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: Progression Indicator in a Macro.

Progression Indicator in a Macro

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 19, 2022)

1

Macros are often created to process data, and processing data can often take a long time. Because of this, some users may think that their computer has stopped responding, even though the macro is busy chunking away at its appointed task.

The solution for most macro developers is to somehow alert users as to the progress of the macro. There are two ways that you can do this in Excel. The simplest and most common approach is to use the status bar to indicate what the macro is doing. All you need to do is put together a string that contains the status message, and then assign that string to the StatusBar property of the Application object, as shown here:

sStatus = "Processing Input File - Please Be Patient"
Application.StatusBar = sStatus

The message stays on the status bar until you overwrite it with some other message. You could also indicate progress in a loop by giving the percentage complete:

For x = 1 to y
    Application.StatusBar = Format(x/y,"0.0%") & " Complete"
' Other coding here
Next

When your routine finishes, return the status bar back to normal with the following statement:

    Application.StatusBar = False

If you prefer to develop an actual progress indicator for the macro, you can do so by creating a UserForm and then updating the form to display a "percentage bar" or some other visual indicator. You can find an example of this type of progress indicator at this address:

https://www.excel-easy.com/vba/examples/progress-indicator.html

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the ExcelTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (8969) 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: Progression Indicator in a Macro.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Entering a "Slashed Zero" in Your Document

Need to add the occasional zero with a slash through it? There are a couple of ways you can accomplish this task.

Discover More

Determining If a File Exists

Before you have your macro open and read a file from disk, you'll want to check to make sure it is really there. Here's ...

Discover More

Copying Dates a Year into the Future

Need to copy a range of dates and update them to a different year? Here are a number of ways to accomplish this task with ...

Discover More

Create Custom Apps with VBA! Discover how to extend the capabilities of Office 365 applications with VBA programming. Written in clear terms and understandable language, the book includes systematic tutorials and contains both intermediate and advanced content for experienced VB developers. Designed to be comprehensive, the book addresses not just one Office application, but the entire Office suite. Check out Mastering VBA for Microsoft Office 365 today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Quickly Dumping Array Contents

Variable arrays are used quite often in macros. If you use an array once in your macro and then need to reuse it for ...

Discover More

Workbook Events

You can create macros that run whenever Excel detects a certain event happening within an entire workbook. This tip ...

Discover More

Running a Macro when a Worksheet is Deactivated

When you change from one worksheet to another, you may want to have Excel automatically run a macro for the worksheet you ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is seven more than 1?

2022-03-19 11:14:55

J. Woolley

My Excel Toolbox includes ProgressBar_Text, which uses the status bar, and ProgressBar_Form, which includes a UserForm. I like to use the latter with Lightbox_Initiate to obscure the Excel window while a long macro is running, followed by Lightbox_Terminate.
See https://sites.google.com/view/MyExcelToolbox/

This Site

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.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.

Links and Sharing
OUR COMPANY
OUR PRODUCTS
OUR SITES
 

Copyright © 2026 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.