Help
Short answers first, then the fixes for the things that go wrong, the citation rules, and how to reach us.
Questions
- Does it change my document?
- No. WordStride only reads. The counter beside your line in Word is a separate floating window, not something in the file, so there is nothing to delete before you hand the work in and nothing in your undo history.
- Does my text leave my computer?
- In Word, no. The pane counts on your computer and the only thing it sends anywhere is your licence key, to check it is active. In Google Docs the sidebar runs inside your Google account, as every Docs add-on does, so your text stays within Google; we never receive it.
- Which citation styles does it understand?
- Author-date styles (APA, Harvard, Chicago author-date), MLA author-page, numbered styles (Vancouver, IEEE, AMA) and footnote styles (Chicago notes, OSCOLA, AGLC). Auto-detect is the default; you can pin one in Settings. The rules are in the table below.
- Does it count the reference list?
- Not unless you ask. Everything after a heading or line reading References, Bibliography, Works Cited or similar is left out. Settings has a switch to include it.
- Does it work on Windows?
- The pane does, through Word for the web now and through the AppSource listing for desktop Word when that is live. The floating counter in the margin is Mac only.
- What about Google Docs?
- Yes, as a sidebar, with the same counting and goals. See the Docs set-up.
- How many computers can I use it on?
- Any that are yours. Enter the same key on each.
- Refunds?
- Fourteen days, no questions. Write to us from the email you paid with and we refund it the same day.
- How do I cancel the weekly plan?
- From the link in your Stripe receipt, which opens a page where you can cancel or change your card. Or write to us. The pane stops counting at the end of the paid week; your goals stay in the document in case you come back.
- How do I install it?
- It is all on the install page.
Something is not working
The WordStride button is not on Word's Home tab
Quit Word completely (Word, Quit Word) and open it again; add-ins are read at start-up. If it is still missing, choose Insert, Add-ins, My Add-ins, and open WordStride from the Developer Add-ins list; the button appears after that. On a Mac, run Install WordStride again if the list is empty.
The counter does not appear beside my line (Mac)
Check the three things it needs, in this order. The WordStride Overlay app is running: look for the number-square icon in the menu bar, and open the app from Applications if it is not there. Accessibility access is on: System Settings, Privacy & Security, Accessibility, WordStride Overlay switched on. Word is the front window with the pane open and counting: the counter hides whenever Word is not in front, and while the pane is in setup or switched off. If the pane's bottom line says "overlay not reachable", run Install WordStride again so it can set up the connection, then quit and reopen the Overlay.
macOS says the app is from an unidentified developer
Close the message, open System Settings, Privacy & Security, scroll to the bottom and choose Open Anyway, then open it again. This happens once per app until our Apple notarisation is in place.
I declined Accessibility access
Open System Settings, Privacy & Security, Accessibility, and switch on WordStride Overlay. If it is not in the list, press the plus button and choose it from Applications. Then quit and reopen the app from the menu bar icon.
The counts look wrong
First check the reference style in Settings; auto-detect usually gets it right, but a document that mixes styles can confuse it. Each count pill shows how many citation words it dropped, so you can see what was removed. Ordinary brackets such as (n = 42) are kept on purpose. Headings are not counted unless you switch that on. Footnotes are never counted on either platform. If a paragraph still looks off, send us the sentence and we will look at the rule.
The counts stopped updating
Press the small circular arrow beside the switch in the pane's header to re-read the document. In Google Docs, close the sidebar and open it again from the Extensions menu.
I want to change the goals or start over
Settings, at the bottom of the pane, has Edit goals and method, which reopens the setup with your current choices filled in. The Reset link in the header clears the counting method and every goal for the document after asking you to confirm.
The pane says my licence is not active
For a weekly plan that usually means a payment did not go through; the link in your Stripe receipt lets you update the card. For a lifetime key it means a typing slip, so paste the key again from your email. If it is right and still refused, write to us.
Google says the app is unverified
That screen appears until the add-on has been through Google's review. Choose Advanced, then Go to WordStride. The two permissions it asks for are to see the current document and to show a sidebar.
Reference styles
What each style removes before counting. In all of them, ordinary brackets stay, hyphenated words count once, and a reference list at the end is left out.
| Style | Removed | Kept |
|---|---|---|
| APA, Harvard, Chicago author-date | Brackets holding a year, or n.d., in press or forthcoming, with a name before it: (Smith, 2020), (see Smith & Jones, 2020, p. 4), (Ministry of Health, n.d.). Page references on their own: (p. 12). In Smith (2020) argued, only the year. | The author's name in a narrative citation, and brackets without a year: (n = 42), (in 1945). |
| MLA author-page | Brackets of capitalised names and page numbers: (Smith 23), (qtd. in Smith 12). | Cross references such as (Figure 3) or (see chapter 2). |
| Vancouver, IEEE, AMA | Numbered markers: [12], [1, 3-5], (1, 2), and superscript numbers. | Everything else. |
| Chicago notes, OSCOLA, AGLC | Footnote markers in the text. Footnote text itself is never counted anyway. | Everything else. |
| Text | Counted as |
|---|---|
| Stress predicts burnout (Smith, 2020). | 3 |
| Smith (2020) argued that stress predicts burnout. | 6 |
| "it was hard" (p. 12) | 3 |
| Stress predicts burnout [1, 2]. | 3 |
| Participants (n = 42) completed the survey. | 7 |
| References, and everything after it | 0 |
Contact
Email hello@charlotteprice.co.nz with WordStride in the subject. Write from the email you paid with if it is about your key or a refund, and say whether you are in Word on a Mac, Word on Windows or Google Docs. We reply within a working day, New Zealand time.
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