Fix: Excel Toolbar Not Showing or Not Responding

Microsoft Excel is an essential tool for millions of students and working professionals who need to store, organize, analyze, and visualize data in a structured and efficient way. With its extensive range of functions, Excel allows users to complete their tasks quickly and easily. However, some users have reported that the toolbar has disappeared or is not responding. If you are experiencing this issue, don’t worry, as there are several effective ways to solve this problem.

In this guide, we will provide you with solutions to help you get your Excel toolbar back. Whether using Excel for personal or professional use, having access to the toolbar is crucial to ensuring smooth workflow and productivity. So, if you are facing problems with the Excel toolbar not showing up or not responding, follow the steps outlined in this guide to get back on track.

The toolbar in Microsoft Excel is one of the most important sections. Whether you want to format the spreadsheet, do data manipulation (sorting, filtering, grouping), do page setup, or want to get quick access to formula functions, the toolbar does a very good job. Things could become tough and frustrating if this toolbar disappears or stops responding. It could negatively impact your productivity if your work uses Microsoft Excel.

If you can’t see the toolbar in Microsoft Excel, it’s not primarily because of software bugs or issues. There’s a quick solution to get back the Excel tool by following some easy steps. We have detailed this method in the solutions below. If this solution does not work out, try other solutions from this troubleshooting guide.

Here’s How to Fix If Excel Toolbar Is Not Showing or Responding

Try the solutions below to get back your Excel toolbar.

Solution 1: Use the Ribbon Display Option

By default, the toolbar is visible all the time. However, there’s a shortcut to hide or unhide the toolbar quickly. You may have accidentally hidden it. In that case, use the Ctrl + F1 ribbon shortcut.

When the toolbar is visible, pressing the ribbon shortcut will hide it. And when the toolbar is hidden, this shortcut will quickly unhide the toolbar. If the shortcut key method is not working, use the Ribbon Display Options. Here are the required steps you need to follow:

Step 1: Tap on the Ribbon display options icon. It is usually located in the top-right corner near the close button. Check out the screenshot below.

[SCREENSHOT]

Now, you will see three options:

• Auto-hide Ribbon: This option will hide the toolbar when working on an Excel sheet. It will only show up when you tap the Alt button or click the More ellipse icon.
• Show Tabs: It only displays the table and hides the ribbon and toolbar. You will need to click on a tab to see the commands.
• Show Tabs and Commands: Selecting this option will show all tabs and commands at all times.

Step 2: Either choose the “Show Tabs” or “Show Tabs and Commands” option. You should now be able to see the toolbar.

If there’s no Ribbon display options icon in your version of Microsoft Excel, click the “Home” tab, tap on the downward arrow icon on the right, and select the “Always show Ribbon” option.

Solution 2. If the Add-in Tab Is Missing

Many users have reported that the Add-in tab is missing on Microsoft Excel. It may have been disabled by Excel. In case you also facing the same issue, follow these steps to enable Add-in:

1. Tap on “File” at the top of the page.
2. Select “Options” from the File menu.
3. Tap on the “Add-in” option from the left panel and tap on “Disabled Items”.
4. You can see all the disabled add-ins. Select the one you want to enable and tap on the “Enable” button.

Solution 3: Restart Microsoft Excel

Restarting the software seems to have done the trick for many users. You should therefore close Excel and relaunch it. In the comments section below, let us know if this method worked for you. If the problem persists, try other solutions we’ve mentioned below.

Solution 4: Disable All Add-ins

Though Add-ins are useful for bringing more features and functionalities to Excel to improve productivity, they can sometimes conflict with other Excel options such as a toolbar. To check if an add-in is causing issues with the toolbar, disable all the add-ins and check if it can bring back the toolbar.

To disable all Excel add-ins, follow these steps:

1. Tap on the “File” tab in the top-left corner.
2. Click on the “Options” button in the left panel.
3. Now, tap on “Add-in”.
4. Select “Excel Add-ins” from the Manage dropdown options.
5. Tap on the “Go” button.
6. Now, uncheck all add-ins and click “Ok”.

Once you have disabled all the add-ins, close Microsoft Excel and launch it again to check if the toolbar is showing.

Solution 5: Repair Microsoft Excel

If you still can’t see the toolbar or it is not working, there could be an issue with your computer’s Microsoft Excel software files. Thankfully, Windows has a built-in tool to repair Excel. Don’t know how to use this feature? No worries. Just follow these steps in the same order:

1. Right-click on the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner and tap on “Settings”.
2. Tap on “Apps” from the left panel. If you are a Windows 10 user, click “System” and then tap on “Apps”.
3. Click “Installed apps” to get the list of all apps on your computer.
4. Find Excel in the list and click the three-dot button next to it.
5. Select the  “Modify” option and then click “Repair”.

Once the repair process is completed, launch Microsoft Excel again to check if the problem is fixed.

So, that’s how you can fix the Excel toolbar not showing or not responding issue on your Windows PC. We hope one of the above-mentioned solutions has worked out for you. If you have any questions or queries, do write them in the comments section below.