Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Word versions: 2007 and 2010. If you are using an earlier version (Word 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Word, click here: Displaying a Message in the Status Bar.

Displaying a Message in the Status Bar

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated December 20, 2023)
This tip applies to Word 2007 and 2010

When you are creating VBA macros, you can place a message on the status bar by using (oddly enough) the StatusBar property. For instance, the statement

StatusBar = "I'm working as fast as I can..."

will print the message within the quote marks on the status bar. If you use the StatusBar property, you can keep users informed about what your macro is doing. (After all, it's best not to leave them wondering.) If you want to "turn off" what is displayed in the status bar, you can do so by using the following statement:

StatusBar = ""

Microsoft removed support for the StatusBar property from Word 2013, so this tip will only work with Word 2007 and Word 2010.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the WordTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

WordTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Word training. (Microsoft Word is the most popular word processing software in the world.) This tip (13040) applies to Microsoft Word 2007 and 2010. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Word here: Displaying a Message in the Status 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. Learn more about Allen...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Selecting an Entire Section

Documents can be subdivided into sections, with each of them formatted differently. If you want to select all the text in ...

Discover More

Creating a Hierarchy Map of Your Hard Drive

Want to see how the directories and subdirectories in your hard drive are organized? It's easy to do using the directions ...

Discover More

Deleting Everything Except Formulas

Need to get rid of everything in a worksheet except the formulas? It's easier to make this huge change than you think it is.

Discover More

Do More in Less Time! Are you ready to harness the full power of Word 2013 to create professional documents? In this comprehensive guide you'll learn the skills and techniques for efficiently building the documents you need for your professional and your personal life. Check out Word 2013 In Depth today!

More WordTips (ribbon)

Removing a Macro from a Shortcut Key

Associate a macro with a shortcut key, and at some time you may want to break that association. (Perhaps so the shortcut ...

Discover More

Understanding Document Variables

When working with macros, you may want to create a variable that will remain constant from one instance of the macro to ...

Discover More

Editing Word's Built-in Commands

Want to configure Word to do just what you want it to? You can even go so far as to change the actual way in which Word ...

Discover More

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in WordTips, 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.

Notify me about new comments ONLY FOR THIS TIP

Notify me about new comments ANYWHERE ON THIS SITE

Hide my email address

What is 1 + 1?

2017-11-14 18:56:20

Stephen

Support for statusbar may have been stopped, but this code still works for me in Word 2016.

This Site

Got a version of Word that uses the ribbon interface (Word 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Word, visit our WordTips site focusing on the menu interface.