How to View Movies in "Brain & Mind"

Some of the articles in "Brain & Mind" Magazine feature video clips (movies) and audio files.

In order to view correctly these files, your WWW browser (Netscape, Internet Explorer, etc.) needs a special program for each file type. These programs are called "helpers" or "plug-ins". Normally, the browser comes without these programs, so if you don't have them, you will need to install them, following a simple procedure. Just follow the steps below:

How do I know if I already have an installed plug-in ?
How do I know what's the right plug-in I need ?
How do I get the plug-in I need ?
How do I inform my browser which program to use ?

Q: How do I know if I already have an installed plug-in ?

If you click on an icon or link in the Magazine which calls a video or audio clip, a warning message will appear, such as this (Netscape):

Just click on the Get the Plugin button and proceed to the installation phase.

If nothing of the sort appears, and the video or audio file plays well, then you have the plug-in.

Sometimes, depending on the file, another kind of warning may appear (Unknown File Type). In this case, click on the Pick App... button.

Q: How do I know what's the right plug-in I need ?

It will depend on the type of file. See the table below:

File	Extension	Recommended Plug-In
AVI movie files	.avi	Windows Media Player *
MPEG movie files	.mpg .mpeg	MPEG Player
MOV movie files	.mov	Apple QuickTime Viewer
QuickTIme movies	.qt	Apple QuickTIme Viewer
Wave sound files	.wav	Windows Media Player *
RealAudio files	.ra	RealAudio Player

* No need to download: it comes in your Windows directory. To install it, go directly to the browser options phase.

Q: How do I get the plug-in I need ?

That's easy. You get them by downloading them from specific server sites in the Internet. Just click on the name of the plug-in above, and you will get a shareware copy which will be copied to your computer. After choosing the right version for your system (in this case, Windows 3.1, Windows 95, Windows NT or Macintosh, a box like this will appear on your screen:

Choose the C:\TEMP directory in the file dialog box, to store the download; such as in the example below:

After the downloading is complete, go to the Disk Explorer program or File Manager program of your computer, and select the C:\TEMP file. Click twice on the name of the file you have downloaded, and follow the instructions given by the installation program or wizard. Some installation programs require that you close your browser before proceeding.

Some plug-ins search themselves for the location of your browser, and install automatically. Other plug-ins will require that you inform your browser what is the name of the program you are using for a specific type of video or audio file (see the next question).

Q: How do I inform by browser which program to use ?

Some programs should be declared in order that the browser uses them when a specific file must be viewed. He give Netscape as an example here:

Select Options on the Netscape's menu bar
Select Preferences on the pulldown menu
Select the Helpers tab
Scroll down the list of file types until you see the file type you want (for example, MPEG). Click on it.
Now select the radio button "Lauch Application" in the lower part of the windows
Click on the Browse button
Navigate in your file structure until you see the program you have downloaded and installed (in the example, it is MPEGPLY.EXE in the directory C:\WIN32AP\MPEGPLAY), and click twice on it.
Click on the OK button

Your program is now prepared to launch the help application to view the file every time it comes down from the Internet

Repeat this for each one of the helper applications you have downloaded.

By: Renato M.E. Sabbatini, PhD
For: Brain & Mind Magazine