How to Do a Word Count in Adobe InDesign: A Comprehensive Guide

As a designer, you know that managing text content is a huge part of creating great layouts in Adobe InDesign. Whether you‘re typesetting a book, a brochure, or a multi-page magazine spread, being able to quickly check your word counts is key to staying on target and on deadline.

While InDesign is a powerful page layout program, it doesn‘t put word counts front and center like a word processor such as Microsoft Word or Google Docs. But with a few insider tips, you can easily monitor the length of your InDesign text from start to finish. In this article, we‘ll break down exactly how to do a word count in InDesign – as well as some advanced tricks for wrangling your word counts like a pro.

The Basics: Counting Words with the Info Panel

The quickest way to get a word count of your text in InDesign is by using the Info Panel. Here‘s how:

1. Select the Type tool (keyboard shortcut T) and click and drag to select the text you want to count. To quickly select all the text in a series of linked frames, double-click inside any text frame, then press Command+A (Mac) or Control+A (Windows).

2. Open the Info Panel by going to Window > Info in the top menu bar, or press F8 on your keyboard.

3. In the Info Panel, you‘ll see a line showing the count of characters, words, lines, and paragraphs in the selected text. The word count is listed after the "W".

That‘s all there is to it! With your text selected, the Info Panel gives you a dynamically updating word count (along with counts of characters, lines and paragraphs) as you make changes to the text.

Characters vs. Words: Understanding InDesign‘s Count Options

By default, the Info Panel displays the number of characters in the selected text, followed by the number of words. But InDesign actually provides several different count options that can be useful in different scenarios.

To cycle through the different Info Panel counting modes, simply click on the triangle icon next to the counts. The options are:

• Characters (including spaces and punctuation)
• Characters (no spaces)
• Words
• Lines
• Paragraphs

In most publishing workflows, the word count is the key number used to assess the length of an article or document. However, character counts can also be useful, especially when designing around text containers of a fixed size.

For example, if you have a text box that can only fit 350 characters, an author would need to supply copy that is 350 characters or less including spaces. In this case, using the Characters (including spaces) count option would be the way to go.

Dealing with Overset Text

One quirk to keep in mind with InDesign word counts is how it handles overset text. Overset text is text that doesn‘t fit inside the currently available text frames and is hidden from view.

When you select an overset text frame with the Type tool, the Info Panel will display two word counts separated by a plus sign: the number of words visible in the frame, and the number of words in the overset portion.

To get an accurate total word count in a story with overset text, place your cursor in the text frame and press Command+A (Mac) or Control+A (Windows) to select the entire story, including the overset portion. The Info Panel will then display the full word count.

If you have multiple discontiguous frames of overset text, you‘ll need to select them individually and add up the overset counts to get the full total.

Advanced Word Count Tools

For most day-to-day word counting needs, the Info Panel gets the job done. But if you‘re dealing with very long documents or an editorial-heavy workflow, a more robust word count utility can be a huge time saver. Here are some options to supercharge your InDesign word counts:

Counting More than Just Words

In addition to word counts, InDesign can report the number of characters, lines, and paragraphs in a selection or story. Here‘s what each of those counts can tell you:

• Character count: The total number of letters, numbers, spaces and punctuation. Useful for fitting copy into design elements of a fixed size.

• Line count: The number of lines of text. Note that this only counts complete lines – if your text frame has a partial line at the bottom, it won‘t be included in the line count.

• Paragraph count: The number of paragraph breaks in the text. Each hard return starts a new paragraph.

To see all these counts, open the Info Panel and click the triangle icon to expand the display options. You can also resize the panel to see more information at once.

Using InCopy for Richer Word Counts and Editorial Tools

For many publishing teams, Adobe InCopy is an indispensable part of the InDesign workflow. It‘s a word processor built specifically for writing and editing content that will be placed into InDesign layouts.

InCopy has much more robust word count features compared to InDesign. Its Story Info panel lets you view counts of words, characters (with or without spaces), paragraphs, lines, and more. You can even set custom word count goals and track your progress.

With InCopy and InDesign, writers and editors can work on a story in tandem with layout designers. Changes made in the InCopy story file are synced with the InDesign layout, and vice versa.

If your team is regularly publishing long-form content, adopting InCopy can streamline your workflow and provide more powerful word count and editing tools. To learn more, check out Adobe‘s InCopy product page.

Third-Party Plugins for Word Counts and More

There are also a variety of plugins created by third-party developers that add enhanced word count features to InDesign. These plugins are often designed to emulate the word count tools found in Microsoft Word, Google Docs, and other word processors.

One popular option is WordCounter by DTP Tools. It‘s a free plugin that adds a dedicated word count window to InDesign, with extra features like count goal tracking, live count updating, and options to include/exclude specific text.

Another powerful tool is the Pro Bundle by Em Software, which includes a Story Count plugin for generating customizable word count reports across all the text content in your InDesign document or book.

Keep in mind that third-party plugins can sometimes cause performance issues or compatibility problems, especially when upgrading InDesign to a new version. Be sure to thoroughly vet any plugin before installing it, and stick to plugins from reputable developers.

Best Practices for Word Counts in Publishing Workflows

Wrangling word counts is a team effort in most publishing contexts. Here are some tips for ensuring that your word counts are accurate and useful for everyone involved:

1. Set clear expectations up front. Communicate target word counts to authors and editors early in the process, and make sure those counts take into account the final layout and design.

2. Account for overset text. If a story has overset copy that doesn‘t fit the available layout space, address it sooner than later. Make a plan to either cut the text down, or allot more pages/space for it.

3. Use InCopy for a more efficient workflow. If your team has a dedicated editing phase, consider adopting InCopy to allow editors to refine content in parallel with designers working in InDesign.

4. Keep stakeholders in the loop. Regularly communicate word counts and text status to all relevant parties so that everyone is on the same page. Tools like Em Software‘s CountAnything plugin can automate this by generating customizable word count reports.

"I‘m a big fan of InCopy‘s Track Changes feature for keeping tabs on text additions and deletions. For publications with tight page counts, it‘s essential for making sure new copy isn‘t accidentally blowing up the layout."
– Aidan Saunders, Associate Editor, Pylon Magazine

Conclusion: Counting Words Like a Pro

Knowing how to get a quick and accurate word count is an essential skill for anyone working with text in InDesign. The Info Panel is your go-to for fast checks as you refine a layout. For more advanced editorial workflows, tools like InCopy and third-party word count utilities can provide even more flexibility and power.

By being proactive about tracking and communicating word counts throughout your editorial process, you‘ll be able to create layouts with the perfect balance of text and design. Your authors, editors, and audience will appreciate the attention to detail.

Now get out there and start counting! Your words are waiting.