Help
Introduction
This page contains help and advice on downloading and using our articles and resources.
Copyright notice
Our resources may be freely downloaded, distributed and quoted. However, they remain the copyright of their authors and as such unauthorised duplication, redistribution and publishing for commercial gain is forbidden.
Academic referencing guidelines
If you wish to quote our articles in academic work, please remember to reference the authors and URL correctly in your bibliography. Copyright Planet Of Tunes 2004.
How will my browser handle different file types?
When your browser encounters a file other than an HTML page or images, it will normally do one of 3 things ...
1. View / handle with a browser plug-in
This means the download will appear or play in a browser window.
2. Launch an application
Typically this will happen when you download a Word document. Word will launch and open the file.
3. Save to disk
The file will be saved to your hard disc.
How can I change how my browser handles different file types?
If you are using Internet Explorer, open Preferences and configure your File Helpers for each file (mime) type to determine how they are handled.
Downloads
When you see this icon ... ... you will be able to download a template, font or some other form of software. Downloads are usually in a compressed/archive format.
Compression formats
The downloads on this page are presented in 3 formats ...
1. BinHex/.sit for the Mac. Requires Aladdin Systems Stuffit Expander to decompress/open.
2. Zip format for the Mac. This is now a standard format for OSX and will be used increasingly on the site for cross platform downloads. This product is also made by Aladdin Systems .
3. WinZip (.zip) for the PC. Requires WinZip to decompress/open.
Download file types
The following are descriptions of the various download file types used on the site.
HTML
Many of our articles are presented as web pages. In this case there is little advantage in downloading or saving them (they will be updated and improved regularly). Simply bookmark the pages or print them whilst you are online.
MP3
MP3 is a common audio format and may be played by Windows Media Player, QuickTime, iTunes etc.
Shockwave
Shockwave content that will play in your browser window providing you have the Shockwave plug-in installed.
.<<Click to download the plug-in
Director
2 types of Director file ...
Director created application/utility for the PC or Mac. No plug-ins are needed to run these, they are self standing applications (executable files).
Tutorial Director movie (.dir). This will open in a browser window if your "File Helper" preferences are set to handle .dir files with the Shockwave plug-in. If you prefer to save them to disk, in order to open them in Director, you will need to re-configure your "File Helper" preferences for .dir files to "Download/Save To Disk".
Flash
Flash content that will play in your browser window providing you have the Flash plug-in installed.
.<<Click to download the plug-in.
QuickTime
QuickTime (movie) content that will play in your browser window providing you have the QuickTime player installed.
.<<Click to download the free QuickTime player software.
Acrobat PDFs
Many of our articles are presented in Adobe's popular Portable Document Format. PDFs are self contained documents that retain all of their original formatting (layout, fonts, pictures etc), whether viewed on a PC or Mac.
Viewing PDFs
Acrobat PDF documents can be read with the help of the Acrobat Reader (or Adobe Reader) utility. Download it free from www.adobe.com/acrobat and after the download is complete double-click the newly downloaded file and follow the instructions on your screen.
<<Click to download the plug-in
Configuring your browser to handle PDFs
Internet Explorer is automatically configured to launch Acrobat Reader after a PDF has downloaded.
Netscape users can instruct their browser to handle PDFs in a number of ways when they are encountered. Under Edit/Preferences/Applications scroll down to Portable Document Format in the list, click on it and then click Edit.
If you want Netscape to launch Acrobat Reader when it encounters a PDF activate Application in the Handle By section and use Choose to locate Acrobat Reader on your hard drive.
If you'd prefer to download and save a PDF, select Save To Disk instead.
If you'd prefer to have PDFs open with your browser window select Plug-in in the Handled By and PDF Viewer in the drop down sub-menu. You will need to have the Acrobat PDF Viewer plug-in installed in your browser plug-ins folder to do this. If it is not already installed either download it from www.adobe.com/acrobat or copy it from Acrobat's Web Browser Plug-ins folder which you should find in your Acrobat application folder.
To save a PDF from a browser window to your hard drive
Once you have downloaded and are viewing a PDF within a browser window, if it hasn't already saved to your desktop then simply use the Save As... command under your browser's File menu and choose a location on your hard drive. In fact the PDF may already be in your browser's Cache folder so you could just drag it somewhere else more permanent to store and view it.
Viewing PDFs independently
Once you have saved a PDF to your hard drive you can view it with the help of Acrobat Reader at any time. Of course you can still view it in your browser off-line if you wish.
Navigating through articles
Once you have selected, downloaded, and are viewing an article, you can navigate through it by clicking on the familiar grey text box links used throughout planetoftunes.com. Move to the Contents page (the 2nd page of all the articles) to find links for each chapter within the article.
