Make Excel speak faster.Q. A couple of years ago you described how to program Excel to read aloud the numbers in worksheets (JofA, Dec.03, page 89). That tip has saved me many hours of work. Can you help me get Excel's voice to speak faster so I can save even more time? A. Sure, but before I do, let me repeat how to evoke Excel's voice for those who missed the column. You must have computer speakers and Excel 2002 or later. Click on Tools, Speech and Show Text to Speech Toolbar A row or column of on-screen buttons used to activate functions in the application. Many toolbars are customizable, letting you add and delete buttons as required. Toolbars may be fixed in position or may float, which means they can be dragged to a more convenient location in the , bringing up this toolbar: [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Notice there are five icons; each controls a different read-back function. Pass your cursor over each icon and an explanation of what it does will appear. Starting at the left, the first (see screenshot See screen shot. top right) orders Excel to read the numbers in the cell--hesitating a second or so between cells. If the cell contains a formula, it will not read the formula, just the resultant number, unless you press Ctrl+' (grave accent Noun 1. grave accent - a mark (`) placed above a vowel to indicate pronunciation grave accent mark, accent - a diacritical mark used to indicate stress or placed above a vowel to indicate a special pronunciation ). The second icon halts the process. The third and fourth control whether the automatic reading moves across a row or down a column. To program a cell to speak only after you press Enter, click on the fifth and final icon (see screenshot below). [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caveat [Latin, Let him beware.] A warning; admonition. A formal notice or warning given by an interested party to a court, judge, or ministerial officer in opposition to certain acts within his or her power and jurisdiction. : Excel provides incomplete clues about turning off its voice. If you click on the far right icon (Speak On Enter), you'll see it: Each click on it toggles the speaking function on or off. But the only alert you get that it's on or off is Excel's spoken message, so listen carefully. The text doesn't change: The text continues to read Speak On Enter. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Now I'll describe how to change the speech speed. Click on Start, Settings, Control Panel, Speech and then on the Text To Speech tab, as shown on page 88. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Adjust the slider A block of material that holds the read/write head of a magnetic disk. See flying head. under Voice speed toward Fast and then click on OK. STANLEY ZAROWIN, a former JofA senior editor, is now a contributing editor A contributing editor is a magazine job title that varies in responsibilities. Most often, a contributing editor is a freelancer who has proven ability and readership draw. to the magazine. His e-mail address See Internet address. e-mail address - electronic mail address is zarowin@mindspring.com. |
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