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: Conditionally Making a Sound.

Conditionally Making a Sound

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated October 9, 2021)
This tip applies to Excel 97, 2000, 2002, and 2003


Ken knows how to create conditional formats in Excel. What he really wants to do, however, is have Excel make an audible sound (a beep or whatever) if the conditions are met.

There is no way to do this without resorting to using macros. If you just want to make a beep sound, you can use something like this:

Function BeepMe() As String
    Beep
    BeepMe = ""
End Function

All this user-defined function does is to play a sound (which will vary depending on the system you are using) and then return an empty string. You can use the function in your worksheet in this manner:

=IF(A12>300,BeepMe(),"")

If you want to play some sound other than the default system beep, you'll need to use the Windows API PlaySound function. The following code creates a user-defined function that will play the default "tada" sound so prevalent in Windows.

Private Declare Function PlaySound Lib "winmm.dll" _
  Alias "PlaySoundA" (ByVal lpszName As String, _
  ByVal hModule As Long, ByVal dwFlags As Long) As Long

    Const SND_SYNC = &H0
    Const SND_ASYNC = &H1
    Const SND_FILENAME = &H20000

Function SoundMe() As String
    Call PlaySound("c:\windows\media\tada.wav", _
      0, SND_ASYNC Or SND_FILENAME)
    SoundMe = ""
End Function

This function can be called the same as the previous example:

=IF(A12>300,SoundMe(),"")

If you want to play a different WAV file, simply change the file specification in the SoundMe function.

Note:

If you would like to know how to use the macros described on this page (or on any other page on the ExcelTips sites), I've prepared a special page that includes helpful information. Click here to open that special page in a new browser tab.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (7658) 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: Conditionally Making a Sound.

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

Protecting Fields

Fields are very helpful for inserting dynamic information or standardizing the information that appears in a document. ...

Discover More

Understanding Cell Indenting

Formatting a cell could, if you desire, also include the indentation of information within the cell. This tip examines ...

Discover More

Ignoring Case in a Comparison

Do you want Excel to take the case of your text into account when it does comparisons in a formula? The IF statement ...

Discover More

Best-Selling VBA Tutorial for Beginners Take your Excel knowledge to the next level. With a little background in VBA programming, you can go well beyond basic spreadsheets and functions. Use macros to reduce errors, save time, and integrate with other Microsoft applications. Fully updated for the latest version of Office 365. Check out Microsoft 365 Excel VBA Programming For Dummies today!

More ExcelTips (menu)

Copying Conditional Formatting

Conditional formatting is a great feature in Excel. Here's how you can copy conditional formats from one cell to another ...

Discover More

Conditional Format that Checks for Data Type

Conditional formatting can be used to highlight cells that contain the improper type of data for your needs. This tip ...

Discover More

Highlighting Cells Containing Specific Text

If you want to highlight cells that contain certain characters, you can use the conditional formatting features of Excel ...

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 9 + 7?

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.