Microsoft KB Archive/177536

= OFF98: File Name Spelled Out When Assistant Speaks Alert Text =

Article ID: 177536

Article Last Modified on 11/13/2003

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Excel 98 for Macintosh
 * Microsoft Word 98 for Macintosh
 * Microsoft Office 98 for Macintosh

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This article was previously published under Q177536



SYMPTOMS
If you are using the Office Assistant to speak alert text, the Office Assistant may spell out the name of the file that appears in an alert message letter by letter. For example, instead of speaking the following

Do you want to save the changes you made to Workbook1?

the Office Assistant speaks the following:

Do you want to save the changes you made to W-o-r-k-b-o-o-k-one- apostrophe?



CAUSE
This problem occurs when the following conditions are true:

 You specify that you want the Office Assistant to speak alert text. To do this, follow these steps:

 Click the Office Assistant. In the assistant balloon, click Options. Click the Options tab. Click to select the Speak Alert Text check box. Then, click OK.

-and- The name of the active file does not contain any spaces or the name contains words that are not recognized by the speech system, for example:

Workbook1 Document1

-and- You perform an action that causes the program to display an alert message that contains the name of the file. For example, you click Close on the File menu immediately after you change the file.

-or-</li> You open a file that was saved on a Windows machine.</li></ul>

NOTE: This problem may also occur in Microsoft PowerPoint 98 Macintosh Edition. However, it is less likely to occur because the default file name for presentations contains a space (for example, Presentation 1).

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RESOLUTION
To resolve this behavior, change the name of the file so that it includes a space (for example, "Workbook 1" or "Document 1"). After you rename the file, the file name is spoken correctly when the program displays an alert message that includes the file name.

Note that words that are not recognized by the speech system are spelled out.

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STATUS
This behavior is by design of the programs listed at the beginning of this article.

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MORE INFORMATION
The Office Assistant in Microsoft Office 98 Macintosh Edition includes an option that allows each program to speak alert messages. This option is available only if your Macintosh computer is running Mac OS 8.0 (System 8.0) or later.

The speech system is designed to pronounce only the word it recognizes; it cannot pronounce words that it does not recognize. When the speech system encounters a word it does not recognize, it spells out the words, including any punctuation that is associated with them.

Additional query words: OFF98 XL98 WD98

Keywords: kbui kbprb KB177536

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