Microsoft KB Archive/288986

= HOW TO: Use Text-to-Speech in Excel 2002 =

Article ID: 288986

Article Last Modified on 1/31/2007

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APPLIES TO


 * Microsoft Excel 2002 Standard Edition

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This article was previously published under Q288986



IN THIS TASK
SUMMARY
 * Enable Text-to-Speech
 * Using the Text To Speech Toolbar
 * Default Behavior of Text-to-Speech



SUMMARY
This article describes how to use the buttons on the Text To Speech toolbar. This article also describes the default behavior of Text-to-Speech (TTS).

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Enable Text-to-Speech
To turn on the Text-to-Speech (TTS) feature in Microsoft Excel, do one of the following:
 * On the View menu, point to Toolbars, and then click to select Text To Speech.

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 * On the Tools menu, point to Speech, and then click to select Show Text To Speech Toolbar.

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Using the Text to Speech Toolbar
The Text To Speech toolbar contains five buttons. The following list explains how to use each button:
 * Speak Cells

When you click the Speak Cells button, the TTS synthesizer speaks the contents of any cells that you select in an Excel worksheet. Suppose that you select the group of cells A1:B2, and you then click Speak Cells. TTS automatically activates each cell in the group of cells in turn and speaks its contents.

If you select only a single cell, TTS highlights a group of cells. That is, TTS highlights not only the cell that you selected, but any cells that contain data and are contiguous to the cell that you selected. TTS then speaks the contents starting from the cell that you first selected, and continues to speak the contents of all contiguous cells that occur after the cell that you selected. For example, suppose there is content in cells A1:C3, and you select only cell B2, and you then click Speak Cells. TTS highlights cells A1:C3, and then speaks the contents of cells B2:C3. That is, TTS begins speaking with the cell you selected, cell B2.
 * Stop Speaking

When you click the Stop Speaking button, TTS immediately stops speaking. The most recently selected cell remains the active cell.
 * By Rows

This is the default behavior of TTS. When you click the By Rows button, and then click Speak Cells, the contents of each cell in the selected range of cells are spoken, starting with the first cell in the selected range, and then going right in the row. When TTS reaches the last selected cell in the row, it moves to the leftmost cell in the next row down. The process continues until the contents of the bottom rightmost cell have been spoken.
 * By Columns

When you click the By Columns button, and then click Speak Cells, the contents of each cell in the selected range of cells are spoken, starting with the first cell in the selected range, and then going down in the column. When TTS reaches the last cell of the selected range in the column, it moves to the uppermost cell in the next column to the right. The process then carries on until the contents of the bottom rightmost cell have been spoken.
 * Speak On Enter

When you click the Speak On Enter button, you turn the Speak On Enter feature on or off. When you turn this feature on, TTS speaks the contents of a selected cell after you enter data into the cell or edit the cell and then press ENTER.

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Default Behavior of Text-to-Speech
The following list describes the default behavior of TTS:
 * TTS begins speaking the cell contents of a selected range of cells at the active cell and continues to the last cell of the selected range.
 * When TTS reaches the last cell in the selected range, it does not return to the top of the selected range and continue, even if the initial active cell was not the top left cell of the selection.
 * If the last cell in the selected range of cells is the starting cell for TTS, then TTS immediately selects the first (upper-left) cell of the selected range and the entire selection is spoken.
 * If Speak On Enter is turned on and you press CTRL+ENTER or CTRL+SHIFT+ENTER, only the contents of the cell that was active at the start of the editing operation are spoken.
 * Cell values or formulas in hidden cells are not spoken.
 * Cell formulas are not spoken if cell formulas are hidden and the worksheet is protected.

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Additional query words: OfficeKBHowTo inf XL2002

Keywords: kbhowto kbhowtomaster KB288986

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