WD: Word Count Is Zero When Object Is Selected

ID: Q193754

The information in this article applies to:

SYMPTOMS

In Microsoft Word, all values in the Word Count dialog box except Pages and Lines may equal zero, regardless of the content of the document.

CAUSE

This behavior only occurs if you have an object (such as a picture) selected when you click Word Count on the Tools menu.

RESOLUTION

Cancel the selection of any object before you click Word Count on the Tools menu. To do this, click anywhere in the text of the document.

MORE INFORMATION

The Word Count feature returns the number of words and characters in the current selection. If nothing is selected, values are returned for the entire document. However, if a non-text object like a picture is selected, the Word Count returns zero.

Keywords          : kbdta word6 word7 word95 
Version           : WINDOWS:6.0,6.0a,6.0c,7.0,7.0a
Platform          : WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbbug

Last Reviewed: February 12, 1999