Knowledge Base

WD97: Word Count Is Zero When Object Is Selected

Article ID: 173801

Article Last Modified on 1/20/2007

Microsoft Word 97 Standard Edition

This article was previously published under Q173801

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 occurs if you only 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.

STATUS

This behavior is by design.

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.

Additional query words: 8.0 8.00

Keywords: kbprb kbproof KB173801