How can I include comma separator in Latex word count?

Question

I have a word count command in Latex that works well, based on the code here. However, I want the output number to be comma separated for thousands (e.g., 1,000 instead of 1000). I have tried using \numprint and \siunitx but they give me errors, presumably because they can only be applied to a number and not a command. Here is my code:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{verbatim}
\usepackage{lipsum}
\newcommand{\quickwordcount}[1]{%
  \immediate\write18{texcount -0 -sum -merge -q #1.tex > #1-words.sum}%
  \input{#1-words.sum}%
}
\begin{document}
There are \quickwordcount{main}words in this document.
\end{document}

Of course, in this example there are only 6 words, but I didn't want to add 1,000 words just to show that it says "1000". How can I show the output with comma separators for thousands?

@JasperHabicht No, sorry. It works to use \usepackage{siunitx} and then \num[group-separator={,}]{12345}, which gives "12,345". But \num[group-separator={,}]{\quickwordcount{main}} gives an error. — Marco Pastor Mayo, Jun 16 '23 at 15:53
Sorry, I first thought that the linked solution did not work anymore due to a syntax change, but this is actually not true. It does work. See the edit to my answer. — Jasper Habicht, Jun 16 '23 at 16:25

Jasper Habicht · Accepted Answer · 2023-06-16T16:19:53.653

I think you should be able to use a solution as suggested here:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{siunitx}
\ExplSyntaxOn
\NewDocumentCommand { \quickwordcount } { O{} m } {
    \immediate\write18{texcount ~ -0 ~ -sum ~ -merge ~ -q ~ #2.tex ~ > ~ #2-words.sum}
    \file_get:nnN { #2-words.sum } { } \l_tmpa_tl
    \num[#1]{ \l_tmpa_tl }
}
\ExplSyntaxOff
\begin{document}
There are \quickwordcount[group-separator={,}, group-minimum-digits=4]{main} words in this document.
\end{document}

The following solution should also work:

\documentclass{article}
\usepackage{siunitx}
\ExplSyntaxOn
\NewDocumentCommand { \quickwordcount } { O{} m } {
    \immediate\write18{texcount ~ -0 ~ -sum ~ -merge ~ -q ~ #2.tex ~ > ~ #2-words.sum}
    \ior_open:Nn \g_tmpa_ior { #2-words.sum }
    \ior_str_get:NN \g_tmpa_ior \l_tmpa_tl
    \num[#1]{ \l_tmpa_tl }
    \ior_close:N \g_tmpa_ior
}
\ExplSyntaxOff
\begin{document}
There are \quickwordcount[group-separator={,}, group-minimum-digits=4]{main} words in this document.
\end{document}

Note that you would not count words generated with something like \lipsum, because texcount is not able to expand TeX macros.

How can I include comma separator in Latex word count?

1 Answers1