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: Using the Status Bar.

Using the Status Bar

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 11, 2022)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 2021, and Excel in Microsoft 365

1

Typically, one of the first things you do when you create a macro is use a command that turns off updating the screen display. This is done because the macro will run faster when it does not have to update the screen. When this is done, one of the most important things you can do is provide feedback to the user so they don't think their system has gone out to lunch.

A common method of providing feedback is through the use of the status bar. Using VBA, this is done with a code line similar to the following:

Application.StatusBar = "Updating past months..."

This line causes the message Updating past months... to display on the status bar of the application program. This message remains there until another message is written to the status bar, either by your macro or by Excel.

If you want to erase the message on the status bar, there are two ways you can do it. The first is to write an empty string to the status bar, as in the following code:

Application.StatusBar = ""

In this case, there is nothing between the quote marks, so an empty string is displayed on the status bar, erasing whatever was there before. The other method is to use the following line:

Application.StatusBar = False

Writing the logical value FALSE to the Application.StatusBar property erases whatever you wrote on the status bar before and restores the default status bar text.

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 (12319) 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: Using the Status Bar.

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

Detailed Measurements

Want to know exactly how far something on the ruler is from the left and right margins of your document? It's easy to ...

Discover More

Using Non-Printing Notes

Adding notes to your document in Word is a handy tool. But what if you don't want those notes to be seen on the screen or ...

Discover More

Comparing Strings

When writing a macro, a common task is the need to compare two strings. You can do this by "normalizing" the strings, as ...

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)

Converting HSL to RGB

When working with colors in Excel you can specify them using either RGB or HSL values. Converting from HSL to RGB can be ...

Discover More

Generating a Keyword Occurrence List

Need to pull a list of words from a range of cells? This tip shows how easy you can perform the task using a macro.

Discover More

Updating Automatically when Opening Under Macro Control

If your workbook contains links, you are normally given the opportunity to update those links when you open the workbook. ...

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 7 + 6?

2022-06-11 10:37:10

J. Woolley

If Application.DisplayStatusBar is False, you will not see anything written to the status bar. Therefore, the proper way to use the status bar is illustrated in this example from Microsoft:

oldStatusBar = Application.DisplayStatusBar
Application.DisplayStatusBar = True
Application.StatusBar = "Please be patient..."
Workbooks.Open filename:="LARGE.XLS"
Application.StatusBar = False
Application.DisplayStatusBar = oldStatusBar

See https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/office/vba/api/excel.application.statusbar

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 © 2025 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.