How to Fix the Excel Status Bar Missing Issue: 7 Best Methods

When you see the Excel status bar missing unexpectedly, you can try a few troubleshooting steps to get back the status bar on your Excel desktop installation.

Various anomalies, like Macros, VBA codes, unknown shortcuts, etc., can hide the Excel status bar. If you use Excel only using the keyboard to increase your pace when doing calculations or analyzing data in Excel, you can sometimes find that the status bar in Excel is missing.

Don’t panic, if you don’t see the status bar on Excel. Simply, try the troubleshooting steps mentioned below to fix this annoying problem.

What Is the Excel Status Bar?

The status bar in Excel is a thin strip just below the worksheet tab bar. It’s the final border of the Excel app. The status bar is essential for excel users for many reasons including the following:

• It shows whether your Excel desktop app is ready to accept new formulas or if it is performing any previous calculations.
• By activating the options for Caps Lock and Num Lock, you can show whether any of these buttons are active on your keyboard. The status bar in Excel will show the Caps Lock and Num Lock indications.
• If you’re on a Macro-enabled Excel workbook, then the Macro icon on the bottom left corner of the status bar will show if any Macro is running or not.
• In the top right corner of the Excel status bar, you’ll find various Excel worksheet views like Normal, Page Layout, and Page Break Preview.
• You can also increase or decrease the view size of the content on Excel by sliding the zoom button on the Excel status bar.
• The most important is you can see some preliminary calculations from the selected data ranges automatically on the Excel status bar. For example, you can get Average, Count, Numerical Count, Min, Max, Sum, etc. You don’t need to run any complex formulas like Excel subtraction or any other mathematical operators to get these primary calculations on Excel.

As you can see above that you get a lot of information from the Excel status bar. Now, if you see that Excel status bar missing and you’re unable to get it back, that’s highly troublesome for those who use Excel a lot. In the following section, find the quick steps to resolve the status bar in Excel is missing error.

1. Fix Excel Status Bar Missing by Exiting Windowed Mode

If you opened the Excel app in the windowed mode by mistake and the Windows Taskbar is overlapping with the Excel status bar, then you’ll not see it.

It doesn’t mean that the status bar in Excel is missing. Simply click the Maximize icon on the top right corner of the app, and the app will open in fullscreen mode. Now, look at the bottom-left corner to find the Excel status bar.

2. Resolve Excel Status Bar Missing by Disabling Excel Focus Mode

When navigating on the Excel app in a fast-paced environment, it’s likely you’ll press some key combinations that you didn’t know exist. One such key combination is the extended fullscreen of Excel or the focused mode.

You need to press the Alt + V keys on your keyboard together and then press the U key to enable extended fullscreen. To revert back Excel to the normal fullscreen mode, simply press the Esc key.

3. Excel Status Bar Missing From Excel Options

Certain older Excel desktop app versions allow you to disable the status bar from the Excel Options menu. Try these steps to activate the status bar feature if someone deactivated it earlier:

• Click the File menu and then choose Options at the bottom of the left-side navigation panel.
• Now, select Advanced on the Options dialog box.
• On the right side, you’ll see many features.

• Scroll down until you locate Display, Display options for this workbook, and Display options for this worksheet features.
• In all these three functionality menus, check if you find any checkbox for Excel Status Bar. If found, check mark the checkbox.
• Click OK to save the changes.

By now, you should have resolved the Excel status bar missing issue. If the issue is still persisting, complete the following troubleshooting steps as well:

4. Restart Excel in Safe Mode

All Microsoft desktop apps come with a fail-safe, known as the Safe Mode. In this mode, only the bare minimum nodules of a Microsoft app function.

This is the best way to diagnose if the status bar in Excel is missing due to any third-party features like Excel Add-ins that you installed from the Excel Add-ins marketplace.

• Close the Excel app.
• Now, press the Ctrl key and then double-click any Excel app icon on the Desktop. For Start Menu and Quick Launch icons, you just need to click once. Don’t let go of the Ctrl key yet.
• You’ll see this pop-up: “Do you want to start Excel in safe mode?”
• Now, you can release the Ctrl key.

• Select Yes on the above pop-up.
• The Excel desktop app will start in safe mode.

Now, if you see the Excel status bar after opening the app in safe mode, it’s likely that one or many third-party Excel Add-ins might be interfering with the status bar feature.

To uninstall all or a few recently installed Excel Add-ins, follow these steps:

• Go to the Developer tab on the Excel ribbon menu.
• Click the blue diamond-shaped Add-ins icon.
• Select an Add-in.

• You should see a three-dot menu in the top right corner. Click it and then choose Remove.
• Repeat the steps for all other recently installed Excel Add-ins.
• Now, restart Excel to see if the issue is fixed or not.

5. Update Excel Desktop App

You can also update the Excel installation to its latest edition to check if the status bar comes back. Here’s how you can update the Excel desktop app:

• Click the File tab and then choose Account from the left-side panel.
• You should now see the Account page of your Excel app.

• Select the Office Updates button and then click Update Now from the drop-down list that opens.
• Wait for the app to update to the latest build.

Close the app and open it normally from the Desktop or Start Menu. Double-check the status bar area and see if it’s there or not.

6. Use a VBA Code to Activate Excel Status Bar

If there are any VBA or Macro codes running on the Excel workbook, then it’s possible that someone executed the hide status bar command using VBA or Macro. You need to undo this command to fix the status bar in Excel is missing error. Here’s how it’s done:

• Press Alt + F11 to open the Excel VBA code editor.
• Now, hit the Ctrl + G hotkey to create a new Immediate window at the bottom of the VBA code editor.
• Copy and paste the following VBA code inside the Immediate window.

Application.DisplayStatusBar = True

• Now, hit Enter once.

• Then, execute the code by pressing Ctrl + Q together on the keyboard.

You should find the Excel status bar where it belongs. If you’re still unable to get back the Excel status bar, unfortunately, you need to uninstall the desktop app and re-install from a fresh copy.

7. Uninstall and Re-Install the Excel Desktop Installation

• Press Windows and I keys together to open the System dialog box.
• Now, find the Apps option on the left-side navigation pane.
• Click Apps.

• Select Installed Apps on the right-side navigation panel.
• Uninstall the Microsoft Office Professional Plus or the desktop edition that you have.
• Now, access this Microsoft Office app installation portal and log in with your registered Microsoft account to re-install Excel and other Microsoft apps from a fresh copy.

This troubleshooting step should restore the Excel status bar for good.

Conclusion

Now you know how to fix the status bar in Excel is missing issue. You can try any of the methods mentioned above according to the level of Excel literacy. I’m certain that you’ll be able to get back your Excel status bar by performing these easy troubleshooting steps.

If you noticed that I missed any troubleshooting steps that might resolve the issue at hand faster, don’t hesitate to mention that in the comment box below.

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