Downloading and playing media files

Media files are sound and/or video files that Urbanwords/A Place For Words make available to you via the Urbanwords and/or the A Place For Words Web sites. They are usually entirely copyright free or licensed under terms that permit you to copy and redistribute the files as many times as you want.

Any files for which permission to copy and/or redistribute is not granted, will be clearly marked to this effect and you should under no circumstances either copy these files or redistribute them. Downloading and saving a copy of such files would constitute a breach of copyright unless otherwise specified.

Hints and tips for playing media files

It is not possible for Urbanwords/A Place For Words to give comprehensive instructions on how you should play media files. The exact steps that you will need to take will vary, depending on:

Your browser (Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari, Apache, etc)
Your browser options and preferences. You may, for example, have configured your browser to play media files directly in your default media player: or you may have chosen to make your browser ask you what to do before playing media files.
Your default media player (MPlayer, RealPlayer, Windows Media Player, VLC, Kaffeine, Amorok, etc)
Your computer’s operating system and version (Mac OS/X, Linux, Windows XP, Windows Vista, etc).

Generally speaking, for most default setups, clicking on a link to a media file will cause a browser to either:

Play the file directly
Ask whether you want to play the file or save it

In the first case, the file will be downloaded and played.

If your browser asks you whether you want to dowload or play the file, it will also suggest a default player that it thinks can deal with the file. To play the media file it is usually sufficient simply to click on the button accepting the browser's choice of player.

Most browsers in their default configuration will ask you what to do with the file, however Internet Explorer will most likely play the file directly. For example:

Safari on Windows gives you the choice of either saving the file or playing it in the default media player.
Opera on both Windows and Linux gives you the choice of playing the file in the default (or other) player, or saving the file directly.
Konqueror on Linux plays the stream directly.
IE7 plays the file directly in the default media player
Firefox on both Windows and Linux gives you the choice of playing the file or saving it.

Hints and tips for saving media files

If your browser gives you the choice of either playing the file or saving it, select the option to save the file and then save it to an appropriate place on your computer’s file system.

If your browser simply plays the media directly, the media player used will most likely offer an option to save the file. For example:

Konqueror on Linux plays the stream directly, but allows you to select Save Stream... from the Location menu (or from the right-click context menu in the main window) to save the file.
Windows Media Player on Windows XP allows you to right click on the player and select an option to save the file, from the context menu.

Disclaimer

Please note that the advice above is given in good faith, but Urbanwords/A Place For Words cannot be held responsible in the case that the advice does not work as expected in your particular environment.

If you have problems playing the media files that we make available, please do not contact Urbanwords/A Place For Words for help. We are not qualified to give it. Please contact instead, a suitable computer specialist.

Urbanwords/A Place For Words will test all media files for errors before making them available. We will also test that they can be played from the Web site. We do not, however, guarantee to scan all media files for viruses. If you have an operating system that is affected by viruses and other malware, we strongly recommend that you download the files and scan them yourself before playing them.