Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Controlling Display of the Formula Bar.

Controlling Display of the Formula Bar

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated June 20, 2020)

The Formula Bar is the area at the top of the Excel window, just below the ribbon area. The Formula Bar has two parts: at the left is the Name Box, and to the right is the contents of the currently selected cell.

If you need more room to view a worksheet or you don't need the information provided by the Formula Bar, you can turn it off. To control display of the Formula Bar, follow these steps:

  1. Choose Options from the Tools menu. Excel displays the Options dialog box.
  2. Make sure the View tab is selected. (See Figure 1.)

    3. Figure 1. The View tab of the Options dialog box.

  3. Click on the Formula Bar check box. If it is selected, then the Formula Bar is displayed; not selected means it isn't displayed.
  4. Click on OK.

You can also use the Formula Bar option from the View menu. This option functions like a toggle—click on it once, and the Formula Bar disappears; click again, and it reappears.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2729) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Controlling Display of the Formula 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. ...

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