You can access your Doc Statistics from the Doc Settings menu:
Click the 'Gear' icon in the upper right corner of your doc
Select 'Statistics' from the Doc Settings menu
You can access your Word Count and Character Count in the same panel:
Click the 'Gear' icon in the upper right corner of your doc
Select 'Statistics' from the Doc Settings menu
'Word Count' will show the total number of words in your doc and page; highlighting text will add a value to the Page Word Count so that it looks like 'xx of yy words' where yy = total number of words in the page, and xx = total number of words in the highlighted page
Clicking the down arrow next to 'Word Count' allows you to toggle to 'Character Count' to see the values for individual calendars; similar to Word Count, you may highlight an area to see the character count for that area
You can also see your Word Count or Character Count as you type! This can helpful for crafting content with character or text limitsーanything from social media posts to essays!
Click the 'Gear' icon in the upper right corner of your doc
Select 'Statistics' from the Doc Settings menu
After selecting 'Word Count' or 'Character Count,' adjust the toggle for 'Show while typing' to 'On' to see your counts while you work!
Note: You can also use Command+Shift+C on a Mac or Control+Shift+C on a PC to see the floating word & character count. [This used to be the shortcut to add a checklist; that keyboard shortcut is now Command+Shift+9/Control+Shift+9]
❓FAQs
Q: Which languages are supported for Word Count and Character Count?
A: Word count currently only applies to languages that use white spaces to separate words.
Q: Which words and characters, well . . . count?
A: The short answer is: Only text in a doc canvas contributes to doc and character counts. In other words, text in tables, views and formulas are not included in these counts. For word count, hyphenated words each count as one word. Example: "word-of-mouth" would count as one word (and not three).
Reminder: You can use the 'length( )' formula to determine character length of text in cells in tables.
This formula will count the characters of plain text (e.g., for a cell where 'Apple' has been typed, a length( ) formula referencing that cell would return 5), or the characters of text returned from look-ups (e.g., for a cell where a long lookup formula returns the value 'Apple,' a length( ) formula referencing that cell would ALSO return 5).
Q: Now that I know how many tables (or rows, or buttons, etc.) I have in total, how can I find them throughout my impressive, amazing, large doc?
A: Your Doc Map! The Doc Map is also available under the Doc Settings menu. If you're already viewing your Doc Statistics, use the 'breadcrumb' at the top of the Statistics Panel (< Doc Settings) to return to the menu and then choose 'Doc Map.'
Otherwise, you can click the Gear icon in the upper right of your doc to open the Doc Settings menu, and then choose 'Doc Map' to see where each element (table, button, etc.) of your doc lives.