Are you wondering where is the status bar in Excel? Read this ultimate Excel tutorial to locate the status bar in Excel or fix the status bar missing issue effortlessly.

Excel status bar helps you find quick numerical and textual information without running any VBA macro or creating an Excel function. For example, the current sheet number out of total sheets in the workbook, cell edit mode, cell ready mode, whether the Accessibility Settings are good to go, Excel page views, zoom status, quick calculations (Average, Count, Sum), and so on.

If you often rely on such quick data for analytics and visualizations on Excel or get an instant understanding of the workbook, you can suffer from productivity loss due to Excel status bar missing issues.

Read this article until the end to find the location of the status bar, if you’re a new Excel user. Alternatively, if you’ve been already using this Excel tool but now missing it, you’ll learn how to get it back. Let’s get started!

📒 Read More: How To Enable Status Bar Summary Statistics

Where Is the Status Bar in Excel?

The Excel status bar is located at the very bottom of the Excel window, stretching horizontally across the width.

The highlighted space in the above screenshot shows the correct location of the status bar.

The location of the status bar is fixed. You can’t place it on the top or side-wise.

As an entry-level Excel user, you won’t be able to hide the status bar in Excel 2007 and later editions.

Excel Status Bar Missing – How to Fix

If you can’t see this tool in your Excel desktop installation, try the troubleshooting methods mentioned below.

Enable Status Bar Using the Excel UI

These steps are only valid for dated Excel desktop apps, like Excel 2003 and earlier.

Go to the Tools menu and select Options.

Click on the View tab and locate the checkbox for the Status bar.

Check the box to enable the status bar.

Click OK to apply the changes.

Disable Excel Full Screen Mode

The most common reason that you can’t find the status bar is you’ve accidentally activated the Excel Full Screen mode. It’s pretty easy to access this mode if you press Ctrl + Shift + F1 hotkey when using any other keyboard shortcut on Excel.

So press the hotkey again to disable the full-screen view.

Disable Excel Focus Mode

Another way to increase the working area in Excel is by activating the focus mode.

If you’re trying to navigate on Excel using various keyboard shortcuts and mistakenly execute Alt + V + U hotkey, you’ll activate focus mode.

Then, Excel will hide all the unnecessary toolbars, user interface buttons, and the status bar.

To disable this mode, you can press the Esc key on the keyboard or the same hotkey again.

Maximize the Excel Window

So, you’ve minimized the Excel window. Then, you’ve placed the window on the PC screen in such a way that the Windows Task Manager overlaps with the status bar.

Since Windows will always show the Task Manager over all other native or third-party apps you won’t be able to see the status bar in Excel.

You can simply relocate the minimized Excel window to ensure that the status bar is showing.

Alternatively, click on the Maximize button in the top-right corner of the Excel window to maximize the window.

You should now see the status bar in its usual position.

Fix Status Bar Using the Immediate Window

You can run a simple VBA command using the Immediate Window of Excel VBA Editor tool to force Excel to display the status bar.

Open the workbook where you can’t see the status bar.

Navigate to any of the worksheets and press Alt + F11 to launch the Excel VBA Editor interface.

Select the appropriate Excel workbook in the project navigation panel on the left side.

Now, press Ctrl + G to launch the Immediate Window.

In the Immediate Window, enter the following command:

Application.DisplayStatusBar = True

Press Enter and then press Ctrl + Q to execute the code snippet.

The status bar should show up immediately in the active workbook.

Fix Status Bar Using Excel VBA

If someone disabled the Excel status bar and you need to enable it back, you can also use Excel VBA.

On your worksheet, press Alt + F11 to launch the Excel VBA Editor.

Considering the active workbook has already been selected in the Project sidebar or it’s the default workbook, click on the Insert button on the top menu bar.

Click on the Module option to create a blank module.

In the newly-created module, copy and paste the following VBA script:

Sub CustomizeStatusBar()
    Dim avgValue As Double
    Dim sumValue As Double
    Dim countValue As Long
    
    ' Calculate average, sum, and count
    avgValue = Application.WorksheetFunction.Average(Selection)
    sumValue = Application.WorksheetFunction.Sum(Selection)
    countValue = Selection.Count
    
    ' Show the status bar with custom text
    Application.DisplayStatusBar = True
    Application.StatusBar = "Average: " & Format(avgValue, "#,##0.00") & _
                           " | Sum: " & Format(sumValue, "#,##0.00") & _
                           " | Count: " & countValue
End Sub

Now, click on the Run Sub button on the top menu bar to run the VBA macro. Alternatively, you can press F5 to run the code.

The above VBA script will force Excel to display the status bar. Also, it’ll automatically set Average, Count, and Sum features in the Customize Status Bar menu.

⚠️ Warning: Create a copy of the workbook before running the VBA macro on it. Once you execute a VBA script, you can’t undo the changes.

Reboot Excel in Safe Mode

So far, you’ve explored the troubleshooting methods to get back the status bar when it got deactivated accidentally or by an expert user.

Sometimes, your Excel desktop installation might stop showing the status bar due to a temporary bug or severe software issue. In those scenarios, you’ll need to try more advanced fixes.

Start with the safest and the easiest method which is Excel safe mode.

Excel safe mode is a diagnostic startup option that allows you to launch Excel with a limited set of features. This can be helpful when troubleshooting issues caused by add-ins, extensions, or corrupted settings. In safe mode, Excel won’t load any add-ins or custom toolbars, making it easier to identify the source of the problem.

Here’s how you can activate this mode:

Locate the shortcut icon for Excel on your Desktop, Taskbar, or Start Menu.

Hold down the Ctrl key on your keyboard.

While holding Ctrl, double-click the Excel shortcut icon.

A confirmation window will appear asking if you want to start Excel in safe mode. Click Yes.

Update Microsoft Excel

If the safe mode doesn’t work, close the Excel app.

Now, launch the app again from the Desktop or Start Menu.

When on a worksheet, press Alt + F + D to open the Excel Account screen.

You should see the Update Options button on the right side, below the Product Information Microsoft logo.

Click on the Update Options button and select Update Now from the drop-down menu.

Repair Excel Desktop App

Another troubleshooting you can try to quickly fix the Excel status bar missing issue is by repairing the software installation.

Click on the Windows Start Menu and type Apps.

Under the Best match suggestions, click on the Apps & features option.

On the Apps & features dialog, scroll down to find your Microsoft 365 installation entry. It could also be Microsoft Office 2021, Microsoft Office 2019, etc.

Click on the appropriate installation card and hit the Modify button.

You should now see the Microsoft 365 repair wizard.

Click on the Quick Repair option and hit the Repair button.

If Quick Repair doesn’t work, follow the above steps again, but this time choose Online Repair.

Ensure your device is connected to an optimum-speed internet network. Click on the Repair button to start the deep repair process of Office programs, including Excel.

Uninstall and Re-Install Excel Desktop App

If none of the above fixes work, you can uninstall the current Microsoft 365 desktop app. Then, install a fresh copy by downloading it automatically from your Microsoft 365 Home portal.

During this process, your PC will download approximately 8 GB of data as the Microsoft 365 installation files. So, if you’re connected to home or office broadband with no limitation for data downloads or you’re okay with paying extra, follow these steps:

Go to Apps & features, find Microsoft 365 or any other version of Microsoft Office you’re using, and click on it.

Hit the Uninstall button and follow the on-screen instructions to remove the software.

Now, log in to your Microsoft 365 account.

You should see the Welcome to Microsoft 365 page.

Click on the Install and more drop-down arrow in the top-right corner.

Select the Install Microsoft 365 Apps option from the context menu.

After authenticating the correct subscription account, Microsoft will take you to the Office apps & devices portal.

Click on the Install Office button.

Your device will download the OfficeSetup.exe file from Microsoft.

Go to the Downloads directory and double-click on the online Microsoft 365 installer file.

Follow all onscreen instructions to complete the setup process.

Conclusions

At the end of this Excel tutorial, I’m hopeful that you’ve got a straightforward answer to your question, “Where is the status bar in Excel?”

Also, you’ve learned the tried and tested methods to restore the tool if you’re facing the Excel status bar missing error.

If the article helped you or you’d like to suggest a better method to troubleshoot Excel status bar problems, comment below.