 | Add a Music Link to your Web Page | | Music will only play on MSN-provided pages from links inserted into text or graphics. Visitors must click on the link to get the music, which will play through only once, unless they change the looping in their personal media player. The player window can be minimized by the visitor or pushed to the back by simply clicking anywhere on the page they are viewing.
Please note that MSN has locked the Documents folders, so only members will be able to hear the music. If the link does not work, you may visit the Documents folder and manually open any file.
Music or sound files, when opened, will stop the animations on the page. Simply hit the browser's "refresh" button to enable both the music and the animations.
To get music files into your Documents: - Upload your music file to your documents folder - MSN only allows uploads up to 1 mb in size, so that rules out most MP3s. Midis are usually small enough to work.
- To upload anything to your Documents area, just click on the documents link.
- Right under the Documents title in the orange font, there are links for Add File, Create Folder, Delete, More...
- Add a folder to hold your music - just click the "Create Folder" link and name it and select the security option you prefer.
- Then open the new folder and click on "Add File" link.
- A Windows Explorer-like screen will open with your PC folders on the left. When you drill down to where your music files are stored, the individual files will appear in alphabetical order on the right.
- Check the boxes beside the files you wish to upload - make sure they do not exceed 3 mb in total and that none are more than 1 mb individually.
Then make the link: - Right click on the music file you wish to use and select 'copy shortcut'
- Go to your MSN custom page editor
- Insert a graphic or type the text message that you would like to hold the link
- Select the graphic or text and click on the little blue world "Insert Link" icon on the toolbar
- Paste the URL of the music file into the long blank box (use the keyboard shortcut keys CTRL+V to paste)
- MSN will strip out the extra http: // if present, no need to worry about it.
- Click Insert
- Save your page, test the link
Your default music player should open the file and it will automatically begin to play. For best results, guests should have the most recent version MS Media Player and Internet Explorer running. Do not attempt to link to files stored in a separate or private group - this will not work. I have not seen a sure-fire work around for these problems yet. SOme members upload their music files to an alternative service which will allow any guest to listen to the music.
Many have found using an all-purpose player like http://www.winamp.com/ works for them but results can vary depending on the player, the version and the surfer's personal settings.
Most often, these problems must be fixed on the surfer's end, there is little an MSN group manager can do but advise.
Copyright Web Design, February 2001.
Updated August 17th, 2002.
Updated March, 2004. |
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