Properties - word count

[FrecklePaw]

When I right click on a Word file in my File Explorer and select 'Properties' > 'Details' I'm seeing various different values that can display information but most of them are blank, except for a few (dates, time, etc.). I would like the information for Word Count to be available in this list so that I can view this without having to open each individual document to obtain the word count manually. How can I achieve this - and also retroactively for documents created before I make any necessary changes to adopt this method? TIA

See image attached/below.

word count.PNG

[HansV]

That's weird - all that info is displayed om my PC, even if I click Remove Properties and Personal Information...

I searched Google for this problem, and while I found others complaining of this, there was no clear solution.
Anyone else have an idea?

S2387.png

[FrecklePaw]

That's weird - all that info is displayed om my PC, even if I click Remove Properties and Personal Information...

I searched Google for this problem, and while I found others complaining of this, there was no clear solution.
Anyone else have an idea?


S2387.png

Hi Hans, thanks - I believe it's also possible to do this in the File Explorer view window when viewing the files by right click 'More' > 'Choose Details' > and selecting 'Word count'. I've tried this as an alternative method, but on mine it comes up blank - I am wondering if it's because I have removed Properties and Personal Info, and also the documents are password protected - possibly these factors are impacting the settings. Could there be a way round this alternative method?

[HansV]

Even if I remove properties and personal information, the word count remains visible, both in the Details tab of the Properties dialog and in the Word Count column of File Explorer.

But you're onto something - when I password-protect a document, the word count and other content properties are no longer displayed. I assume this is because File Explorer can no longer read the document.
I protected a copy of the document I used in my previous reply:

S2388.png

[FrecklePaw]

Aha! Thanks for checking this!

[BobH]

^^^
And thank you for the question. Before reading this I had no idea that I could check word count in this way.

Thanks again!!

[Charles Kenyon]

The following article on the MVP site may be helpful although it does not deal with viewing properties in Windows Explorer.

How can I get access to the Document Properties of a Word file without opening the document?
https://wordmvp.com/FAQs/MacrosVBA/DSOFile.htm

[ChrisGreaves]

Before reading this I had no idea that I could check word count in this way.

I have a recollection of there being FOUR different word-counts, from my days in converting and cleansing documents. For the one document "Everything_2022_05.doc" on my system:-

(1) Windows File Explorer, right-click, Properties, Details tab, Word-count 13042

Wordcount_01.png

(2) Within the opened file in Word2003, File, Properties, Statistics tab, Words 9114

Wordcount_02.png

(3) Within the VBE debug window "?activedocument.words.count" 13,633

Wordcount_02.png

It should be noted that these panes were developed before the days of formatting numbers with commas.

(4) Within one’s own application, one can define a “word”, which we sometimes do to take care of MSWord’s definition of a word. A parallel situation can be read in A better definition of a Sentence in MSWord Which treats Sentences.
(continued in next post)

[ChrisGreaves]

(continued)

Wordcount_04.png

FWIW Just opening the file for editing (in Word2003 again) inhibits display of the word-count in the Explorer Properties box. That suggests that Word2003 locks the document for editing so that Explorer can’t open it to read and analyze the data.
Or else the document is locked to be Read-Only, but Explorer mis-interprets that setting as plain old "locked"

Take it from here!

Cheers, Chris

[SpeakEasy]

The following article on the MVP site may be helpful although it does not deal with viewing properties in Windows Explorer.

How can I get access to the Document Properties of a Word file without opening the document?
https://wordmvp.com/FAQs/MacrosVBA/DSOFile.htm

Even assuming that you can get hold of a copy these days, it won't help for most users as it only works against COM Compound Documents (also known as Structured OLE Documents). That stopped being the default with Office 2007. I.e it does not work with DOCX, XLSX, PPTX... (OK, this is not entirely true - the Office 2007 Compatibility Pack enabled DSOFile to work with the X files, through the introduction of a shim, msoshext.dll)