Music bar

the best way?

[smokeyb]

Hi all
I need a little advice on an issue concerning a music bar on a website. I already have a site
with a complex music bar made with actionscript. I have this in a thin frame at the bottom of
the site, and the main top part uses templates. The reason I have put it in a frame is; that no
matter where you navigate, it will never interrupt the music. This site has no need to be
included in SEs as it's a personal site so I've never worried about the 'frames' issues.
However, I have been asked to set up a site for an old rock band (read their biog and they were
pretty well known in the 60's). From this site they want to sell re-mastered CD of their old
stuff, and I want to make a music bar with snippets of the tracks, which will be a .swf object.
I want to know the best way do do this. If I replicate the frame method, I need to know the
javascript that will correct the orphan issue with SEs. Or, is there a better way of doing
this? Thanks in advance
Smokey B

[thehittmann]

you could use an iframe with top margin set to "0" and the height set just a little bigger than your bar with no scrolling so the bottom frame doesnt need to be much bigger than the height of your bar.

[smokeyb]

I've never used iframes, but I always thought that they were contained within a page? If that is correct, wouldn't I have to include the iframe in each seperate page, and therfore, when the user changes pages (even using templates), wouldn't the music bar refresh, stopping the music? The user chooses which track sample and then it's looped, so I have to keep the bar constant.

[thehittmann]

ok forget that idea and go with the opposite
have your music bar, links, title and some content on the main page and link all the other pages to an iframe also on the main page.

[smokeyb]

Ah... I like it! Thanks, I can see how this will work easily, but before I embark on the construction.. Are there any issues with SEs with this technique?

[smokeyb]

On second thoughts.. won't I still have the 'orphan' problem?

[thehittmann]

you should have some content on the main page. You can add a redirect from the frames to the frameset if anyone comes in through from it.

something like this.

<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript" type="text/JavaScript">
<!--
if ((self.location!= 'http://www.mydomain.com/') && (top.location == location)) {
self.location = 'http://www.mydomain.com';
}
//-->
</SCRIPT>

and this would go in the header of the frames pages not in the main frameset

[smokeyb]

Thanks thehittmann I think that bit of javascript was what I was looking for. I'm a bit javascript illiterate, so could you elaborate? Do I have to use the absolute url or can I use the local files? what would the code look like if the page was called history.htm and the frameset was index.htm.. both at 'http://www.blah.com?'
Sorry for the ingnorance.

[thehittmann]

<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScript" type="text/JavaScript">
<!--
if ((self.location!= 'index.htm') && (top.location == location)) {
self.location = 'index.htm';
}
//-->
</SCRIPT>

and this code would be in the header of history.htm

[twist]

Here's a thought,

Make the top and bottom of the page html with description of the band and what not, for search engine friendliness, and make the center content all flash. This way you never have to load a new page, use frames, or have somebody frame your music player onto their site. The only drawback would be if you suck at using flash or your not happy with the search engines skipping all the flash content.

[smokeyb]

Thanks Thehittmann looks like a piece of cake now.
Thanks also for twists idea, and although the flash is easy enough, this site is going to rely entirely on search engines (and "silver surfers") so it rules out that approach. BTW has anyone ever heard of "Nero and the Gladiators"? That's who they are and they had quite a bit out in the UK in the 60's. Thanks all