Adding multimedia that rely on browser plug-ins

Web browser plug-ins are small applications that extend the capabilities of the browser to read your files in a specific way. Plug-ins make it possible for browsers to support more than HTML, JPEG, or GIF files on the Web. They tell the browser to open files in a specific application on your computer. For example, a QuickTime plug-in tells the browser to open any files that have the QuickTime extensions .mov or .snm in the QuickTime application on your computer.

With Claris Home Page, you can insert multimedia and specify parameters or change its attributes in the Plug-in Object Editor.

Inserting multimedia into your page

When you insert multimedia into your Web page, Claris Home Page creates a reference link to the multimedia file and displays an icon that represents the file in Edit Page mode. To view or hear the actual media, use Preview in Browser mode.

To insert multimedia that requires a browser plug-in:

1. Place the insertion point in the page where you want the multimedia to appear and choose Plug-in from the Insert menu.
   
   A message appears warning you to not select an actual plug-in, but the multimedia file for it instead.
   

   

   
   

2. Click OK.
   
3. In the Open dialog box, select the multimedia file and click Open.
   
   An icon representing the multimedia file appears on your Web page.

Opening the Plug-in Object Editor

Once you have inserted a multimedia file into your page, you can use the Plug-in Object Editor to change the location of the file, specify the width and height of the multimedia display, and provide a URL that has a plug- in available for downloading.

To open the Plug-in Object Editor, do one of the following:

• Double-click the multimedia icon.
  
• Click the multimedia icon, and choose Object Editor from the View menu (Windows) or Show Object Editor from the Window menu (Macintosh).
  
• Click the multimedia icon, and click the Object Editor button on the toolbar.
  

To apply the new settings, press Tab or click the close box of the Plug- in Object Editor.

Setting multimedia options

In the Plug-in Object Editor, you can set Claris Home Page to:

• specify a new path to where the multimedia file is located
  
• change the width and height of how the multimedia is displayed
  
• specify a link to a required plug-in for your viewers to download if they don't have the plug-in installed in their browsers
  

To update the path to where a multimedia file is located:

1. Select the multimedia icon in your Web page and open the Plug-in Object Editor.
   
2. In the Location text box, type a new path or click Browse to locate the multimedia file and enter a new path.
   
   Note When you click Browse, a message appears warning you to not select an actual plug-in, but the multimedia file for it instead. Click OK.
   

To change the display size of the multimedia using the Plug-in Object Editor:

1. Select the multimedia icon in your page and open the Plug-in Object Editor.
   
2. Choose Pixels or Percent and type a new size in the Width and Height text boxes.
   
   • Choose Pixels to make the size a fixed amount that is not affected by the browser window's size.
     
   • Choose Percent to make the size a percentage of the browser window's size.
     
     Tip Press Tab to apply a new setting without closing the object editor.
     
3. Close the object editor to apply your changes.
   

To change the display size using the mouse:

1. Select the multimedia icon.

   

2. Drag one of the handles to change the size.
   
   • Drag the bottom handle to change the height.
     
   • Drag the right-side handle to change the width of the plug-in.
     
   • Drag the lower-right corner handle to change the width and height at the same time.
     

To specify a link to a required plug-in:

1. Select the multimedia icon in your page and open the Plug-in Object Editor.
   
2. Type the URL for the appropriate plug-in page in the Plug-in Page text box.
   

When your audience cannot see the multimedia on your page because the required plug-in is missing from their systems, their browsers display a message similar to this:
"This page contains information of type "xxxx" that can only be viewed with the appropriate plug-in. What do you want to do?"
If they click the Plug-in Info button to get the plug-in, the plug-in page that you specified in the Plug-in Object Editor appears. Clicking Cancel closes the message.

Adding extra HTML to the multimedia element

You can add your own HTML directly to the plug-in element using the Plug-in Object Editor.

Note This is an advanced feature that requires knowledge of HTML; it specifies additional parameters for the <EMBED> tag.

To add extra HTML, double-click the plug-in icon to open the Plug-in Object Editor. Click the Extended tab and type the HTML in the Extra HTML Attributes text box. The HTML that you type is added to the <EMBED> tag.