HTML - audio

written Sept 2000 being revised May 2006

1 Introduction

There are two main ways to include audio on a webpage. Usg midi (.mid) or wave files (.wav) with an <enbed> tag, or using streaming audio with <object. and <embed. tags.

2 Midi with <embed> Tag

Command Parameters:

align = right / left / center (middle) Controls the alignment of the playback console for the embedded audio file within the web page at the point of placement. /td>

autostart = false / true Specifies whether or not the playback of the audio file will start automatically or must be prompted by the user. A value of "true" enables the autostart feature.

controls = value The parameter specifies the look and action of the playback console that will be displayed to the user.
Acceptable values are:

console
displays a complete playback console with all controls available.

pausebutton
displays only the pause control button.

playbutton
displays only the play control button.

smallconsole
displays a reduced playback console with play, stop and volume controls.

stopbutton
displays only the stop control button.

volumelever
displays only a volume control slide.

height = pixels Controls the height of the console display in pixels. Height and width parameters need to be matched to the size of the console or control buttons displayed.
hidden = true / false Controls whether or not the console is hidden. A value of "true" hides the console from view.
hspace / vspace = pixels Controls the horizontal and vertical space (in pixels), respectively, to require as a standoff for the playback console if placed within text.
loop = # of repetitions / true Specifies the number of repetitions for playback of the audio file. A value of "true" causes playback to loop continuously while the page is viewed.
src = URL Specifies the URL of the audio file to be embedded for playback.
volume = value / % Controls the volume of playback on the output device. The range of acceptable values is from 1 (sound off) to 100 (full volume) with a default value of 50. Alternatively, volume may be expressed as a percentage in the range from 1% (sound off) to 100% (full volume) with a default value of 50%.
width = pixels Controls the width of the console display in pixels. Height and width parameters need to be matched to the size of the console or control buttons displayed.

Embed statements can cause the halting of a webpage at a firewall because the embedded files can contain viruses. So place them at the very end of the page immediately before the </body> tag

3 HTML title tag

text "The contents of this tag appear on the browser title bar, so you want this to be strictly relevant to the page being seen. The first few letters are the most specific part of the title when it is iconised in any form so they should relate strictly to the page content and more general stuff should follow.

The title tag is no longer as important for search engine priority as it once was. Search engines use meta tags and page content to assess search priority.

Because of its use, the title should be no longer than 80 chars.

4 meta tags

text "DevGuru XHTML reference

Slacker's Guide

Submitexpress provides useful tools for search engine analysis.

5 CSS

Some new CSS features.

BODY {
    scrollbar-face-color:#75EA00;
    scrollbar-arrow-color:brown;
    scrollbar-track-color:#EEEEEE;
    scrollbar-shadow-color:'';
    scrollbar-highlight-color:'';
    scrollbar-3dlight-color:'';
    scrollbar-darkshadow-Color:'';
}

©2000 - 2006 WEBSCOOL This page last updated 17 May 2006. All rights reserved - including copying or distribution of any portion of this document in any form or on any medium without authorisation. For more regarding the copyright.

align = right / left / center (middle)	Controls the alignment of the playback console for the embedded audio file within the web page at the point of placement. /td>
autostart = false / true	Specifies whether or not the playback of the audio file will start automatically or must be prompted by the user. A value of "true" enables the autostart feature.
controls = value	The parameter specifies the look and action of the playback console that will be displayed to the user. Acceptable values are: console displays a complete playback console with all controls available. pausebutton displays only the pause control button. playbutton displays only the play control button. smallconsole displays a reduced playback console with play, stop and volume controls. stopbutton displays only the stop control button. volumelever displays only a volume control slide.
height = pixels	Controls the height of the console display in pixels. Height and width parameters need to be matched to the size of the console or control buttons displayed.
hidden = true / false	Controls whether or not the console is hidden. A value of "true" hides the console from view.
hspace / vspace = pixels	Controls the horizontal and vertical space (in pixels), respectively, to require as a standoff for the playback console if placed within text.
loop = # of repetitions / true	Specifies the number of repetitions for playback of the audio file. A value of "true" causes playback to loop continuously while the page is viewed.
src = URL	Specifies the URL of the audio file to be embedded for playback.
volume = value / %	Controls the volume of playback on the output device. The range of acceptable values is from 1 (sound off) to 100 (full volume) with a default value of 50. Alternatively, volume may be expressed as a percentage in the range from 1% (sound off) to 100% (full volume) with a default value of 50%.
width = pixels	Controls the width of the console display in pixels. Height and width parameters need to be matched to the size of the console or control buttons displayed.