Adding Sound With Frontpage Express

Before starting this tutorial we'll assume you understand the audio file types for the web and have one ready

The easiest is as a link e.g. Click here for an example

Alternatively you can try to add a background sound which plays unseen in the background (for internet explorer only!)

Or you can embed a file

This is browser dependant

You can use all of these with streamed media (for more on this click here)

LINKED SOUND FILES

The most basic way to add a sound to a page is to do so in the form of a link. This will be downloaded and play in a helper application which runs seperately to the browser window

This is essentially coded like any other link

Just create a link as before

Click the (1) world wide web tab and set (2)hyperlink type to "(other)". In the (3) URL box type in the name or URL of your sound file (e.g. "sound.wav" or "../sound/sound.wav") insted of an html file

We'd recommend you stick _blank into the target frame box (4). With most browsers you don't need this but with some like netscape they will open the file on the page and you loose your initial page

BACKGROUND SOUND FILES

Adding background sound like music is dead easy.
Just click insert -> background sound (you won't hear it with netscape & some other browsers !)

With this you simply type in the sound file name (or relative URL) or select browse to find it (With browse it gives absolute URL in terms of your hard drive e.g.. c:\\website\back.wav, but when you come to save your page it offers to save the file to the current directory and if you tick yes will adjust the location accordingly e.g. ../back.wav)

Sadly it uses a non standard HTML code (<bgsound>) that only internet explorer and a few other browsers use. You can create a similar effect with a hidden embedded sound described below for navigator

EMBEDDED SOUNDS

Embedded sound should be embedded into the webpage like a graphic. Sadly the HTML for coding this is changing (from <embed> to <object> and browser support is highly variable. Sounds added with the <embed> tag depend on the presence of sound player programs called plug-ins

(may not work with browsers)

But if you want to use it - click insert -> other components -> plug in you can add a simple sound file (wav.) as an embed effect.

As before place your sound file in the web folder

click insert -> other components -> plug in..

(1) Use Browse or type in the name of your file. Then set the (2)size of the plugin on the page. You can also set (3) alignment or spacing too. Hit OK.

That's it.

(note Frontpage express tends to fill in harddisc address when you use browse. When you come to save the page it will ask you to save the sound file to the same directory)

Now you might notice that the embedded sound automatically starts playing when your page loads up (unlike ours)

To prevent this click (5) Extended. Then click on Add and in the Name box type autostart and in the Value box type false.

Now you can also add (5) Extended values to make the sound loop repeatedly. In name insert loop and in value the no. of time you want the file to loop (true will produce an infinite loop)

Example of looped file

You can create ahidden embedded sound file (useful for sites viewed by browsers that don't support background sounds).

Click (4)Hide plug in (we also recommend setting (3) your height to 10 and width to 1 as not all browsers will respond to the hide plug in. Infact you might find you need to drop the hide option to get things to work - as ever please check your pages on at least 2 browsers before upload !!)

Using (5) Extended you can set up a looped example as below

You could consider using both a background sound and a hidden embedded one to ensure most users here your audio

There is a third method in HTML using the <object> tag. We discuss that elsewhere on this site and it isn't without problems