Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. If you are using a later version (Excel 2007 or later), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for later versions of Excel, click here: Inserting a Sound File in Your Worksheet.

Inserting a Sound File in Your Worksheet

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated March 12, 2022)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


If you are the type that likes to give your workbooks a slant toward multimedia, Excel allows you to insert sound files in your worksheets. This is done in this manner:

  1. Select the cell near which you want the sound inserted.
  2. Choose Object from the Insert menu. You will see the Object dialog box.
  3. Click on the Create from File tab.
  4. Use the controls on the dialog box to locate a sound file that you want included with your document.
  5. Click on OK. An icon that looks like a speaker is inserted in your document.

You can later listen to your sound file by simply double-clicking on the speaker icon. You can also move the icon to some other place on your worksheet, as it appears to "float" over the actual contents of the worksheet. Simply click on the icon once, and use the mouse to drag it to a new location.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2864) applies to Microsoft Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003. You can find a version of this tip for the ribbon interface of Excel (Excel 2007 and later) here: Inserting a Sound File in Your Worksheet.

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. ...

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