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. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Transposing Two Paragraphs

Need to swap two adjacent paragraphs? Your editing arsenal can include a command to do this if you use the macro in this tip.

Discover More

Easily Changing Print Order

You can change the order in which pages are printed (normal or reversed) using the Print dialog box or the print settings ...

Discover More

Displaying Blanks when Summing to Zero

If you use fields to sum the information in your table columns, you might want to display a blank when the sum is zero. ...

Discover More

Professional Development Guidance! Four world-class developers offer start-to-finish guidance for building powerful, robust, and secure applications with Excel. The authors show how to consistently make the right design decisions and make the most of Excel's powerful features. Check out Professional Excel Development today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Using Stored Views

After creating different views of your worksheet data, you can display those views by simply selecting which one you want ...

Discover More

Inserting a Voice Annotation in Your Worksheet

Excel can, once in a while, try to be a "multimedia program." Here's how you can add short sound files to your worksheet ...

Discover More

Using Check Boxes

Check boxes, just like those used in Windows dialog boxes, can be a great addition to a worksheet. Here's how to add them ...

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is seven less than 8?

There are currently no comments for this tip. (Be the first to leave your comment—just use the simple form above!)


This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the menu interface (Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, or Excel 2003)? This site is for you! If you use a later version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the ribbon interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.