You can indeed use
E-Mail addresses in Java applet link parameters in most
cases. The name of the parameter for the link may
differ from applet to applet, but the value = will look
like this:
<PARAM NAME = "Link"
VALUE = "mailto:Someone@Somewhere.com">
The temptation is to
use slashes or quotation marks within the address -- but
there are none. Stay to form, exactly as shown.
The
"target" for a mailto should normally be
_top. Setting it to _new or some other value will
often have the undesired side effect of opening a new,
empty browser window along with the mail client.
You can also force
text to the subject line of most e-mail clients by
configuring the value= thus:
VALUE
= "mailto:Someone@Somewhere.com?subject=My Huge
Feet"
Spaces in the subject
text are permitted, but avoid the temptation to put
quotation marks around the subject text.
=O=
It's normal enough to
confuse the Link and Target parameters in Java applets
when it comes to bookmarks, so people often tend to try
to put the page address in the link parameter of an
applet, and the bookmark along that page in the target
parameter. However, the bookmark, as in HTML, is
actually part of the URL. The name of the link
parameter may differ depending on the applet, but the
value= should look like this:
<PARAM
NAME="Link" VALUE="http://www.sitename.com/page.html#BookMark">
Note the use of the #
sign to delineate the bookmark, and be sure to use the
full, explicit, http:// format for the address in most
cases.
=O=
In link
parameters, virtually always you *must* use the full,
explicit URL path to the page you wish to open. A
'referential' or 'relative' link just to a page name
generally won't work, as typical Java applets don't know
where they are to begin with. By a full, explicit
path, we mean this format:
VALUE="http://www.sitename.com/pagename.html"
However, this is
usually *not* necessary for the resources an applet
requires for its own internal use (say, images or sound
files). In those cases, just the relative path is
typically used (that is, just the filename; and if any,
the directory path).
(If you're wondering
why this is, it goes to security considerations built
directly into the Java language.)
=O=
This is a subject that
perpetually confuses Java applet users. Simply
put, a Java link parameter contains *what* you
want to display -- the full URL of the page to which the
link goes.
A Java target,
on the other hand, is *where* you want to show it.
You have two target
choices -- either in the current browser window or a new
one; or, if you are using a framed layout, which frame
within that framed layout.
For targeting the
browser, these are the usual values:
VALUE
= "_new" |
  |
opens a new window |
VALUE
= "_blank" |
|
also a new window |
VALUE
= "_self" |
|
loads in the same frame |
VALUE
= "_top" |
|
opens in the same window |
You'll note that these
are the same as used in HTML. Be certain to include the
underscore!
For targeting an
individual frame within a frameset (framed layout), then
simply use the NAME of the frame. If you're unsure
of what that NAME is, look in the <frameset> code
for your page. If you're using FrontPage,
right-click over the page and look at the frame
properties dialogue.
=O=
Both of these will be
explained below momentarily; but first, a few
comments...
We discourage use of
CODEBASE= in most cases, especially for new users, and
especially when first setting up an applet. Put
everything in one place until you get an applet rolling,
and don't even think about using CODEBASE= until you've
ironed out any and all other problems.
Note also that if you
use FrontPage, it chronically inserts the CODEBASE= tag
automatically when you move resources, and often does so
incorrectly! Obviously, this bears watching
whenever you run into difficulty in FrontPage with Java
applets.
There are also some
cases, depending on the internal coding of certain
applets, where these tags may *fail* to function
correctly!
Please do *not*
confuse CODE= (which only names the .class file
of the applet, and must be present in every
<applet> tag) with CODEBASE= (which is optional)!
That said, the general
ideas involved are simple enough.
CODE= tells the page
what applet file to call. That's it, that's
all. It contains, typically, nothing more than the
applet.class filename.
CODEBASE= is likewise
simple enough. For reasons of resource economy and
organization, there are sometimes good reasons for you
to put the files related to an applet in a directory
other than that of the page that calls the applet.
In such cases,
CODEBASE= will contain either the full, explicit path to
the resources, or a 'referential' or 'relative' path to
the resources. (There are exceptions, of course,
but in many cases, CODEBASE= *will* even allow you to
call resources on an entirely different server
altogether.)
Once again,
though: Caution! Problems resulting from
incorrect use of CODEBASE= are among the most frequently
encountered!
=O=
Although newer
standards are more flexible, for virtually all currently
available Java applets, the long-established Sun
standard for sound files is the *only* one that will
work.
There isn't anything
special about a Java sound file -- except its basic
format! Java sound files *must* be saved in this
explicit, specific format:
8-bit
u-law mono and 8000 Hz.
Since there are
several other possible formats in which .au files can be
made, take *caution* that many .au files found out on
the Net generally are *not* in the proper format for
Java applets... and consequently just will not work with
them.
Some free sound
editors, perhaps even one that came with your system
utilities, do support this standard; but many will not
have the option to save a file in this format. One
that we have used for quite some time is
Syntrillium.com's CoolEdit.
=O=

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