Even with a text box, there is no way to get a cumulative word count (at
least not dynamically). You can select all the text up to a given point,
take a word count, and then enter the number into the text box as plain
text, but this will have to be done over and over if you edit the text. I
suggest that you solicit the support of someone in the IT department of the
university to back you up in your assertion that this is an insanely
difficult requirement and a considerable waste of time that should be spent
learning.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
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"Darren" wrote in message
...
I agree on both counts but I have no choice it is a uni requirement. Text
boxes are the best I can do I think..

thanks for the reply

"Jezebel" wrote:

It's a silly request. Ignore it. And the suggestion to put each page in
its
own section is fatuous. Show the total word count once, on the cover
sheet
or at the end.


"Darren" wrote in message
...
The university I am at has this obsession with formatting. Anyway they
want a
cumulative word count in the footer of our essays but of course all
text
in
the footer of a given document section is the same.

The lecturer suggests making every page a section before printing out
which
I think is messy. I have been printing every page sepately and
editting
ther
footer .

Anyway does anyone know a way of doing this?

Thanks

Darren