Background sound in e-mails

  • Thread starter Michel Bintener
  • Start date
M

Michel Bintener

A few years ago I used Outlook Express on a PC, and there is one OE feature
that I have never really found out how to use in Entourage (2004). I'm
talking about inserting a sound into an e-mail so that the recipient can
hear the sound file automatically when s/he opens the e-mail. I tried the
Message/Insert/Sound option, but somehow this doesn't seem to work. I sent
an e-mail to myself with an implemented Midi file, and I used my browser to
access my Hotmail account. In this new e-mail, the sound didn't play,
instead, there was a .mov file as an attachment, which I was able to play,
but only after downloading it. The same thing happened for other e-mail
accounts, accessed with Apple Mail, where I only get the file as .mov
attachment, and it's not even displayed in the preview pane. When I download
the message with Entourage, the file gets displayed in the preview pane, as
a mini QT player tray, and it only plays after hitting the play button. Is
there any other way for doing this, or is just impossible to do?

Thanks for your help.
 
M

Mickey Stevens

Inserting the sound through Message > Insert > Sound actually attaches the
sound file and just places the controller with the play button wherever you
had the insertion point if HTML format is turned on. Ideally, if you go to
Message > Insert > Background Sound when HTML format is turned on (Format >
HTML), the sound will play automatically when the message is received, but
because of differences in mail clients and settings, there's no way to
ensure that will be the case.
 
M

Mickey Stevens

Actually, it seems you can't do that in Entourage 2004. There is an option
for Background Picture, but not for Background Sound. You could try doing
it in Word (Insert > HTML Object > Background Sound), and then sending it
(File > Send To > Mail Recipient (as HTML)). Regardless, Entourage doesn't
seem to play it. Other clients might though.
 
B

Barry Wainwright

For security reasons Entourage does not auto-execute any embedded objects,
and that includes sounds.

I'd much rather miss out on an embedded sound than put up with the tens of
thousands of malicious scripts that windows users have to contend with!
 
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