I have a paper to write for my Comp class. She will not count words with 3
letters or less. I need to write a 500 word paper. I need to know if there is
a way to set word count to not count words with less then 4 letters.

I am using Word 2003. I forgot to type that in before.

"DianaHolmes" wrote:

> I have a paper to write for my Comp class. She will not count words with 3
> letters or less. I need to write a 500 word paper. I need to know if there is
> a way to set word count to not count words with less then 4 letters.

Not without a macro, no. But this is a ridiculous stipulation. No one in the
real world counts words that way. It suggests that your instructor wants you
to avoid plain speaking and clarity (using honest Anglo-Saxon words) fill
your paper with obfuscatory fifty-cent Latin derivatives. It might be an
interesting challenge to write a paper that didn't *contain* any words of
three letters or fewer. <g>

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

"DianaHolmes" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:1CFE34B8-E9A6-4DE6-BA58-(E-Mail Removed)...
> I have a paper to write for my Comp class. She will not count words with 3
> letters or less. I need to write a 500 word paper. I need to know if there
is
> a way to set word count to not count words with less then 4 letters.

It is not that we can not use them. She just will not count then as part of
the 500.

"Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote:

> Not without a macro, no. But this is a ridiculous stipulation. No one in the
> real world counts words that way. It suggests that your instructor wants you
> to avoid plain speaking and clarity (using honest Anglo-Saxon words) fill
> your paper with obfuscatory fifty-cent Latin derivatives. It might be an
> interesting challenge to write a paper that didn't *contain* any words of
> three letters or fewer. <g>
>
> --
> Suzanne S. Barnhill
> Microsoft MVP (Word)
> Words into Type
> Fairhope, Alabama USA
> Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
> Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
> all may benefit.
>
> "DianaHolmes" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:1CFE34B8-E9A6-4DE6-BA58-(E-Mail Removed)...
> > I have a paper to write for my Comp class. She will not count words with 3
> > letters or less. I need to write a 500 word paper. I need to know if there
> is
> > a way to set word count to not count words with less then 4 letters.
>
>

Here's one way to count the longer words:

First make a copy of the original document, and be sure to close the
original so it doesn't get overwritten by mistake. It would also be a
good idea to set up the backup method described at
http://www.gmayor.com/automatically_backup.htm.

In the copy, open the Replace dialog. Click the More button, and check
the box for "Use wildcards".

In the Find What box, enter this search expression:

<[A-Za-z]{1,3}>

which finds any sequence of one, two, or three letters that form a
word. (For more on wildcards, see
http://www.gmayor.com/replace_using_wildcards.htm.)

Leave the Replace With box blank, and click the Replace All button.
That will remove all the short words from the text.

Close the Replace dialog and open the Tools > Word Count dialog. This
count includes only the remaining words, which are all four or more
letters.

Be sure to close the copy and return to the original document to
continue editing. When you're doing things with similar documents,
ALWAYS double-check the document name in the title bar before you
change anything, save anything, or delete any files!

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP FAQ: http://word.mvps.org
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the
newsgroup so all may benefit.

On Sat, 23 Sep 2006 12:36:01 -0500, "Suzanne S. Barnhill"
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>Not without a macro, no. But this is a ridiculous stipulation. No one in the
>real world counts words that way. It suggests that your instructor wants you
>to avoid plain speaking and clarity (using honest Anglo-Saxon words) fill
>your paper with obfuscatory fifty-cent Latin derivatives. It might be an
>interesting challenge to write a paper that didn't *contain* any words of
>three letters or fewer. <g>
>
>--
>Suzanne S. Barnhill
>Microsoft MVP (Word)
>Words into Type
>Fairhope, Alabama USA
>Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
>Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
>all may benefit.
>
>"DianaHolmes" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>news:1CFE34B8-E9A6-4DE6-BA58-(E-Mail Removed)...
>> I have a paper to write for my Comp class. She will not count words with 3
>> letters or less. I need to write a 500 word paper. I need to know if there
>is
>> a way to set word count to not count words with less then 4 letters.

I wasn't suggesting that you couldn't use them, just that not counting them
is just as stupid as outlawing them. In the real world, when you're asked to
write a 500-word composition, *all* words are counted. They certainly
average out to more than three characters.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

"DianaHolmes" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news3F7016C-CB54-43F3-8BE3-(E-Mail Removed)...
> It is not that we can not use them. She just will not count then as part
of
> the 500.
>
> "Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote:
>
> > Not without a macro, no. But this is a ridiculous stipulation. No one in
the
> > real world counts words that way. It suggests that your instructor wants
you
> > to avoid plain speaking and clarity (using honest Anglo-Saxon words)
fill
> > your paper with obfuscatory fifty-cent Latin derivatives. It might be an
> > interesting challenge to write a paper that didn't *contain* any words
of
> > three letters or fewer. <g>
> >
> > --
> > Suzanne S. Barnhill
> > Microsoft MVP (Word)
> > Words into Type
> > Fairhope, Alabama USA
> > Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
> > Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the
newsgroup so
> > all may benefit.
> >
> > "DianaHolmes" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> > news:1CFE34B8-E9A6-4DE6-BA58-(E-Mail Removed)...
> > > I have a paper to write for my Comp class. She will not count words
with 3
> > > letters or less. I need to write a 500 word paper. I need to know if
there
> > is
> > > a way to set word count to not count words with less then 4 letters.
> >
> >

I gotta tell you, I've never been asked to write a 500 word composition in
the real world.

--

JoAnn Paules
MVP Microsoft [Publisher]




"Suzanne S. Barnhill" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:%(E-Mail Removed)...
>I wasn't suggesting that you couldn't use them, just that not counting them
> is just as stupid as outlawing them. In the real world, when you're asked
> to
> write a 500-word composition, *all* words are counted. They certainly
> average out to more than three characters.
>
> --
> Suzanne S. Barnhill
> Microsoft MVP (Word)
> Words into Type
> Fairhope, Alabama USA
> Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
> Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup
> so
> all may benefit.
>
> "DianaHolmes" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news3F7016C-CB54-43F3-8BE3-(E-Mail Removed)...
>> It is not that we can not use them. She just will not count then as part
> of
>> the 500.
>>
>> "Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote:
>>
>> > Not without a macro, no. But this is a ridiculous stipulation. No one
>> > in
> the
>> > real world counts words that way. It suggests that your instructor
>> > wants
> you
>> > to avoid plain speaking and clarity (using honest Anglo-Saxon words)
> fill
>> > your paper with obfuscatory fifty-cent Latin derivatives. It might be
>> > an
>> > interesting challenge to write a paper that didn't *contain* any words
> of
>> > three letters or fewer. <g>
>> >
>> > --
>> > Suzanne S. Barnhill
>> > Microsoft MVP (Word)
>> > Words into Type
>> > Fairhope, Alabama USA
>> > Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
>> > Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the
> newsgroup so
>> > all may benefit.
>> >
>> > "DianaHolmes" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
>> > news:1CFE34B8-E9A6-4DE6-BA58-(E-Mail Removed)...
>> > > I have a paper to write for my Comp class. She will not count words
> with 3
>> > > letters or less. I need to write a 500 word paper. I need to know if
> there
>> > is
>> > > a way to set word count to not count words with less then 4 letters.
>> >
>> >
>

It's not unusual to be given a specific word count for an assigned article
(for a magazine, for example). It may be more or less than 500 words, but it
will definitely include *all* the words. And if the submitted article is
over or under by more than a small percentage, the author will be asked to
edit and resubmit.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

"JoAnn Paules [MVP]" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:%(E-Mail Removed)...
> I gotta tell you, I've never been asked to write a 500 word composition in
> the real world.
>
> --
>
> JoAnn Paules
> MVP Microsoft [Publisher]
>
>
>
>
> "Suzanne S. Barnhill" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:%(E-Mail Removed)...
> >I wasn't suggesting that you couldn't use them, just that not counting
them
> > is just as stupid as outlawing them. In the real world, when you're
asked
> > to
> > write a 500-word composition, *all* words are counted. They certainly
> > average out to more than three characters.
> >
> > --
> > Suzanne S. Barnhill
> > Microsoft MVP (Word)
> > Words into Type
> > Fairhope, Alabama USA
> > Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
> > Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the
newsgroup
> > so
> > all may benefit.
> >
> > "DianaHolmes" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> > news3F7016C-CB54-43F3-8BE3-(E-Mail Removed)...
> >> It is not that we can not use them. She just will not count then as
part
> > of
> >> the 500.
> >>
> >> "Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote:
> >>
> >> > Not without a macro, no. But this is a ridiculous stipulation. No one
> >> > in
> > the
> >> > real world counts words that way. It suggests that your instructor
> >> > wants
> > you
> >> > to avoid plain speaking and clarity (using honest Anglo-Saxon words)
> > fill
> >> > your paper with obfuscatory fifty-cent Latin derivatives. It might be
> >> > an
> >> > interesting challenge to write a paper that didn't *contain* any
words
> > of
> >> > three letters or fewer. <g>
> >> >
> >> > --
> >> > Suzanne S. Barnhill
> >> > Microsoft MVP (Word)
> >> > Words into Type
> >> > Fairhope, Alabama USA
> >> > Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
> >> > Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the
> > newsgroup so
> >> > all may benefit.
> >> >
> >> > "DianaHolmes" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
message
> >> > news:1CFE34B8-E9A6-4DE6-BA58-(E-Mail Removed)...
> >> > > I have a paper to write for my Comp class. She will not count words
> > with 3
> >> > > letters or less. I need to write a 500 word paper. I need to know
if
> > there
> >> > is
> >> > > a way to set word count to not count words with less then 4
letters.
> >> >
> >> >
> >
>
>

You don't need to remove the words?
Do a wildcard find of
[A-Za-z]{4,}
and highlight all the words. This will give you a count of the found words.

--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com
Word MVP web site http://word.mvps.org
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>

Jay Freedman wrote:
> Here's one way to count the longer words:
>
> First make a copy of the original document, and be sure to close the
> original so it doesn't get overwritten by mistake. It would also be a
> good idea to set up the backup method described at
> http://www.gmayor.com/automatically_backup.htm.
>
> In the copy, open the Replace dialog. Click the More button, and check
> the box for "Use wildcards".
>
> In the Find What box, enter this search expression:
>
> <[A-Za-z]{1,3}>
>
> which finds any sequence of one, two, or three letters that form a
> word. (For more on wildcards, see
> http://www.gmayor.com/replace_using_wildcards.htm.)
>
> Leave the Replace With box blank, and click the Replace All button.
> That will remove all the short words from the text.
>
> Close the Replace dialog and open the Tools > Word Count dialog. This
> count includes only the remaining words, which are all four or more
> letters.
>
> Be sure to close the copy and return to the original document to
> continue editing. When you're doing things with similar documents,
> ALWAYS double-check the document name in the title bar before you
> change anything, save anything, or delete any files!
>
>
>> Not without a macro, no. But this is a ridiculous stipulation. No
>> one in the real world counts words that way. It suggests that your
>> instructor wants you to avoid plain speaking and clarity (using
>> honest Anglo-Saxon words) fill your paper with obfuscatory
>> fifty-cent Latin derivatives. It might be an interesting challenge
>> to write a paper that didn't *contain* any words of three letters or
>> fewer. <g>
>>
>> --
>> Suzanne S. Barnhill
>> Microsoft MVP (Word)
>> Words into Type
>> Fairhope, Alabama USA
>> Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
>> Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the
>> newsgroup so all may benefit.
>>
>> "DianaHolmes" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in
>> message news:1CFE34B8-E9A6-4DE6-BA58-(E-Mail Removed)...
>>> I have a paper to write for my Comp class. She will not count words
>>> with 3 letters or less. I need to write a 500 word paper. I need to
>>> know if there is a way to set word count to not count words with
>>> less then 4 letters.