download code question

[StephenT]

I have an mp3 file that I would like to have for people to download to their computer to save. I want this to be able to be played on their computer or mp3 player. The problem is that the file I have linked to opens in a player instead of just a file for them to download.

I'm clearly not a programmer. How do I make this happen?

[pamb10]

does your link link directly to the mp3 file? i believe it opens directly in a player when clicked because (on most computers) .mp3 is a file extension that is associated with a certain program. they should be able to right click on the file to save it.

[StephenT]

Yeah, Pam, it does. I uploaded it to my site and I have the link going directly to that file. There is no option for the customer to sve the file, it just plays.

[pamb10]

yeah, but cant you right click on the link and save the file?

[StephenT]

For me, what happens is that it open in quicktime and starts playing. I tried right clicking and there was no option to download.

[Rick Olsen]

Steve - Zip the file, then upload it. Should work.

[wade_watson]

Stephen, that's an great question. I'm a long time HTML tinkerer, but you stimulated me to do some research. Normally, a web browser goes through 3 steps when you click a file like mp3 or jpg, etc. First, it tries to it in web browser plugin. If there's no plugin, it tries to open it in an external program associated with it. If it finds nothing there, it just lets you download it as a saved file.

The short answer is that there's no easy way to set a file up that way, other putting it in a zip file, as Rick said. It probably can be done in PHP code, but neither you or I want to figure that out. I found a rare HTML command that was supposed to do it (type="application/octet-stream"), but when I tested in my own WordPress site, it didn't work. If anybody has a better idea I'll be surprise and impressed.

I don't know what browser you use, but in Firefox, right clicking an mp3 link should show you a dialog with "Save Link As..." which saves the file. In Internet Explorer it's "Save Target As..."

Anyway, we all learned a little something.

Wade

[StephenT]

Thanks Rick, you suggestion worked like a charm.

[StephenT]

New question! I get as far as asking for the email address to send the down load to, but how do I get the name to become part of my list on aweber and at the same time send the download page to the email listed? I'm not sure how to make the aweber connection to the whole thing. there has to be some sort of script in there.

[StephenT]

How come I'm doing all the talking here?

Anyway, let me see if I have the process straight.

• Customer goes to sales page
• If they want to buy, they click the link to paypal
• Paypal directs them to the optin page
• If they optin, they are sent a confirmation page telling them to watch for the email which comes from Aweber
• If they confirm, aweber sends them my download page.

Should there be a redirect in there somewhere? What keeps them from saving the link and downloading it over and over again?