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Plug-ins in Opera

A "plug-in", exemplified by QuickTime and Shockwave Flash, is a program that by definition is used in co-operation with another program. Plug-ins therefore differentiate themselves from applications, which are programs that are used standalone as they are, like WordPad, mIRC and Opera. But there are a lot of programs that are placed on the edge between these two categories, which may be used as both plug-in and standalone application.

The plug-ins on this page are 32-bit Windows only. You will have to have either Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 2000 in order to use them.

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Installing Plug-ins

Generally, this is how you'd install plug-ins that do not have support for Opera by default, for use with Opera:

  1. First of all, if given a choice, make sure that you install the plug-in for use with Netscape, and not Internet Explorer. Most plug-ins come with installation wizards - programs that are used to install the plug-in on your system. These wizards will more often than not allow you to select where the plug-in is to be installed on your system. Follow the on-screen instructions and complete the installation.

  2. Next, provided you have been able to install the plug-in correctly, you should look through the plug-in's catalogue structure on your system, or alternatively, if you installed the plug-in for Netscape Navigator (or Internet Explorer), the "plugins" directory of this browser. Most plug-ins will install their own Dynamic Link Library (".dll") files on your computer, or keep them in one of their folders in their own directory. These are the files you will be looking for, for use with Opera.

  3. Not all ".dll"-files are plug-in extensions, so not all can be used in Opera, but all plug-in extension ".dll"-files have their own version number, which can be checked looking at their "Properties".

    Tip! In order to quickly view to the "Properties" menu of any file, hold the ALT key while either pressing ENTER or double-clicking on it. Some files will come right out and tell you that they are Netscape type plug-in files, but the majority will only state which application they belong to and this application's directory. If they're not for the plug-in you're trying to associate, you can disregard them.

    Also note that you will have to set up your Windows to show all files in order to view ".dll"-files by default.

  4. Now, you'll just have to try and place the ".dll"-files in Opera's plug-ins directory, and see if they work. After placing in the plug-ins directory, either go to Opera's "File/Preferences", "Plug-ins", and press the "Find Plugins" button in the "Plug-ins" part of the menu, or close Opera down and open it again to have it find the ".dll"-file itself. You can check the file, and see whether or not it works with Opera, by going to the "Windows/Special Window/Plugins" menu, which will load a window stating Opera's installed plug-ins. If the file does not appear there with a MIME type declaration, you'll not be able to use the plug-in with this ".dll"-file, and you must continue the search.

  5. The last step is to actually test whether the plug-in works or not, by checking it with some plug-in specific content. Most plug-in developers have plug-in content on their web sites; a natural place to look, if not entire test labs.

Below are specific instructions on how to install a number of popular plug-ins for Opera. Opera has been designed to recognize and work with many plug-ins that work with Netscape.

If you don't see a certain program listed here, and you would like to know if it works with Opera, please give it a try! Quite often, it is possible to figure out how to get plug-ins working with Opera by following the above instructions.

We also recommend that you visit our newsgroups. You may find your answer there, as well as posting solutions for how to get a number of plug-ins working.

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Showing hidden files in Windows

In order to view ".dll"-files on the 32-bit Windows, you will need to set up the system so that it will show you all files on your system, even hidden ones and ".dll"-files. Do so by going to "My computer/View/[Folder] Options..." and click the "View" tag and elect to "Show all files".

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Java in Opera 4.0

Using Java in Opera 4.0 is quite easy once you know what it takes. Opera now comes with a built-in Java module, which will work on your system, as long as you have got the Java 2 Runtime Environment installed on your system. The latest version of the Java 2 Runtime Environment is version 1.3, and Sun Microsystems encourage its users to migrate to this version, but users of version 1.2.x of the Java 2 Runtime Environment will also be able to use Java in Opera 4.0.

Note! If you have been using Opera 3.50, or above, with the Sun Java Plug-in, you cannot simply migrate to Opera 4.0 and continue to use the plug-in for that version. You'll need to upgrade to the 1.3 version of the plug-in, which comes with the Java 2 Runtime Environment. However, the 1.3 version of the plug-in works great with Opera 3.50 and later versions in the 3.x series too, so you are really better off for it.

Below is a set of instructions that should be followed in order to have Java working for Opera 4.0.

  1. Go to Sun Microsystems' Web site at http://java.sun.com/j2se/1.3/jre/download-windows.html to start the download of the Java 2 Runtime Environment including Java Plug-in Version 1.3.0 for Microsoft Windows.

  2. Select which version you wish to download: US English version or Internationalized version, and whether or not you want the download to be in "one large bundle" or "multiple smaller pieces". These instructions apply mainly to the "one large bundle" download. Press the "continue" button to carry on with the download procedure.

    3. Version:Name:Size:
    US Englishj2re1_3_0-win.exe5,088,560
    Internationalizedj2re1_3_0-win-i.exe7,700,800

  3. Next are the licensing terms for the Java 2 Runtime Environment download package, named "License & Export for Java(TM) 2 Runtime Environment 1.3.0", which you have to agree to in order to be allowed to download the Java 2 Runtime Environment, which is done by pressing the "Accept" button. Pressing "Decline" will terminate the download procedure.

  4. Finally, you select either to download over the FTP or HTTP protocols, by clicking on the button with the description of the place that is closest to you. The browser's dialog for saving files should open up and you should be able to select the place you wish to save the downloaded file. Make sure you remember where it is and press the "Save" button to save the file.

  5. Once the download is complete, go to the place where you chose to save the file you downloaded and double-click it to start the installation procedure.

  6. The first screen is the Software License Agreement. Pressing "Yes" will continue the installation, while pressing "No" will terminate the installation procedure.

  7. Next, you get to choose the destination on the local drive you wish to install the Java 2 Runtime Environment on. The default will be something like this:

    C:\Program Files\JavaSoft\JRE\1.3

If you wish to install the Java 2 Runtime Environment in another directory, you can select another one by pressing the "Browse..." button, which will bring up the system's standard browsing dialog.

Pressing "Next..." will continue with the installation of the files to your computer. Once the files are installed, you'll be notified that the installation went OK, and the installation program will exit. Your system is now equipped with the Java 2 Runtime Environment, and your Opera is equipped with Java!.

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Macromedia Shockwave Flash

The Macromedia Shockwave Flash player is a popular free plug-in for enhancing Web sites. It can be downloaded from Macromedia's Web site.

In order to have the Shockwave Flash player working with Opera, please follow these instructions:

  1. Download the installer program to your hard drive. The installation file is called "flash32.dll". Double-click it to start the installation and follow the on-screen instructions.

  2. The first thing you'll be asked to do is close all open applications. When you have done so, press the "Next" button to continue with the installation.

  3. The next screen will ask you to select the destination of the plug-in. If you have got Netscape Navigator installed on your system, this browser will show up as a selected destination for the install. If you do not, the installer program will propose another directory for its installation. In either case, you should do the following:

    • Press the browsing button, which is named "Other Browser" if you have got Netscape installed, and browse your way through your system's directory structure to your Opera directory.

    • In the Opera directory, open the folder named "Plugins" and press the "Select" button to confirm the directory and start the installation.

  4. The installer now places the file "NPSWF32.dll" in Opera's plug-ins folder and asks you to press "Continue" to complete the install by going on-line to finish the installation procedure. Do so, and you should be all clear!

Note! The Shockwave Flash player currently does not support Opera during install, which may lead to error messages appearing on your screen stating that the installer application is not able to locate and launch Netscape.exe. Internal testing at Opera Software has found this to not to be a problem, as the installer will not attempt to launch Netscape.exe until after it has placed the required files in Opera's plug-ins directory, if the above instructions are followed.

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QuickTime 4.1

The QuickTime player is one of the most recognized media players being used on the Internet today. It can be downloaded from Apple's Web site.

In order to have the QuickTime player working with Opera, please follow these instructions:

  1. Download the installer program to your hard drive. The installer program is called "QuickTimeInstaller.exe". Double-click it to start the installation and follow the on-screen instructions.

  2. When you get to the step of the installation process that's has the header "QuickTime Plugin Options", you will have the opportunity to select the browsers for which you would like to install QuickTime. You will need to install the Netscape version of the plug-in, but you may also install the Internet Explorer plugin if you wish.

    On this screen, you should first of all make sure that the plug-in is set to be installed for Netscape Navigator, which you'll see as this option should be checked. Then, click the button named "Browse..." to bring up Windows' standard browsing window and use this to browse your way through to Opera's plug-ins folder, and make sure you open it. Press the "OK" button to confirm this directory, which should look something like this:

    C:\Program Files\Opera\Plugins

    Now continue with the installation procedure.

  3. The installer program should connect to Apple's site and download the appropriate files for your QuickTime installation, which it then proceeds to install. After the installation process is finished, press the "Close" button to close the installer program.

  4. In Opera, pull down the "File/Preferences" menu and choose "Plug-ins". Press the "Find Plugins" button in the "Plug-ins" part of the window. Opera will locate the copied files and associate them with QuickTime files, and you're done!

If you do not have Netscape on your system, the installer program will install the plug-in files npqtplugin.dll, npqtplugin2.dll and npqtplugin3.dll in its own directory structure, which should be similar to this:

C:\Program Files\QuickTime\Plugins

In this case, you should collect these files and place them in your Opera's plug-ins directory manually, and the plug-in will work just as well. In order to view these files, please read the section on how to set up your Windows to show all files.

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RealPlayer 7 Basic

The RealPlayer 7 Basic is one of the most popular audio and video plug-ins in use on the Internet today. It can be downloaded from RealNetworks Web site.

In order to have the RealPlayer 7 Basic working with Opera, please follow these instructions:

  1. Download the installer program to your hard drive. The installer program is called "rp7-setup.exe". Double-click it to start the installation and follow the on-screen instructions.

  2. The installer program will automatically find Netscape and install the plug-in in that directory. If you have got Netscape on your system, you'll need to find the file nppl3260.dll in Netscape's plug-ins directory, which is usually something like this:

    C:\Program Files\Netscape\Communicator\Program\Plugins

    In order to be able to view this file, please read the section on how to set up your Windows to show all files.

    Note! If you do not have Netscape Navigator installed on your system, the RealPlayer 7 Basic installer will not include the file you need in the installation. Therefore, after the installer is finished with unpacking the installation files, you must press the Windows-key and F (or, if your keyboard does not have a Windows key, CTRL + Esc) at the same time to open up the "Find/Files or Folders..." menu. Here, search for nppl3260.dll in "My Computer", and you should locate the file in

    C:\[Windows directory]\Temp

  3. In Opera, pull down the "File/Preferences" menu and choose "Plug-ins". Press the "Find Plugins" button in the "Plug-ins" part of the window. Opera will locate the copied files and associate them with RealPlayer files.

Tip! RealNetworks has a beta of RealPlayer 8 out! Try it if you're interested in having the very latest in cutting-edge Internet media players!

Disclaimer: We cannot guarantee that the instructions in these documents will work on every computer and every platform. Please inform us if you have problems with Opera, but please, first check our online support section, as this section is updated on a regular basis with information about the Opera Browser.

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