Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. 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.
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.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (6291) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Status Bar Summing No Longer Available.
Program Successfully in Excel! John Walkenbach's name is synonymous with excellence in deciphering complex technical topics. With this comprehensive guide, "Mr. Spreadsheet" shows how to maximize your Excel experience using professional spreadsheet application development tips from his own personal bookshelf. Check out Excel 2013 Power Programming with VBA today!
It can be frustrating if you expect to use some of Excel's tools normally available on the ribbon, but those tools are ...
Discover MoreExcel helpfully lets you know when the data or formulas you've entered in a cell don't make sense. It does this by ...
Discover MoreIt makes sense that when Excel creates a blank workbook, it must figure out which font to use for that workbook. ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2018-08-18 05:53:00
Willy Vanhaelen
@Anita
See my answer of 27 Sep 2017 to Lori's similar question.
2018-08-17 10:41:55
Anita
I have the status bar available and I use it continuously. However, if I click on another spreadsheet all of the information on the status bar disappears. It is EXTREMELY helpful to see this information and I cannot get it to stay anymore since our system upgrade to Excel 2016. Can you help this?
2018-08-12 04:56:35
Mohammed
Hi,
I was also facing same problem, due to my excel window was not maximized, just click on maximize window button, it will show you the sum/Avg
Thanks
2017-09-27 10:56:31
Willy Vanhaelen
@Lori
The status bar only refers to the active window. If you activate another window the status bar changes to the situation of that window.
You can avoid this by opening 2 instances of Excel. Those are independant from each other.
2017-09-26 07:13:21
Lori
How do you keep the status bar totals when you have another excel file open? It only shows the active file. You used to be able to open excel by holding down the CTRL key and they would stay but it appears the latest update killed that option.
2017-01-24 14:20:03
John Roe
I found I had this issue. However, the reason there was nothing displaying in the Status bar is because I had selected blank cells, in order to determine the count of blank cells. It does not work for that. Just place dummy data in the cells temporarily, or use the adjacent rows or columns to determine the count of cells.
2016-10-26 05:15:20
Gabriel Tomuta Petre - sibiu
Also, beware to the comma separator (, or .) since it wil cause problems if you want to sum up numbers, but "." is used as separator.
e.g. 32.4 + 33.1 (not working) vs. 32,4 + 33,1 (working)
2016-08-26 14:37:27
Tim Lotito
Hello,
I tried the suggestions from this forum to show the SUM results on the status bar, and have had no success. I changed the range from General to Number, Accounting, and Currency with no luck achieving a SUM total on the status bar.
Any other suggestions? We have Excel 2013
2016-04-12 04:28:29
Henri
An error in the list of values also makes that the "Sum" (and Average, Min etc.) will diappear. Only "Count" an d "Numerical Count" will be displayed
2016-04-09 05:04:20
Michael (Micky) Avidan
@To whom it may concern,
It is not enough to select the SUM option.
If the user presents his values "as Text" then the status bar will not show the sum even if the range of cells was selected.
In such case it will show their quantity (COUNT).
In order to present the SUM the numbers should be formatted as Numbers.
--------------------------
Michael (Micky) Avidan
“Microsoft® Answers" - Wiki author & Forums Moderator
“Microsoft®” MVP – Excel (2009-2016)
ISRAEL
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 © 2020 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
Please Note:
This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, and 2016. 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