Making .wavs


Q I've created a Web site for my family in Microsoft FrontPage, and I'd like to add background music to the home page. My wife's cousin has published some piano music on a CD. How do I create a .wav file from this audio CD?

û Bret Romfo

A You can create a .wav file in Sound Recorder, a program that comes bundled with Windows 95. But copyright laws do apply here, and a Web page is an awfully public place for illegal copying. Better check with your wife's cousin about this issue up front.

Put the CD in the drive and select StartûProgramsûAccessoriesûMultimediaûSound Recorder. Once the program is up, start playing the CD. If you're playing a CD in your computer, Recorder will record it. The buttons are pretty easy to figure out.

 

Caption: Recording music off a CD is easy in WindowsÆ Recorder. Just push the right buttons

 

If you're not satisfied with the resulting sound, adjust it. Select StartûSettingsûControl Panel, and double-click the Multimedia option. The Audio tab contains options for setting the recording volume and the digital quality. But remember: the better the sound, the bigger the .wav file.

You might also want to do some fiddling around with the Volume Control balance settings. Select StartûProgramsûAccessoriesûMultimediaûVolume Control. To adjust these settings for recording rather than for playback, select OptionsûProperties. In the Properties dialogue box, click Recording, then click OK.

If you're still not satisfied, download Cool Edit 96, a powerful shareware sound editor/recorder that lets you filter sounds, add echo, and generally get the sound to your liking. You will find Cool Edit 96 on our cover CD and at www.syntrillium.com.

Use your Web page editor to add the music to your page, or enter the code by hand. Bring up your page in Notepad or any other text editor. Somewhere between the labels <head> and </head>, enter <bgsound src="filename.wav" loop="n">, where filename.wav is the name of your sound file and n is the number of times you want the clip to repeat itself (loop="infinite" will keep the sound going until your guest cries for mercy).

û Lincoln Spector


Category:Win95, multimedia
Issue: June 1998

These Web pages are produced by Australian PC World © 1997 IDG Communications