Excel ribbon missing: how to get it back

1. Only the tab names show: Ctrl+F1

This is the most common case, and it's usually an accidental double-click on a tab. Excel then shows only the tab names; clicking one drops the ribbon down over the sheet and it disappears again when you click a cell.

Press Ctrl+F1 to pin it back. Double-clicking any tab name does the same. Both toggle, so doing it again collapses the ribbon, which is handy on a small laptop screen.

1. Press Ctrl+F1, or double-click Home.
2. Or click a tab to open the ribbon, then click the small arrow at the bottom right corner of the ribbon and choose Always show Ribbon.
3. You can also right-click any tab name: if Collapse the Ribbon is ticked, click it to untick it.

2. No tabs and no ribbon: full-screen mode

Full-screen mode hides the ribbon, the tabs and often the title bar, leaving only the grid. It's the Full-screen mode choice in Ribbon Display Options, and Ctrl+Shift+F1 also hides most of the screen furniture in one go.

Click at the very top of the screen (a thin bar with three dots appears) to bring the ribbon down temporarily. Then open Ribbon Display Options from the arrow at the bottom right of the ribbon and choose Always show Ribbon. If you used Ctrl+Shift+F1, pressing it again restores the window.

In older versions (Excel 2016 and 2019) the Ribbon Display Options button sits at the top right of the window, next to Minimise. The choices there are Auto-hide Ribbon, Show Tabs and Show Tabs and Commands; pick Show Tabs and Commands.

3. The Quick Access Toolbar moved or vanished

Sometimes it's not the ribbon that's gone but the row of small buttons (Save, Undo, Redo) that used to sit above or below it. In Ribbon Display Options choose Show Quick Access Toolbar. To move it, right-click any ribbon button and pick Show Quick Access Toolbar Above the Ribbon (or Below).

4. Excel for the web: a one-line ribbon

Excel in a browser can show a Single line ribbon, which hides most buttons and labels to save space. Use the arrow at the right end of the ribbon to open the ribbon layout options and switch to the Classic ribbon, which looks much more like desktop Excel.

If the browser window is narrow, buttons also fold into a More menu. Making the window wider brings them back.

5. A tab or button is missing: reset the ribbon

If the ribbon is there but a tab you need (such as Developer) or a familiar button isn't, the ribbon may have been customised. Tabs can be unticked, and add-ins can add or remove tabs too.

1. Go to File > Options > Customize Ribbon.
2. In the right-hand list, tick any tab you're missing, such as Developer, and click OK.
3. To undo every change, click Reset next to Customizations and choose Reset all customizations. This also resets the Quick Access Toolbar, so export your setup first with Import/Export if you want to keep it.