the same whether you are using Windows or a Mac.&nbsp;<br><br></p><ol><li>If you want the character count of just part of the document, select the text you want to count. If you want the character count of the entire document, make sure there's no text selected.&nbsp;</li><li aria-level="1">Click the "Review" tab in the ribbon.</li><li aria-level="1">In the ribbon, click "Word Count."</li><li aria-level="1">The Word Count dialog box will appear. Note that you can control whether Word includes extra elements like textboxes, footnotes, and endnotes in its count. To remove those from the count, clear the checkbox.&nbsp;<br><br></li></ol><p><img src="https://static6.businessinsider.com/image/608b795a34af8d001859a0c2-1664/How to get a character count in Word-1.jpg" border="0" alt="How to get a character count in Word 1" data-mce-source="Dave Johnson/Insider" data-mce-caption="You can select text to get the character count for part of the document or find the count for the entire doc without making a selection."></p></aside><h2>How to get a character count in Word with one click</h2><p>You can add Word Count to Word's Quick Access toolbarthat's the row of icons at the top left of the title bar. After you add it, you can click the icon to get a word and character count without first going to the Review tab of the ribbon.&nbsp;</p><ul><li aria-level="1">In Word for Windows, click the "Review" tab and right-click "Word Count." Then, in the menu, click "Add to Quick Access Toolbar."</li></ul><p><img src="https://static1.businessinsider.com/image/608b7b3635c46f0018c0b625-949/How to get a character count in Word-2.jpg" border="0" alt="How to get a character count in Word 2" data-mce-source="Dave Johnson/Insider" data-mce-caption="You can right-click to add the Word Count to the Quick Access Toolbar."></p><ul><li aria-level="1">In Word for the Mac, click the down-arrow at the right of the Quick Access Toolbar in the Word title bar. Choose "More Commands" In the Ribbon &amp; Toolbar dialog box, click the Choose Commands From menu and choose "Review." Scroll to the bottom and click "Word Count" then click the right arrow to move it to the Customize Quick Access Toolbar list. Click "Save."&nbsp;</li></ul><p><img src="https://static4.businessinsider.com/image/608b7c6a35c46f0018c0b628-1121/How to get a character count in Word-3.jpg" border="0" alt="How to get a character count in Word 3" data-mce-source="Dave Johnson/Insider" data-mce-caption="Open the Ribbon &amp; Toolbar dialog box to add Word count to the Quick Access Toolbar on the Mac."></p><bi-shortcode id="related-article-module-end-of-article" class="mceNonEditable"><a data-type="608750a812e5e41c4340e6d1" data-title="How to remove a page break in Word and get rid of useless blank spaces" data-url="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-remove-a-page-break-in-word" data-vertical="sai" data-image="https://i.insider.com/undefined">How to remove a page break in Word and get rid of useless blank spaces</a><a data-type="6075f9867b8e947017423ec4" data-title="How to add page numbers to a Microsoft Word document header or footer on a PC or Mac" data-url="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-add-page-numbers-in-word" data-vertical="sai" data-image="https://i.insider.com/undefined">How to add page numbers to a Microsoft Word document header or footer on a PC or Mac</a><a data-type="6070c9fc0c26757b40643dea" data-title="How to double space in Microsoft Word on different versions of the word processor" data-url="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-double-space-in-word" data-vertical="sai" data-image="https://i.insider.com/6070cb184943790018bb1c3a">How to double space in Microsoft Word on different versions of the word processor</a><a data-type="601da847ae88572ab80c1298" data-title="How to draw freely on Microsoft Word or insert shapes to customize documents" data-url="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-to-draw-on-microsoft-word" data-vertical="sai" data-image="https://i.insider.com/601db41390dd450018a7b364">How to draw freely on Microsoft Word or insert shapes to customize documents</a></bi-shortcode><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/character-count-in-word#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p>
Click here to read full news..