See Sum, Average and Count in the Excel Status Bar

The Excel status bar sum is the fastest total in Excel: select some cells and the strip at the bottom of the window shows their Sum, Average and Count, with no formula at all. It is perfect for a quick check, like "do these invoices add up to the figure in the email?" This guide shows how to read it, how to add more figures, and what to do when the sum doesn't appear.

Where is the status bar?#

The status bar is the thin bar along the very bottom of the Excel window, below the sheet tabs. On the left it shows the mode (Ready, Enter or Edit). On the right, next to the zoom slider, it shows figures about the cells you have selected.

It looks the same in Excel for Windows and Excel for Mac. In Excel on the web the same figures appear at the bottom of the page.

How to see the sum of selected cells#

Select two or more cells that contain numbers, and the sum appears straight away. Try it with this expense list:

1. Click B2.
2. Hold Shift and click B7, or press Ctrl+Shift+↓ (Mac: ⌘+Shift+↓) to select down to the last filled cell.
3. Look at the bottom right of the window.

The status bar shows:

If you select B1:B7 instead, so the header is included, Count becomes 7 because it counts the text "Amount" too. Sum and Average don't change, because text is ignored.

Selecting quickly is a skill of its own; the lesson on selecting ranges with Shift covers the shortcuts.

How to add Min, Max and Numerical Count#

You can choose which figures the status bar shows. Right-click anywhere on the status bar (Mac: Control-click) to open the Customize Status Bar menu. Tick or untick:

• Average, Count and Sum (on by default)
• Numerical Count: only cells that contain numbers
• Minimum and Maximum: the smallest and largest number

With all of them on, selecting B2:B7 also shows Numerical Count 6, Minimum 45 and Maximum 1,200. Your choice is remembered for every workbook.

Count and Numerical Count are the status bar versions of COUNTA and COUNT. When you need the figure in a cell, those are the functions to use.

How to sum cells that are not next to each other#

Hold Ctrl (Mac: ⌘) and click or drag to add more cells to the selection. For example, select B2, then Ctrl-click B5 and B7: the status bar shows Sum 1,290 (1,200 + 45 + 45) and Count 3.

This is handy for checking a few items in a long list, such as the invoices that match one bank payment. The same works across columns: select B2:B7 and then Ctrl-select numbers in another column, and the status bar adds them all.

Why is the sum missing from the status bar?#

When you select cells and only Count appears, the cause is almost always one of these:

1. Sum is switched off. Right-click the status bar and tick Sum.
2. The numbers are stored as text. Imported data often holds numbers as text. They sit on the left of the cell and may show a small green triangle. The status bar counts them but doesn't add them. Select the cells, click the warning icon and choose Convert to Number, or use VALUE in a helper column.
3. Only one number is selected. The status bar figures appear when you select two or more cells.
4. The workbook is in Edit mode. If you are still typing in a cell, press Enter or Esc first.

If the sum looks too low rather than missing, some cells in the range are probably text. Compare Count with Numerical Count: if Count is higher and there is no header in the selection, some "numbers" are text.

Status bar sum with filtered data#

When a list is filtered, selecting a column shows the sum of the visible rows only. That makes the status bar a quick way to check a filtered total, such as one region's sales.

A plain SUM formula does not work this way: it adds hidden rows too. To get a filtered total in a cell, use SUBTOTAL or AGGREGATE. The guides on how to filter and sum only visible cells and SUBTOTAL vs SUM explain the difference.

Status bar or SUM formula?#

The status bar is for checking; a formula is for keeping. Use the status bar when you want a quick answer and won't need it again. Use a formula when:

• The total must appear in a report or be printed.
• Other formulas depend on it.
• The total must update when the data changes.

In recent Excel for Microsoft 365 on Windows, you can click a status bar value to copy it, then paste it as a number. That is still a fixed number, so it won't update.

For the formula itself, select the cell under your numbers and press Alt+= (Mac: ⌘+Shift+T) for AutoSum, or type:

=SUM(B2:B7)

That returns 1,885, the same as the status bar. The SUM function guide and the article on the Excel SUM function cover the details. If your range contains error values, see how to sum and ignore errors, and to add the same cell across several sheets, see summing across sheets.

Practise it#

Try the exercise on this page to turn a status bar total into a formula you keep. Then practise SUM and AutoSum in a live spreadsheet, and practise selecting ranges with Shift so checking a total takes a second. Both lessons check your work instantly.