New Media Guides

The following is an excerpt from the Dreamweaver Help Files. Adapt this information  to your own html WYSIWYG application.

Adding sound to a page

You can add sound to a web page. There are several different types of sound files and formats, including .wav, .midi, and .mp3.  Some factors to consider before deciding on a format and method for adding sound are its purpose, your audience, file size, sound quality, and differences in browsers.

NOTE

Sound files are handled very differently and inconsistently by different browsers. You may want to add a sound file to a Flash SWF file and then embed the SWF file to improve consistency. See Embed a Flash Player section.

Linking to an audio file is a simple and effective way to add sound to a web page. This method of incorporating sound files lets visitors choose whether they want to listen to the file, and makes the file available to the widest audience.

To create a link to an audio file:

Select the text or image you want to use as the link to the audio file.

In the Property inspector, click the folder icon to browse for the audio file, or type the file's path and name in the Link text box.

Embedding a sound file

Embedding audio incorporates the sound directly into the page, but the sound only plays if visitors to your site have the appropriate plug-in for the chosen sound file. Embed files if you want to use the sound as background music, or if you want to control the volume, the way the player looks on the page, or the beginning and ending points of the sound file.

TIP

When incorporating sound files in your web pages, carefully consider their appropriate use in your web site, and how visitors to your site use these media resources. Always provide a control to either enable or disable the playing of the sound, in the event that visitors don't want to listen to the audio content.

To embed an audio file:

In Design view, place the insertion point where you want to embed the file and do one of the following:

In the Common category of the Insert bar, click the Media button and select the plug-in icon.

Select Insert > Media > Plugin.

For more information about the Plugin object, see Inserting Netscape Navigator plug-in content.

In the Property inspector, click the folder icon to browse for the audio file, or type the file's path and name in the Link text box.

Enter the width and height by entering the values in the appropriate text boxes or by resizing the plug-in placeholder in the Document window.

These values determine the size at which the audio controls are displayed in the browser.

Inserting Netscape Navigator plug-in content

You can create content such as a QuickTime movie for a Netscape Navigator plug-in, and then use Dreamweaver to insert that content into an HTML document. Typical plug-ins include RealPlayer and QuickTime, while some content files include MP3s and QuickTime movies.

Inserting plug-in content in your page

Your page can include content that will run in a plug-in in the user's browser.

To insert Netscape Navigator plug-in content:

In the Design view of the Document window, place the insertion point where you want to insert the content, then do one of the following:

In the Common category of the Insert bar, select Media and then click the plug-in icon.

Select Insert > Media > Plugin.

In the dialog box that appears, select a content file for a Netscape Navigator plug-in.

For information on the available properties, see Setting Netscape Navigator plug-in properties.

References: Adobe Dreamweaver