Controlling Display of the Formula Bar

The Formula Bar is the area at the top of the Excel window, just below the Formatting toolbar. 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. You will see the Options dialog box.
2. Make sure the View tab is selected. (Click here to see a related figure.)
3. Click on the Formula Bar check box. If there is an X in the box, then the Formula Bar will be displayed; no X means it will not.
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.