I have a character count error, even though I know I haven't exceeded character limit

The character limit issue can be due to copy and pasting from specific versions of Microsoft Word.   What is happening is that all of the hidden background formatting is being copied as well as the text which can result in many thousands of hidden characters being copied.

 

The workaround  is to ether paste the text into notepad or similar first. Below are 4 different options to correct the issue

 

1. Copy as Plain Text (Quickest)

•            Select text in Word

•            Right-click → Paste Options → Keep Text Only

•            Or use shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+V (after Ctrl+C) to paste plain text into most apps

 

2. Save As → Plain Text (.txt)

1.          File → Save As

2.          Choose location

3.          Save as type: Plain Text (*.txt)

4.          Click "Save"

5.          In the "File Conversion" dialog:

- Select "Windows (Default)" or "Other encoding: Unicode (UTF-8)"

- Check "Insert line breaks" if needed

- Click "OK"

 

3. Export to PDF, then Copy

1.          Save as PDF: File → Export → Create PDF/XPS

2.          Open PDF in Adobe Reader or browser

3.          Copy text from PDF (usually cleaner formatting)

 

4. Use "Paste Special" in Other Apps

If pasting into intermediate software (like Notepad):

1.          Copy from Word

2.          Open Notepad (Windows) or TextEdit in plain text mode (Mac)

3.          Paste into Notepad - it strips ALL formatting

4.          Copy from Notepad to your web app