Sounds are either digital or synthesized audio files that a browser with a built-in player or helper application can play. Visitors can also download helper applications from sound technology developers and install them in their browsers. To play sounds, a system must have a sound card and speakers.
NetObjects Fusion supports the following popular audio file formats:
Windows Wave (.wav) format sound files that play on Windows and the Mac OS. For the Mac OS, site visitors must have Netscape 3.x or later.
Audio Interchange File format (.aif) with browser plugins can play on Windows 95, 98, NT, 2000, and ME, and the Mac OS.
Musical Instrument Digital Interface (.midi, .mid) can play on almost all types of operating systems.
Sun’s .au format is used in Java applets and can play on UNIX based operating systems.
RealAudio (.ra, .ram, .rm) can play streaming audio on all systems, requires RealAudio Web server-resident software, and sometimes includes video. Site visitors must install the RealAudio player browser plugin.
Rich Music Format (.rmf) is a sound file format that enhances the use of music and sound in interactive environments, such as the Web.
You can also add any of these formats as a background sound that plays when a visitor views your page. See Setting Layout and Layout Region Background Properties.
Because an audio file has no visual object, NetObjects Fusion represents the audio file with a graphic, usually an icon or an inline player control bar that the browser recognizes. When a site visitor clicks the icon or the play button on the inline player control bar, the browser plays the sound file or opens a helper application to play it.
To insert a sound file:
In Page view, select the Sound tool
from the Plug-ins toolbar.
Click on the page to indicate the location of the sound file.
The Open dialog appears.
Select a sound file from your hard disk or LAN, or select a sound file already used in the site from the Audio Assets tab.
For information about using assets, see Managing Assets.
Click Open.
The default sound icon appears on the page, and the Sound Properties palette appears. The name of the file you selected appears in the File field on the General tab. You can use the Browse button to select a different sound file.

To provide text that the browser displays if it cannot play the sound, type a description in the AltTag field.
In the Display section, select:
Inline to use the audio player for your browser. If site visitors have Headspace Beatnik installed on their system, the browser uses that player to play the sound.
Icon to select one of the three images to link to the sound.
Picture to select another image file as the visual link to the sound. Click Browse and select an image file.
Click the HTML button to insert HTML tags and scripts. See Working with HTML Directly.
You can add an action to an object using the Actions tab. See Building Dynamic Pages.