Word count for only section of document

I know it is possible to add a word count field (NUMCOUNT) to a document to create a dynamic word count, but is it possible to limit the word count to only a section of the document?

I need a solution which does not use Macros/VBA.

Solution 1:

Loosening the VBA restrictions, the macro found on wordribbon.tips.net can calculate the number of words per section, given that each section is followed by a section break:

Sub WordCount()
    Dim NumSec As Integer
    Dim S As Integer
    Dim Summary As String

    NumSec = ActiveDocument.Sections.Count
    Summary = "Word Count" & vbCrLf

    For S = 1 To NumSec
        Summary = Summary & "Section " & S & ": " _
          & ActiveDocument.Sections(S).Range.ComputeStatistics(wdStatisticWords) _
          & vbCrLf
    Next

    Summary = Summary & "Document: " & _
      ActiveDocument.Range.ComputeStatistics(wdStatisticWords)
    MsgBox Summary
End Sub

Note that I replaced .Words.Count with .ComputeStatistics(wdStatisticWords) for a more accurate count (based on the information in this KB article).

The current macro will show an alert with the word count per section, but of course this information can be stored as text in the document as well.

Solution 2:

Finding the word-count of a section of the document:

• Select the section of interest
• Position to the Review pane
• In the Proofing group, click on Word Count:

Solution 3:

When you select the section, just look at the status bar. The word count is shown there.