Missing Row Numbers

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated April 2, 2022)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365

1

Mitch has suddenly lost the row numbers on the far left of his workbooks. He wonders how he can get them back.

This could be a matter as simple as your Excel program window being "off screen" just a bit on the left. If so, then use the mouse to click in the title bar area of the window and drag the window to the right. You can also adjust the size of the program window, if necessary.

There is a setting in Excel that controls the display of row numbers (which Microsoft refers to as "row headers") at the left side of your worksheet. This setting simultaneously controls the display of the column headers at the top of the worksheet. The easiest way to access this setting is to follow these steps:

  1. Display the Excel Options dialog box. (In Excel 2007 click the Office button and then click Excel Options. In Excel 2010 and later versions display the File tab of the ribbon and then click Options.)
  2. At the left of the dialog box click Advanced.
  3. Scroll through the available options until you see the Display Options for this Worksheet section. (See Figure 1.)

    4. Figure 1. The Advanced options of the Excel Options dialog box.

  4. Make sure the Show Row and Column Headers check box is selected.
  5. Make sure the Show Sheet Right-to-Left check box is cleared.
  6. Click on OK.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (9899) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365.

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

Making Backup Copies

When you save your documents, Word doesn't normally make backups of your files. If you want the program to do that, it ...

Discover More

Erroneous Table Math

Depending on the type of data you have in your table, the SUM(ABOVE) function might return incorrect results. Here's an ...

Discover More

Stopping a Two-Word Phrase from being Flagged as an Error

As you type, Word is busy working in the background to determine if there are spelling and grammar errors in your prose. ...

Discover More

Best-Selling VBA Tutorial for Beginners Take your Excel knowledge to the next level. With a little background in VBA programming, you can go well beyond basic spreadsheets and functions. Use macros to reduce errors, save time, and integrate with other Microsoft applications. Fully updated for the latest version of Office 365. Check out Microsoft 365 Excel VBA Programming For Dummies today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Animated Recalculation in Excel

Excel includes some animation capability that is enabled by default. If the animation is bothersome to you, then you'll ...

Discover More

Displaying Page Breaks

Page breaks can be added to a worksheet manually or automatically. If you want to see where Excel places page breaks, ...

Discover More

Turning Off Error Checking

A little green triangle in the corner of a cell means that Excel thinks there is an error with the cell contents. If ...

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 4?

2022-04-02 10:07:38

J. Woolley

The row/column labels (headers) are toggled ON/OFF by the worksheet’s Window property DisplayHeadings. For the active worksheet, the following VBA statement will toggle both:
    ActiveWindow.DisplayHeadings = Not ActiveWindow.DisplayHeadings
To set them ON for all worksheets in the active workbook:
    Dim WS as Worksheet
    For Each WS In ActiveWorkbook.Worksheets
        WS.Activate
        ActiveWindow.DisplayHeadings = True
    Next WS
My Excel Toolbox includes the WindowDressing macro, which will toggle several such properties for the active worksheet or all worksheets. A screenshot is included in my recent comment added to the following Tip:
https://excelribbon.tips.net/T009308_Controlling_Where_You_Edit_Cell_Contents.html

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.