When working on a document, word count can often be a crucial factor, whether you are writing an essay, a report, or any other project. Google Docs offers several built-in tools to manage your word count effectively, but it does not directly support excluding specific words from the count. However, with a bit of creativity and understanding of Google Docs’ capabilities, you can achieve this goal. This article will guide you through various methods and strategies to exclude words from your word count in Google Docs.
Understanding the Word Count Feature in Google Docs
Before diving into exclusion techniques, it’s essential to understand how Google Docs counts words. The built-in word count tool includes every single word present in the document, which can pose challenges when you want to filter out specific words or phrases.
To access the word count in Google Docs, follow these steps:
A dialogue box will appear showing the total number of words, character count (with and without spaces), and other statistics about your document.
Reasons for Excluding Words from Word Count
Excluding words from the word count can be essential in various scenarios:
-
Academic Requirements:
Many academic institutions set specific guidelines regarding word limits, often excluding references or specific phrases. -
Professional Documentation:
In business writing, segments like disclaimers, boilerplate text, footers, or headers might not count towards the actual content. -
Grant Proposals and Applications:
Certain applications may require specific exclusion criteria for a clear submission process.
Given these contexts, here is how you can exclude words effectively without creating additional work.
Method 1: Using Google Docs’ Suggestion Mode
One of the primary ways to trick Google Docs into excluding words is to use the Suggestion mode combined with a temporary ‘exclude’ text.
Convert Your Document to Suggestion Mode:
- Click on the dropdown in the top-right corner of your document where it says “Editing” and change this to “Suggesting.”
Mark Words to Exclude:
- Change the words you want to exclude into suggestions. Simply highlight the text and make changes in a way that it turns into a suggestion. For example, you could change “Reference 1” to “[EXCLUDE] Reference 1”.
Check Word Count:
- Now, check the word count, and it will not include the text that’s been suggested to be changed.
Final Review:
- Once you have completed your document and its revisions, you can accept the changes, keeping the excluded words for reference but outside the active word count.
Method 2: Utilizing Comments or Footnotes
Another effective method is to use the comments feature or footnotes to include additional information without impacting the visible word count.
Add Comments:
- Highlight the text you want to exclude and click on the “Add comment” icon (or use the shortcut Ctrl + Alt + M). Here you can put your notes or alternative wording.
Insert Footnotes:
- For academic or formal documents, insert footnotes for explanations or examples that do not contribute to the main body. Go to “Insert” > “Footnote”. The text in footnotes is also excluded from the main word count.
Both comments and footnotes provide areas to make notes while keeping your main content concise and focusing only on the essential narrative.
Method 3: Use Google Sheets for Word Counting
If you require a more technical approach, you can consider exporting your text to Google Sheets, where you can manually control the word count more flexibly.
Copy and Paste Your Document:
- Copy the text from your Google Docs document and paste it into a new Google Sheets file.
Manually Remove Words:
- In Sheets, you can manually remove specific words or phrases you want to exclude from the word count. Use transitively styled cells to help with everything.
Count Words:
-
Use the formula
=COUNTA(A:A)
(where A:A is the column containing your text) to get the overall count without specific words.
Back to Docs:
- Once you determine the word count you need, you can return to your Google Docs, making adjustments as necessary.
Method 4: Using Third-Party Tools
For those who require advanced capabilities, numerous third-party applications and websites can provide detailed analytics of your text, including the ability to exclude certain words. Here’s how you can approach this:
Export Your Document:
-
Download your Google Docs document as a Microsoft Word (
.docx
) or PDF format.
Use Online Word Counters:
- Websites like WordCounter.net or CharacterCountOnline.com allow you to copy and paste your text while excluding unwanted words to show a customized count.
Paste Back if Necessary:
- After finding the word count using these tools, make any necessary adjustments and return to your Google Docs for final editing.
Method 5: Document Properties for Information
Sometimes, you might want to document specific words that should be accounted for separately without influencing the main body’s word count. Google Docs allows you to add custom properties:
Open Document Settings:
- Click on “File” > “Document details”.
Add Custom Properties:
- Introduce what words or phrases you want to track in the document properties while retaining the clarity of the main text.
Developing a Strategy
When working on documents with specific word count requirements, it’s always good practice to develop a strategy from the onset. Here are some best practices:
-
Planning Your Document Structure:
By setting up headers/sub-headers, you can compartmentalize essential information while keeping quotations or references in a sidebar or footnote. -
Using Placeholder Text:
While drafting, use placeholders for ideas, ensuring they don’t get counted in your preliminary analysis. -
Engage in Revisions:
As you complete writing, take time to revise content entirely distinct from those sections you may want to exclude.
Planning Your Document Structure:
By setting up headers/sub-headers, you can compartmentalize essential information while keeping quotations or references in a sidebar or footnote.
Using Placeholder Text:
While drafting, use placeholders for ideas, ensuring they don’t get counted in your preliminary analysis.
Engage in Revisions:
As you complete writing, take time to revise content entirely distinct from those sections you may want to exclude.
Conclusion
Excluding words from the word count in Google Docs requires a bit of ingenuity and usage of the platform’s existing features. From suggestion modes to footnotes and leveraging external tools, various methods can streamline your document preparation process.
While Google Docs does not provide a direct option for excluding words from the count, understanding the built-in capabilities and combining various techniques allows for effective document management. Whether for academic purposes, professional writing, or personal projects, mastering these techniques will facilitate a smoother and more efficient writing process.
By approaching document creation with these strategies, you not only foster clarity in your writing but also adhere to the guidelines or requirements you must meet, ensuring professional and polished results in your documents.