{"id":2085,"date":"2026-05-26T07:56:43","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T23:56:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xlwings.net\/blog\/?p=2085"},"modified":"2026-03-28T06:17:56","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T06:17:56","slug":"how-to-use-applicationdisplayformulabar-in-the-xlwings-api-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xlwings.net\/blog\/how-to-use-applicationdisplayformulabar-in-the-xlwings-api-way\/","title":{"rendered":"How to use Application.DisplayFormulaBar in the xlwings API way"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <code>DisplayFormulaBar<\/code> member of the <code>Application<\/code> object in Excel is a property that controls the visibility of the formula bar in the Excel application window. This feature is particularly useful when automating tasks where screen real estate needs to be managed or when creating a cleaner interface for end-users by hiding the formula bar to reduce clutter. In xlwings, this property can be accessed and modified through the <code>api<\/code> property, which provides direct access to the underlying Excel object model, allowing for precise control over the Excel application&#8217;s behavior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Functionality<\/strong><br>The primary function of the <code>DisplayFormulaBar<\/code> property is to toggle the display of the formula bar on or off. When set to <code>True<\/code>, the formula bar is visible; when set to <code>False<\/code>, it is hidden. This can enhance the user experience in automated reports or dashboards by minimizing distractions, or it can be used to prevent users from manually editing formulas in protected sheets, although it is not a security feature. It&#8217;s important to note that this setting applies to the entire Excel application instance, affecting all open workbooks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Syntax<\/strong><br>In xlwings, the syntax to access and set the <code>DisplayFormulaBar<\/code> property is straightforward, utilizing the <code>api<\/code> attribute to call the native Excel VBA object model. The property is a boolean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Get the current state:<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\"><code>formula_bar_visible = xw.apps&#91;0].api.DisplayFormulaBar<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This returns <code>True<\/code> if the formula bar is displayed, <code>False<\/code> otherwise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Set the state:<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\"><code>xw.apps&#91;0].api.DisplayFormulaBar = False # Hides the formula bar<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">or<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\"><code>xw.apps&#91;0].api.DisplayFormulaBar = True # Shows the formula bar<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here, <code>xw.apps[0]<\/code> refers to the first Excel application instance controlled by xlwings. If multiple instances are open, you may need to adjust the index or use <code>xw.apps.active<\/code> to target the active application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Parameters<\/strong><br>The <code>DisplayFormulaBar<\/code> property does not accept method parameters as it is a property, not a method. It is a read\/write boolean property. The value must be a Python boolean (<code>True<\/code> or <code>False<\/code>) or an integer that evaluates to a boolean (0 for <code>False<\/code>, non-zero for <code>True<\/code>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Code Examples<\/strong><br>Here are practical examples of using the <code>DisplayFormulaBar<\/code> property with xlwings:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Hiding the formula bar upon opening a workbook:<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\"><code>import xlwings as xw\n\n# Start Excel and open a workbook\napp = xw.App(visible=True)\nworkbook = app.books.open('example.xlsx')\n\n# Hide the formula bar\napp.api.DisplayFormulaBar = False\n\n# Perform other operations...\nworkbook.save()\napp.quit()<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"2\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Toggling the formula bar visibility based on a condition:<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\"><code>import xlwings as xw\n\n# Connect to the active Excel instance\napp = xw.apps.active\n\n# Check current state and toggle\nif app.api.DisplayFormulaBar:\n    print(\"Formula bar is visible. Hiding it.\")\n    app.api.DisplayFormulaBar = False\nelse:\n    print(\"Formula bar is hidden. Showing it.\")\n    app.api.DisplayFormulaBar = True<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"3\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Ensuring the formula bar is visible before closing:<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\"><code>import xlwings as xw\n\n# Assume an existing automation script\napp = xw.apps&#91;0]\n\n# ... automation tasks ...\n\n# Restore formula bar visibility for the user\napp.api.DisplayFormulaBar = True\n\n# Save and close\napp.books&#91;0].save()\napp.quit()<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The `DisplayFormulaBar` member of the `Application` object in Excel is a property that controls the &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-xlwings-api-reference"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xlwings.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xlwings.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xlwings.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xlwings.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xlwings.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2085"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/xlwings.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2085\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3191,"href":"https:\/\/xlwings.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2085\/revisions\/3191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xlwings.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xlwings.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xlwings.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}