Word Count in Published Word file

May 28, 2020

Hello Community!

I need to gather the word count for a Storyline course I'm creating.  When I publish as a Word file, I'm able to get a total word count. Yet, is the count of my words in Notes, words on a slide or both?

Thank you for your help!

Holly 

13 Replies
Thor Melicher

If you want to try a different approach to getting a word count, you can try the app I created to do this.  It's a Windows 10 app (completely free and doesn't require Amazon Web Services like my other apps) and can be found here:

https://www.microsoft.com/store/apps/9ND6JRMKF74Q

You'll need to export the XLIFF file and then load it into the application.  Works with both Rise 360 and Storyline courses.  Hopefully it will be more accurate than publishing as a Word option but your mileage will vary depending on how you create your courses.

Some notes:

  • Storyline courses will vary on word count because slide names, scenes, etc. are included in the word count
  • Storyline courses will *not* count closed caption files as they're not accessible in how they're stored
  • For Rise 360, this method *should* be faster to get a count as you won't have to wait for the export to PDF.  It should also count your answer-based feedback in quiz questions. 

I hope this helps and *crossing my fingers* the word count is more accurate to boot!

Thor Melicher

Hello Miriam!

The app doesn't store the file or do any submittal as it's all local.

Once you install it from the MS Windows store, you'll need to

1. Export your XLIFF file from either Rise or Storyline.

2. Tell HEROWORDCOUNT where to find it.

3. Identify the file as Rise 360 or Storyline and then

4. Click Get Word Count.

That's it - and the latest version improves on the accuracy of the word count, too.

Alec Martelle

File > Translation > Export to Word gives you a word count in the document. The actual word count of your storyline is listed in the table, the word count for the word document itself is the one in the bottom corner. 

I also tried Thor M's free tool and found it to be fairly close. For the file I tested (and show in the image attached), the export says 1602 words and Thor's tool reported it as 1684 words, so only an 82 word difference. I'm not sure which is the correct number, but it's close enough for me to use for approving translation quotes.

Georg Volmer

Highly recommend watching this short video: Word Count in Articulate Storyline: Quick & Easy Guide | BlinkSolve Tutorials
https://youtu.be/giK2KKpxEzI 

It not only provides a clear step-by-step guide on how to get a word count for your project using Alec Martelle's method, but it also offers insights into what exactly is counted. This includes every 'Source Text' box, scene names, slide names, and more. Plus, for those who need a specific word count (like content on slides but excluding slide notes and menu items), the video offers an easy method to achieve this.