Turn off sounds?

[Guest]

How do I turn off sounds in Word? Every time I close a document I get the
prompt asking me if I want to save changes; the visual prompt is okay but the
SOUND drives me batty.

I went into Tools | Options | General and unchecked "Provide feedback with
sound, but that doesn't make any difference. HELP!

Thanks very much,


Andrea

 

[Pat Garard]

G'Day Andrea,

A number of programs (of which Word is only one) issue 'prompts' with
sounds that are supplied through Windows.

The sound reflects the 'seriousness' of the prompt.

You will find in Control Panel, an applet called "Sounds and Audio Devices
properties'.

On the Sounds tab, you will find a list of 'Program Events:'
Windows
Asterisk
Close program
:
Critical Stop (Message box with Red 'X')
Default Beep
:
:Exclamation (Message box with '!' in Yellow Triangle)
:

These are followed by a list of Sounds registered by various installed
programs. Only the events that have a small loudspeaker icon beside them
have sounds assigned.

If you select one of these with your Mouse, the name of the corresponding
Sound file will display in the dropdown at the bottom.

To remove the sound, click the dropdown and select '(None)' from the list.
It will be at the top of the list.

 

[Guest]

Thanks so much, Pat. ;-)

I looked at this but couldn't find an "event" which correlated to closing a
document, so I just turned off all sounds. I'm not much of a fan of them
anyhow.


Andrea

 

[Graham Mayor]

Wouldn't it have been simpler to switch off the speakers?
I only ever switch mine on when editing audio or video material.

--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>

 

[Guest]

Wouldn't it have been simpler to switch off the speakers?
I only ever switch mine on when editing audio or video material.

Yes, but if I'm listening to music while I work, nothing is more annoying
that the sounds that Word produces, for example if I search for a term and it
is not found. This sort of sound is totally unnecessary in my opinion, and
they are usually at a much higher volume than the CD I am listening to, so I
entirely understand Andrea's point of view.

Under "Options > General" there is an option called "Provide feedback with
sound", but even if this is NOT checked, you still get these annoying sounds!
I would love to be able to switch off the system sounds produced by
individual applications like Word or Excel while retaining the sound from
audio devices such at Real Player.

Geoff

 

[Herb Tyson [MVP]]

You don't say which version of Word you're using.

If the Provide Feedback with Sound option doesn't work, then you might have
a corrupted Data key, which is used to store and retrieve a number of Word
settings. When I remove the checkbox next to that option, it does indeed
suppress sounds from Word (e.g., when deleting a word, when moving text,
etc.). I would first try toggling that setting several times and closing
Word between changes to the setting, to see if it will force Word to
automatically rewrite the setting and fix the problem.

If that doesn't work, simply starting Word once using the /a switch (i.e.
creating a shortcut to start Word that uses the /a switch: winword.exe" /a)
sometimes rewrites registry entries, fixing some problems.

If that doesn't bring satisfaction, take a look here for the brute force
method:

http://www.officearticles.com/word/steps_to_troubleshooting_microsoft_word.htm

 

[Graham Mayor]

You can get rid of the sounds permanently by editing Control panel > sounds
and audio devices to remove the Office settings.

--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>

 

[Guest]

You don't say which version of Word you're using.

Oops, sorry - it's Word 2000.

If the Provide Feedback with Sound option doesn't work, then you might have
a corrupted Data key, which is used to store and retrieve a number of Word
settings. When I remove the checkbox next to that option, it does indeed
suppress sounds from Word (e.g., when deleting a word, when moving text,
etc.). I would first try toggling that setting several times and closing
Word between changes to the setting, to see if it will force Word to
automatically rewrite the setting and fix the problem.

Tried that, but no effect. The interesting thing is that when I check the
box, I get a message:

"Microsoft Office sounds are not installed on your system. To install them,
point to the Help menu and click Office on the Web to connect to Office
Update."

This takes me to the Office Update web site, but it is not immediately
obvious where I should go from there in order to install Microsoft Office
Sounds. Besides, it seems to me to be somewhat illogical to install something
I desperately want to get rid of! And if the sounds aren't installed, why do
I hear them anyway? Sorry, but I haven't time to be messed about by
Microsoft's warped logic.

What I have done in practice is to switch off all system sounds using
Control Panel. That way I can listen to music without getting my head blasted
off by some annoying bell or hooter every time something happens that Office
finds it necessary to draw to my attention.

Frankly, I don't miss the sounds - my working day suddenly became so much
more relaxed. I should have done this long ago )

Geoff