About Videos

A frequently asked question about downloading video files. Some browsers, such as Microsoft's Internet Explorer, will prompt you for the directory in which you want to save the video file. Others, such as Netscape 3, do not prompt you but just begin saving the file to your hard disk the instant you click the link. Inexperienced users may then find that they are unable to locate the file on their hard disks. If this happens you need either to use the Find function in the Windows Start Menu (given you are using Windows 95) or to know where to look for the file.

If you are using Netscape:

Select the Options menu.

Select General Preferences

and then select the Apps property sheet.

The box at the bottom, labeled Temporary Directory will contain the path of the directory into which the file has been saved. Usually it will be C:/windows/temp. If you want video files placed somewhere else in future, change the setting in this box.

Another way is to remember the name of the file, or at the very least the file ending (which will be "mpg" unless you're using the Real Player). All you need to do is ask Windows (given that this is your system) to find any files of that type created in the last 24 hours.

Here's how:

Go to the Start menu (bottom left hand corner of the screen).

Select Find

Select "Files or Folders"

(The Find dialog box opens).

In the field marked "Named" enter the name of the file, if you remember it, or if you don't then "*.mpg" (but without the inverted commas) so:

*.mpg

Now, before you close the dialog box, click on the Date Modified tab (or "property sheet") and click on the tiny target (radio button) at the bottom, so that you are asking for all files "modified during the last 1 day".

Windows will list all such files on the drive you have selected. Click on it and the player will open.