Installing Plug-ins

Multimedia is one of the most exciting things about the Web--listening to radio programs and music, watching animations and videos, even gaming in three-dimensional space. Life online can be a much richer experience when you aren't restricted to just words and static pictures.

To experience multimedia, you'll need a computer equipped with sound and video cards and special software programs called plug-ins. A plug-in, sometimes referred to as a player, extends the capabilities of your web browser, turning your computer into a radio, TV or game machine.

When you encounter a web page that requires a special plug-in, you will often be prompted to download it.

Clicking the appropriate button takes you to the website of the plug-in developer, where you can download the plug-in. Most plug-ins are free and since they are small programs, they download quickly. Whether you use Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Safari or another browser, the procedure is basically the same.

1.If you don't already have one, create a folder on your hard drive for downloading files. We suggest that you name it something like "Temp files." For each plug-in you want to download, create a sub-folder. This will make it easy to locate the downloaded program.

2.When prompted, check the Save to Disk option, then click on the Browse button and locate the folder you created. Now begin the download into that folder.

3.After the file is downloaded, close all programs running on your computer. Use Windows Explorer or Finder to locate the file on your hard drive (it will have a name like "plugin.exe") and double-click it. This begins the installation process.

4.You may have to restart your computer before the plug-in will work.

5.Once you've installed the plug-in, you can delete the file you downloaded, freeing up space on your computer.

For visual instructions, review our article on downloading software.

Instead of interrupting your Web surfing to download a new player every time you need one, take some time to install the most popular ones:

Get animated with Shockwave, an older, but still useful plug-in. At the Showcase page you'll find links to exciting "shocked" sites.

Most websites that want to add pizzazz now use Flash, another popular plug-in from Adobe. It turns your computer into an interactive animation machine.

Turn your computer into a radio or television with the RealPlayer. Once you install the RealPlayer, you can listen to the latest newscasts from National Public Radio, CNN, BBC, CBC and hundreds of other sites.

From Apple Computer comes QuickTime, a plug-in for playing video clips on Macintosh and PC computers. Watch movie trailers and other multimedia with this useful little program.

Last update: Jan 14, 2010