# MS Word Essoteric Question

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ms-word-essoteric-question/358451>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [May 27, 2006, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ms-word-essoteric-question/358451 "2006-05-27T14:49:45Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\
**Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ms-word-essoteric-question/358451/1 "2006-05-27T14:49:45Z")

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Is there any way to tell MS Word to COUNT how many times a word or phrase appears in a document (or section thereof)? I know it can do a basic word count, but you’d think it could be more versatile. If it can, I haven’t been able to find it using the “help” feature. Maybe some MS Word guru knows how? - Jinx

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**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\
**Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ms-word-essoteric-question/358451/2 "2006-05-27T14:54:57Z")

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I’m afraid it’s a [VBA job](http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=240157).

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**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\
**Post date:** [May 27, 2006, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ms-word-essoteric-question/358451/3 "2006-05-27T15:23:55Z")

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Use the find and replace function. Find “word” check the box _highlight all items_ It will highlight all instances of “word” and give you a count.