Knowledge Base

WD97: Readability Statistics Incorrect or Missing

Article ID: 255542

Article Last Modified on 1/27/2007

APPLIES TO

Microsoft Word 97 Standard Edition

This article was previously published under Q255542

SYMPTOMS

The readability statistics displayed after Word has completed checking the grammar of your document may be incorrect, display zeros, or not display at all.

CAUSE

The following are possible reasons for the readability statistics being incorrect or not being displayed:

The text being checked is a one-line paragraph with no punctuation mark at the end of the sentence.

Resolution: Add punctuation to the end of the sentence before checking the spelling and grammar of your Word document.

-or-
You have formatted the text by selecting (no proofing) in the Language dialog box. When Word checks text formatted with the (no proofing) option selected, Word displays the following message:

The spelling and grammar check is complete.
Text set to (no proofing) was skipped. To find (no proofing) text, click Edit/Replace, click More, click Format, click Language and choose (no proofing).

Word does not include the text formatted with the (no proofing) option in the readability statistics.

Resolution: Format the skipped text with the language of the text in the remainder of your Word document.

-or-
If you've set up Microsoft Word to check the spelling and grammar of text in other languages, and a document contains text in multiple languages, Word displays readability statistics for the text formatted in the English (United States) language only.

Resolution: There is no known resolution for this problem.

-or-
You have added a PAGE field to your Word document. This problem occurs whether you add the PAGE field by using Page Numbers on the Insert menu, by using Field on the Insert menu, or by typing the PAGE field manually (by pressing CTRL+F9 and typing PAGE). Resolution: There is no known resolution for this problem.

-or-
You have added one or more comments to your Word document (on the Insert menu, click Comment). Resolution: There is no known resolution for this problem.

MORE INFORMATION

When Microsoft Word finishes checking spelling and grammar, it can display information about the reading level of the document, including readability scores based on the average number of syllables per word, and words per sentence.

To show the readability statistics after checking spelling and grammar, turn on the Show readability statistics option. To do this, follow these steps:

On the Tools menu, click Options.
On the Spelling & Grammar tab, click to select the Show readability statistics check box.
Click OK.

For more information about readability statistics, click Contents and Index on the Help menu, click the Index tab in Word Help, type the following text

readability

and then double-click the selected text to go to the "Display readability statistics" topic. If you are unable to find the information you need, ask the Office Assistant.

REFERENCES

For additional information, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

167655 WD97: Frequently Asked Questions About the Grammar Checker

159950 WD97: General Information About International Functionality

Additional query words: proofing all caps superscript punctuation nothing empty

Keywords: kbprb KB255542