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: Getting Audible Feedback.

Getting Audible Feedback

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 27, 2021)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


If you are using a multimedia computer (you know—the type that has more bells and whistles than your home stereo system), then you can configure Excel so it make noises. Granted, every version of Excel makes an obnoxious ding whenever you press the wrong key or try to do something it doesn't like, but now you can expand the auditory experience to an even wider array of obnoxious noises. To set up Excel to use audible feedback, follow these steps:

  1. Choose Options from the Tools menu. Excel displays the Options dialog box.
  2. Select the General tab. (See Figure 1.)
  3. Figure 1. The General tab of the Options dialog box.

  4. Make sure the Provide Feedback with Sound check box is selected.
  5. Click on OK.

You have now enabled the use of sounds. If you want to change which sounds Excel uses, then do your tweaking in the Sounds applet of the Control Panel. (This is within Windows, not in Excel itself.)

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2934) 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: Getting Audible Feedback.

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

Searching for Breaks

Word allows you to insert different types of breaks in your text that help control how your document is paginated. If you ...

Discover More

Preserving the Undo List

The undo list can be a lifesaver when working in a macro. Unfortunately, the undo list is not preserved when you run a ...

Discover More

Allowing Only Comments in a Document

Develop a document that is to be reviewed by a group of people, and you may want to protect it in some way. One way you ...

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)

Editing the Custom Spelling Dictionaries

Excel provides spell-checking capabilities on the text you enter in a worksheet. It utilizes the same dictionaries and ...

Discover More

Forcing Stubborn Recalculation

Have you ever recalculated a worksheet, only to notice that not everything calculated as it should? Here's a way you can ...

Discover More

Changing Input Conventions

Different cultures have different conventions for displaying numbers and for parameters in Excel's worksheet functions. ...

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.