Select the Type tool and place the insertion point in a text frame, or select specific text.
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Get started
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Settings and preferences
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Create and organize pages
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Arrange and order pages
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Layout and grid tools
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Grids
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Add and manage text
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Format and style text
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Text styles
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Tabs, indents, and spacing
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Text styles
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Language and proofing
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Arabic and Hebrew
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Chinese, Japanese, and Korean
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Glyphs, characters, and expressions
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Indexes and references
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Add graphics and media
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Add and edit graphics
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Transform and arrange objects
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- About anchored objects
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Add and edit graphics
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Add tables and data
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Interactive elements and forms
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Create lines and shapes
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Apply color
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Define and manage color assets
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Advanced color techniques
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Define and manage color assets
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Collaborate and review
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Share and collaborate
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Edit with InCopy
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Save, export, and publish
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Export to EPUB
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- Accessibility enhancements for indexes
- Adjust text resizing for accessibility
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- Add ARIA labels to objects
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- Create accessible glossaries
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- Publish work online
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Print
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Color output and separations
- About color separations
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- Trap a document or a book
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- Set the trap width for colors next to black
- Print a composite
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App integrations
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Troubleshoot
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Launch and crash issues
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File and output issues
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Settings, interface, and feature issues
- Feature keyboard shortcuts don’t work
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View word and character counts in text frames
Last updated on
Jun 2, 2026
Learn how to see real-time word and character counts for selected text or entire stories using the Info panel in Adobe InDesign.
InDesign tracks word and character counts for selected text or for an entire story, including threaded text frames and overset text as you edit text. Use these counts to meet publication requirements, manage content length, or estimate translation costs.
Select Window > Info.
The Info panel displays the following information:
- Characters: Total character count including spaces
- Words: Total word count
- Lines: Number of text lines
- Paragraphs: Number of paragraph breaks
The position of the insertion point within the text frame also appears.
Note
The Info panel shows counts for the entire story when nothing is selected, only the selected text when text is highlighted, and separate counts for each story when you select text within them. For threaded text frames, counts include all text in the thread regardless of which frame contains the insertion point.
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