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**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 12, 2001, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-html-help-please/68557 "2001-06-12T16:37:49Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 16\
**Page:** 1
**Author:**  [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2001, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-html-help-please/68557/1 "2001-06-12T16:37:49Z")
We’re trying to make a small web page, or html email, that plays a sound file on command by clicking a link. The file is available HERE.
When I look at the file, the sound link doesn’t work, but it does for the other computers in the office. Any idea why? I’d really appreciate it.
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**Author:**  [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2001, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-html-help-please/68557/2 "2001-06-12T16:51:35Z")
Sorry!! Let’s make that [HERE](http://www.bestvocab.com/emailpromotions/emailjavascript.htm).
I also misstated the question. On my computer I get the dialog box to open or save the file, while others just get the file playing without any intermediate steps. Why would that be?
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**Author:**  [@MinkMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MinkMan)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2001, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-html-help-please/68557/3 "2001-06-12T17:39:22Z")
The sound file that you are trying to play on that page is recorded as an .mp3 (abscond.mp3). mp3s are in a compressed format that allows the sound files to take up less space and bandwith when transferred over the net. Not all computers will have the software installed to allow them to listen to mp3s (i.e. it isn’t a standard part of a plain vanilla installation of windows) It the computer doesn’t know what to do with a file of a given format, it defaults to just downloading the file.
You webpage needs to either provide links or instructions to your visitors to tell them how to get an mp3 player, or to upgrade their browsers.
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**Author:**  [@Beadalin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beadalin)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2001, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-html-help-please/68557/4 "2001-06-12T18:06:06Z")
MinkMan is exactly correct. If you save the mp3 file to your own machine, you should be able to further convert it into a .wav or some other type of sound file. .wav’s can be played by most machines without requiring additional software.
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**Author:**  [@Tornado\_Siren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tornado_Siren)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2001, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-html-help-please/68557/5 "2001-06-12T18:21:16Z")
Just to let you know, Windows Media player is all someone needs for that to play correctly for them. Most people do have this on their system (mac users accepted, of course), and for those who dont have it, you can always put a link to the download on the site.
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**Author:**  [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2001, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-html-help-please/68557/6 "2001-06-12T18:25:59Z")
Thanks for the comments. I do have Windows Media Player and Winamp on this machine, but still this particular browser wanted to stop at the dialog box instead of just streaming the sound. It’s not a huge imposition, but if we could figure out exactly why, we could at least make an FAQ about it.
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**Author:**  [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2001, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-html-help-please/68557/7 "2001-06-12T20:08:42Z")
It’s just a browser setting. When you first click on a file type, the browser gives you the dialog asking if you want to save or open the file from where it is. There should be a checkbox asking if you want it to ask that every time, or just use what you choose as the default. If you choose to Open the file from its current location, it’ll always open it (if the box is checked correctly). There is nothing you can do via HTML that will change this. It’s a browser by browser issue.
Jman
(I prefer to save to disk with audio files…but I leave the choice box up on MP3s…every person is different!)
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**Author:**  [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\
**Post date:** [June 13, 2001, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-html-help-please/68557/8 "2001-06-13T00:05:54Z")
I have _another_ question now. We’re trying to send html emails, and it’s being an enormous pain. We’re trying to include Javascript in the code, and if you send it from Outlook, it has a bad habit of cutting off much of the source code, so the message arrives broken.
I personally spoke to Eudora support, and they said that Eudora simply will not send html encoded mail.
The only things we’ve found yet that work are web-based, like Hotmail or [usa.net](http://usa.net). Of course, sending from these services will not look good for our business, as it will have Hotmail tags and info all over it.
Anyone got any ideas of what we can use? We need to send these by the hundred, or at least 50, if that matters to your answer. Thanks.
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**Author:**  [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\
**Post date:** [June 13, 2001, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-html-help-please/68557/9 "2001-06-13T04:18:09Z")
Jman is right about it being a browser-by-browser issue, but I’d like to add that you can edit those settings directly. With Netscape, you could go into the Helper Applications window and set up the action for the particular MIME type.
Internet Explorer uses Windows’ settings which you can edit by going to Windows Explorer (not IE), View, Options, File Types, and editing and existing type or creating a new one.
With Opera, go to File, Preferences, File Types.
The Dave Swaney wrote:
> [@](#):
>
> I have another question now. We’re trying to send html emails, and it’s being an enormous pain.
I’m glad it’s a pain. My mail reader shows HTML messages as an attachment instead of displaying the formatted text. I can get it to show me the text, but I see all the HTML tags too. You usually shouldn’t send HTML messages unless you’re really sure that the person receiving them can display them. If you’re sending this out to many of your customers, be polite and send plain text.
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**Author:**  [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\
**Post date:** [June 13, 2001, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-html-help-please/68557/10 "2001-06-13T04:47:50Z")
Yes, I’ve heard about email readers not converting the html code. What was mentioned was the AOL reader. Which ones do not support this?
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**Author:**  [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\
**Post date:** [June 15, 2001, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-html-help-please/68557/11 "2001-06-15T02:44:22Z")
Eudora supports HTML email…at least it does when I get it!
Jman
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**Author:**  [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\
**Post date:** [June 15, 2001, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-html-help-please/68557/12 "2001-06-15T06:37:09Z")
Yes, it does on receiveing, but I can tell you, it doesn’t for sending. I’ve been told to try Outlook 5. Any other suggestions?
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**Author:**  [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\
**Post date:** [June 15, 2001, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-html-help-please/68557/13 "2001-06-15T10:46:50Z")
I just did a test in Eudora 5…I sent this to myself:
\
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\\Did this work?\\
\
\
And a very large **Did this work?** was all that came back to me…no tags, just HTML formatted text. So, at least version 5 of Eudora can send HTML correctly. Just make sure you’re pasting the HTML directly into the body of the message, and that you have the HTML header (I’m not sure if the BODY tag is required…didn’t test that).
Jman
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**Author:**  [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\
**Post date:** [June 15, 2001, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-html-help-please/68557/14 "2001-06-15T10:50:03Z")
Just did another test…you don’t need the BODY tags…just the HTML tags. (\\) Without them, it doesn’t turn in into HTML, it just sends the tags.
Jman
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**Author:**  [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\
**Post date:** [June 15, 2001, 10:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-html-help-please/68557/15 "2001-06-15T10:51:05Z")
Oh…and I DID actually type \ not \…just didn’t write it correctly when I posted this message. Sorry!
Jman
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**Author:**  [@unixrat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/unixrat)\
**Post date:** [June 15, 2001, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-little-html-help-please/68557/16 "2001-06-15T14:14:30Z")
Just say no to HTML-formatted email. Email-bugs and the other evil like thrive on that stuff.
As to what readers don’t support it, I would offer that most of the \*nix based ones don’t.
I use pine and HTML emails are the bane of my existence. Of course, I also laugh evilly when I get those read-receipt messages. Dammit! Leave me alone!