Excel 2024: Avoid Whiplash with Speak Cells

January 30, 2025 - by Bill Jelen

I hate having to hand-key data into Excel. Between the Internet and Power Query, there almost always is a way to find the data somewhere. I hate when people send a PDF where they scanned some numbers and are sending the numbers as a picture. A free trial of Able2Extract Pro (mrx.cl/pdftoxl) will get the actual number into Excel. Even so, sometimes you end up keying data into Excel.

One of the painful parts about keying in data is that you have to proofread the numbers. So, you are looking at the sheet of paper, then the screen, then the paper, then the screen. You will end up with a sore neck. Wouldn't it be nice if you had someone to read you the screen so you can keep your eye on the paper? It's built in to Excel.

Right-click on the Quick Access Toolbar and choose Customize Quick Access Toolbar.

Change the top-left dropdown to Commands Not in the Ribbon. Scroll down to the S entries until you find Speak Cells. Add all five of these commands to the Quick Access Toolbar.

The five commands to add to the Quick Access Toolbar: Speak Cells, Speak Cells - Stop Speaking Cells, Speak Cells by Columns, Speak Cells by Rows, Speak Cells on Enter.

Select your range of numbers and click Speak Cells. Excel reads you the numbers.

Choose a range of cells and click Speak Cells.

Tip

You can customize the voice in the Windows Control Panel. Search for Text to Speech. There is a setting for Voice Speed. Drag that slider to halfway between Normal and Fast to have the voice read your cells faster.

In the Control Panel, under Speech Recnognition, choose Speech Properties. In the Speech Properties dialog, the second tab is Text to Speech. The current voice is Microsoft Anna. The important setting here is Voice Speed. Move half way from Normal to Fast to have Excel read the cells slightly faster.

Bonus Tip: Provide Feedback with Sound

New in July 2017: Go to Excel Options. From the left category list, choose Ease of Access. Select the checkbox for Provide Feedback with Sound and choose Modern. (The other choice, Classic, should be called Annoying!)

Excel now provides confirmation with gentle sounds when you do any of these tasks: Copy, Paste, Undo, Redo, AutoCorrect, Save, Insert Cells, Delete Cells.

Bonus Tip: A Great April Fool's Day Trick

Do you want a harmless prank to pull on a co-worker? When he leaves his desk to grab a cup of coffee, add the fifth icon to his Quick Access Toolbar: Speak Cells on Enter. Click the icon once, and the computer will say, "Cells will now be spoken on Enter."

Once you've turned on Speak Cells on Enter, right-click the icon in the Quick Access Toolbar and choose Remove from Quick Access Toolbar to hide any sign that you were there.

To complete the April Fool's Day prank, right click Speak Cells on Enter and choose Remove From Quick Access Toolbar.

Your co-worker comes back, sits down, and starts to build a worksheet. The computer repeats back everything the co-worker types.

When the unsuspecting prankee types Income Statement in a cell, the computer will repeat back "Income Statement".

If you have a little more time and want Speak Cells on Enter with attitude, add the following macro to the code pane for the current worksheet..

Here is how to get here. Press Alt+F11 to switch to VBA. Ctrl+R to display the Project Explorer. Find the current workbook and worksheet. RIght-click that worksheet and View Code. In the top left drop-down, choose Worksheet. In the top right drop-down choose Change.

This article is an excerpt from MrExcel 2024 Igniting Excel

Title photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash