I should know how to do this - I am SURE I have done it before. I like to write without the word count showing and I have forgotten how to turn it off. Erm… Preferences> 
Help.
Thanks, this is my first visit here though I have been using Scriv for a while.
Dors.
View/Layout/Hide Footer View. 
It’s not a global preference because this is something you might very well want to be project specific—so that is where it is saved, in the project. That way you can be working on a taut magazine article in one project and a longer work in the other where word counts are just a distraction.
Hurrah! I am a very, very happy writer once more.
Thank you so much! 