{"id":2199,"date":"2026-07-22T07:51:45","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T23:51:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xlwings.net\/blog\/?p=2199"},"modified":"2026-03-28T10:37:21","modified_gmt":"2026-03-28T10:37:21","slug":"how-to-use-applicationstatusbar-in-the-xlwings-api-way","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xlwings.net\/blog\/how-to-use-applicationstatusbar-in-the-xlwings-api-way\/","title":{"rendered":"How to use Application.StatusBar in the xlwings API way"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The StatusBar<\/code> property of the Application<\/code> object in Excel is a useful feature for providing real-time feedback to users during lengthy operations, such as data processing, calculations, or macro execution. In xlwings, this functionality is accessible through the api<\/code> property, which provides direct access to the underlying Excel object model. This allows developers to set custom messages, display progress indicators, or clear the status bar, enhancing the user experience in automated Excel tasks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Functionality<\/strong>
The StatusBar<\/code> property controls the text displayed in the status bar at the bottom of the Excel window. It can be used to show informative messages, progress updates (e.g., “Processing\u2026 50% complete”), or temporary notifications. When set to False<\/code>, it clears any custom message and restores Excel’s default status bar display, such as showing “Ready” or calculation status. This is particularly valuable in long-running scripts to keep users informed without interrupting the workflow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Syntax<\/strong>
In xlwings, the StatusBar<\/code> property is accessed via the Application<\/code> object. The basic syntax is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

app = xw.apps.active # Get the active Excel application\napp.api.StatusBar = \"Your message here\" # Set a custom message<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
To clear the custom message and revert to Excel’s default display:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
app.api.StatusBar = False<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
The property is both readable and writable. You can retrieve the current status bar text by reading app.api.StatusBar<\/code>, which returns a string if a custom message is set, or False<\/code> if the default is active. Note that the StatusBar<\/code> does not accept complex formatting; it only displays plain text. Parameters are not required for setting or clearing\u2014simply assign a string or False<\/code> as shown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Code Examples<\/strong>
Here are practical examples of using the StatusBar<\/code> property with xlwings:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    \n
  1. Setting a Custom Message<\/strong>: Display a notification during data processing.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
    import xlwings as xw\napp = xw.apps.active\napp.api.StatusBar = \"Loading data... Please wait.\"\n# Simulate a task, e.g., processing data\nimport time\ntime.sleep(2)\napp.api.StatusBar = \"Data loaded successfully.\"<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
      \n
    1. Showing Progress Updates<\/strong>: Implement a simple progress indicator in a loop.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
      import xlwings as xw\napp = xw.apps.active\ntotal_items = 100\nfor i in range(total_items):\n    progress = (i + 1) \/ total_items * 100\n    app.api.StatusBar = f\"Processing... {progress:.1f}% complete\"\n    # Simulate work, e.g., updating cells\n    time.sleep(0.1)\n    app.api.StatusBar = False # Clear after completion<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
        \n
      1. Clearing the Status Bar<\/strong>: Restore Excel’s default display after an operation.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
        import xlwings as xw\napp = xw.apps.active\napp.api.StatusBar = \"Task in progress...\"\n# Perform some operations, e.g., formatting a range\nsheet = app.books.active.sheets[0]\nsheet.range(\"A1:A10\").value = \"Updated\"\napp.api.StatusBar = False # Revert to default status<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
          \n
        1. Reading the Current Status<\/strong>: Check if a custom message is set.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n
          import xlwings as xw\napp = xw.apps.active\napp.api.StatusBar = \"Calculating results...\"\ncurrent_status = app.api.StatusBar\nprint(f\"Status bar says: {current_status}\") # Output: Status bar says: Calculating results...<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
          <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
          The `StatusBar` property of the `Application` object in Excel is a useful feature for providing real…<\/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-2199","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-xlwings-api-reference"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xlwings.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2199","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=2199"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/xlwings.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2199\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3363,"href":"https:\/\/xlwings.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2199\/revisions\/3363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xlwings.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2199"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xlwings.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2199"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xlwings.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}