Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, and 2013. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Turning Off Speech Capabilities.

Turning Off Speech Capabilities

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated November 21, 2019)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, and 2013


4

Carol has speech capabilities turned on when working with a workbook on her system. (She likes to hear her entries read back to her as a double-check of their accuracy.) She doesn't want the speech capabilities turned on when she sends the workbook to her Executive Director, and was wondering how to do this.

Actually, this is something that the Executive Director has to do on his or her system. Unfortunately it isn't that easy; it involves adding a tool to the Quick Access Toolbar. Have the Director follow these steps:

  1. Display the Excel Options dialog box. (In Excel 2007 click the Office button and then click Excel Options. In Excel 2010 and Excel 2013 display the File tab of the ribbon and then click Options.)
  2. At the left of the dialog box click Customize (Excel 2007) or Quick Access Toolbar (Excel 2010 and Excel 2013).
  3. Using the Choose Commands From drop-down list, choose Commands Not In the Ribbon.
  4. In the list of commands at the left side of the dialog box, locate and select the Speak Cells on Enter option.
  5. Click the Add button. The command moves to the right side of the dialog box.
  6. Click OK.

The command is added to the Quick Access Toolbar. At this point you can click the Speak on Enter button to turn the speech capabilities on or off, as desired.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (7927) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, and 2013. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Turning Off Speech Capabilities.

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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What is five more than 3?

2019-08-22 13:02:46

Jill

Dear Allen,

Thank you! This was driving me nuts.


2016-04-11 09:29:37

Woody Hardman

How do I open and "unprotect" a worksheet when I have forgotten the password?


2013-08-06 05:22:32

Rudra Sharma

Title of this tip should have been "How to enable/disable speech capabilities?"
If she doesn't want to send the files with speech on, she doesn't need to do antying.


2013-08-05 08:10:46

Bryan

This doesn't make sense. Speech on Entry seems to be an application setting, not a workbook setting, so if your ED's workbook is talking to him it's because he made the change, not because you used it on your system. Depending on the technical ablity of your ED, he either did this on purpose and you'd better not change it, or he did it on accident and you'll be his favorite person if you can show him how to turn it off!

If you want to force the speech on enter functionality to turn off on someone else's system, you can use Application.Speech.SpeakCellsOnEnter = False in a startup macro.


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