Technical forums » Software applications »
differing word counts from Word itself
Thread poster: Sherey Gould
Sherey Gould
Sherey Gould  Identity Verified
Local time: 17:28
German to English
Jun 4, 2005

Just wondering if anyone else ever noticed that when you ask Word to do a word or character count, you get two differing answers depending on whether you right click on the (unopened) document and then hit "Properties" or whether you actually have the doc open and then ask it via the Tools heading.
I stumbled across this difference years ago but still don't know which one is "right" because when I type in a smaller amount, say 50-100 or so words as a test, counting them directly myself and... See more
Just wondering if anyone else ever noticed that when you ask Word to do a word or character count, you get two differing answers depending on whether you right click on the (unopened) document and then hit "Properties" or whether you actually have the doc open and then ask it via the Tools heading.
I stumbled across this difference years ago but still don't know which one is "right" because when I type in a smaller amount, say 50-100 or so words as a test, counting them directly myself and then the two other ways, these smaller amounts *are* always the same both ways.
Forinstance I just tested a recent doc I did - 16 pages and there is a difference of over 300 words. It's very bizarre and I never heard anyone else ever bring this up.
And, ethically, which count would you use? ▲ Collapse
 
uFO
uFO  Identity Verified
South Korea
Local time: 20:28
Korean to English
+ ...
link to previous discussion Jun 4, 2005

I noticed it some time ago, when trying to figure out which number to put in my invoice... Here is the link to the discussion:
http://www.proz.com/topic/24330
By the way, all suggessted solutions did not work for me, so I ended up adding a note in the body of my invoice saying something like "as counted in MS Word Tools>Word Count"
 
guilhen
guilhen
Local time: 01:28
Spanish to French
+ ...
It seems word counts special characters as words Jun 4, 2005

Hy,

That's interesting.
I've just done the following test with the following extract

"Papa rellena = Pape remplit = avez bourré le pape

Yuca con Mojo = Yucca avec je Mouille

Platano Macho Crujiente = Banane Masculine Craquante

Picadillo a la habanera = Hachis à ce qui est habanera"

The word count in word is 36 with the = and 31 without. The word count gives 31 in the document properties and in word.
sh... See more
Hy,

That's interesting.
I've just done the following test with the following extract

"Papa rellena = Pape remplit = avez bourré le pape

Yuca con Mojo = Yucca avec je Mouille

Platano Macho Crujiente = Banane Masculine Craquante

Picadillo a la habanera = Hachis à ce qui est habanera"

The word count in word is 36 with the = and 31 without. The word count gives 31 in the document properties and in word.
should we check with more cases?

(please do not pay attention to the extract, it comes from a forum about machine translated texts) ▲ Collapse
 
lien
lien
Netherlands
Local time: 01:28
English to French
+ ...
The one I use Jun 4, 2005

Sherey Gould wrote:

And, ethically, which count would you use?



I noticed that too, but I didn't even think about it. For me, the one that counts is the one I check when the document is open.

Don't forget Words counts differently according the language. If your text is in French, you have to set the document in French language to get a proper count.
 


To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator:

Moderator(s) of this forum
Natalie[Call to this topic]
Prachya Mruetusatorn[Call to this topic]

You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request »

differing word counts from Word itself






Wordfast Pro
Translation Memory Software for Any Platform

Exclusive discount for ProZ.com users! Save over 13% when purchasing Wordfast Pro through ProZ.com. Wordfast is the world's #1 provider of platform-independent Translation Memory software. Consistently ranked the most user-friendly and highest value

Buy now! »
TM-Town
Manage your TMs and Terms ... and boost your translation business

Are you ready for something fresh in the industry? TM-Town is a unique new site for you -- the freelance translator -- to store, manage and share translation memories (TMs) and glossaries...and potentially meet new clients on the basis of your prior work.

More info »