Adjusting Status Bar Font Size

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated January 18, 2020)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365


Michael just purchased a new laptop with Office 365 installed. When he selects a range of cells, the sum, average, and count appear in the Status Bar. However, the font size is so large that the right-most numbers are not shown completely. Michael wonders how he can decrease the font size of the information displayed on the Status Bar so he can see it all.

Before getting into making changes to the font, you might want to make sure that your Excel program window is wide enough to display all the information you are trying to display in the Status Bar. If not, then simply make the program window wider and your information should all appear as desired.

You can also, if desired, change what is displayed in the Status Bar. Just right-click a blank area on the Status Bar and you can select which stats show up there. If you display fewer stats, then there is a greater likelihood that you'll be able to see what you want to see.

If you still want to change the font size, this is not controlled within Excel. The program relies on the system fonts defined by Windows itself. This can be a bit involved, as it depends on the version of Windows you are using on your system and how you want to adjust the font size. One way to do it is to scale the fonts, as described in this tip:

https://windows.tips.net/T165

Once you make changes in Windows, you may need to close and open Excel again in order to see the effects of those changes. Understand that any changes you make in Windows will affect all your other programs, as well. So, it may take a bit of testing on your part to get the settings the way that works best for all of your programs.

If you want to change the system fonts entirely (perhaps to a narrower font), then you'll need to rely on some hacks to the Windows Registry. Those are described at this website, for Windows 10:

https://www.windowscentral.com/how-change-default-system-font-windows-10

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (13727) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, 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

Keep with Previous

Word allows you to format a paragraph so that it is on the same page as whatever paragraph follows it. You may want, ...

Discover More

Matching At the Beginning or End of a Word

The pattern matching capabilities of Word's search engine are quite powerful. You can tailor your search pattern so that ...

Discover More

Changing Cell Alignment

Individual cells in a table can be aligned any way you desire. As pointed out here, just select the cell and apply the ...

Discover More

Solve Real Business Problems Master business modeling and analysis techniques with Excel and transform data into bottom-line results. This hands-on, scenario-focused guide shows you how to use the latest Excel tools to integrate data from multiple tables. Check out Microsoft Excel 2013 Data Analysis and Business Modeling today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

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

Changing Gridline Color

Gridlines are very helpful in seeing where cells are located on the screen. You are not limited to black gridlines; ...

Discover More

Enabling Circular References by Default

Some formulas require the use of circular references in order to determine a result. If you want to make sure that ...

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.

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 two more than 0?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


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.