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: Status Bar Summing No Longer Available.
Steve notes that he used to be able to highlight a row or column of numbers in Excel and the sum of that row or column would appear on the status bar. All of a sudden the sum has stopped appearing, and Steve wonders how to get it back.
The first thing to check is that the status bar is actually displayed on the screen. If it is not (for instance, you don't see "Ready" at the left side of where the status bar normally appears), then you need to follow these steps:
Figure 1. The View tab of the Options dialog box.
With the status bar displayed, Excel can show several different statistics about your selection, not just the sum. Right-click the status bar and you should see a Context menu appear that offers choices such as Average, Count, etc. (The options available depend on the version of Excel you are using.) If None is selected, then the status bar doesn't display anything about your selection. If Sum is selected, then you will see the sum that you desire.
ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (5491) 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: Status Bar Summing No Longer Available.
Comprehensive VBA Guide Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is the language used for writing macros in all Office programs. This complete guide shows both professionals and novices how to master VBA in order to customize the entire Office suite for their needs. Check out Mastering VBA for Office 2010 today!
If you have some legacy data stored in very old spreadsheet files, you may be wondering how to get that data into an ...
Discover MoreHate to take your fingers off the keyboard? Here's how you can move from worksheet to worksheet without touching the mouse.
Discover MoreReferring to cells is typically done using a letter and a number, which represent the column and row. That's not the only ...
Discover MoreFREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
2019-09-12 20:53:40
Jo Ellen
This didn't really answer the question of why the "sum" function is not showing for the highlighted cells. I'm guessing it has something to do with the formatting. I was hoping to find a tip to help me easily convert a column of numbers to the proper format. I've already tried the regular formatting and it is not working.
2018-03-27 10:07:41
Willy Vanhaelen
@Kim
This are the Tips for Excel 97...2003. For Excel 2013 click the link in the gray box at the top of this page and read the tip.
2018-03-26 09:28:36
Kim
HI.
I was recently deployed Office 2013 and now my status bar is no longer summing. I have a status bar but the summing feature is not showing when I highlight a group of cells. (see Figure 1 below)
Figure 1.
Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.
FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."
Copyright © 2020 Sharon Parq Associates, Inc.
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: 
Comments