Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Status Bar Summing No Longer Available.
Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 25, 2022)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365
Steve notes that he used to be able to highlight a row or column of numbers in Excel and the sum of that row or column would appear on the status bar. All of a sudden the sum has stopped appearing and Steve wonders how to get it back.
Excel can show several different statistics on the status bar about your selection, not just the sum. Right-click the status bar and you should see a Context menu appear that offers choices such as Average, Count, etc. You can select any (or all) of these options, but if none of them are selected then you will see no aggregations relative to your selection. You should make sure that the Sum option is selected, and then you will see the sum you desire.
There is one caveat to displaying the sum on the status bar: The cells you select must contain summable values. If the cells you select contain text (or numbers formatted as text), then they will be ignored in the sum that is shown on the status bar. If all of the cells you select contain text (or numbers formatted as text) or are empty, then the sum won't show at all on the status bar. Finally, the sum will only show if you select more than one summable cell.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (6291) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Status Bar Summing No Longer Available.
Excel Smarts for Beginners! Featuring the friendly and trusted For Dummies style, this popular guide shows beginners how to get up and running with Excel while also helping more experienced users get comfortable with the newest features. Check out Excel 2019 For Dummies today!
When looking at a number, you may wonder how many significant digits it contains. The answer is not always an easy one, ...
Discover MoreNeed to test your formulas? Then you need some testing data that you can use to see if the formulas function as you ...
Discover MoreYour chosen occupation may require that you work with linear distances in feet and inches. Excel can do this, to a ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)
Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here:
Comments