HOW TO PLAY BACKGROUND MUSIC
while you browse ChristianAnswers.Net

If you are already setup to play MIDI files from your browser, you can probably skip these instructions and go straight to our MUSIC MENU.

Most new computers come setup to play our background music files (MIDI files)—and if you are using Netscape Navigator version 3, a MIDI player called LiveAudio is built into the browser, making it all very simple. If you have Netscape 3 and Windows95, you are probably all ready to go. Try one of our MIDI files and see (go to our MUSIC MENU).

However, if you are not already fully setup to play MIDI files, here is what you will need.

First, the basics…

• A sound card that supports MIDI files (almost all sound cards do, e.g., SoundBlaster)
  
• Speakers or headphones connected to sound card
  
• MIDI capability properly setup in your operating system's MIDI mapper (see your sound card manual or operating system manual) (in Windows95 go to: Start / Settings / Control Panel / Multimedia / Midi)

Note: You will get much higher quality from the newer sound cards that include “wavetable” synthesis (real instrument sounds).

NEXT, SETUP YOUR BROWSER

You should only need to do the following browser setup once.

For Windows users (3.1, WFW 3.11, and Windows95)

If you are using NETSCAPE 2, do the following:

1. In Netscape 2, select OPTIONS then PREFERENCES
   
2. Select Helper Apps then Create New Type
   
3. Set Mime Type to audio
   
4. Set Mime SubType to midi
   
5. Set File Extension to mid
   
6. Under Action, click on Launch the Application
   
7. In the white box next to Browse type C:\WINDOWS\MPLAYER.EXE and press OK.
   

NEXT, FINE-TUNE THE SETUP OF MS MEDIA PLAYER

Without Netscape 3, you will need a separate MIDI player program. The simplest and cheapest way to go is to use the one that comes with Windows (mplayer.exe), which you pointed Netscape to (above). Here is how to fine-tune the setup of Media Player.

In MS Windows MEDIA PLAYER (mplayer.exe)

1. Click on this button. This should start the Windows Media Player
   
2. In the Media Player, select EDIT then OPTIONS
   
3. Select Auto Rewind, Auto Repeat and Play in client document and press OK
   
4. Press the Play button on the bottom left of the Media Player
   
5. When you click on Netscape's window, the Media Player will become hidden under the Netscape window, so you can continue browsing ChristianAnswers.Net while the music plays
   

When you want to turn the music off, press ALT+TAB on your keyboard to re-show the Media Player and then press the Stop button.

On future visits, all you'll have to do is click on the BACKGROUND MUSIC MENU and choose the music you want.

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For Mac Users

1. You will need to download a MIDI player if you do not already have one installed. Feel free to use Arnold's midi player for Mac users, click here..
   
2. Open Netscape's preferences and go to “helper applications”.
3. Select “new”. Set mime type to “audio”. Set sub-mime type to “midi”. Set suffix type to “mid,rmi,kar”.
4. Set the action option to “launch application”.
5. Select “browse”, find the MIDI Player and double-click the icon.
6. Select the OKAY button.
7. Under Netscape options, select “save options”.
8. Quit and restart Netscape.
9. Now whenever you download a MIDI file, Netscape will automatically launch the MIDI player and play the music in the background as you explore ChristianAnswers.Net.