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Basic instructions designed for beginners

Soundslides Troubleshooting Guide

This guide covers the most common errors made by new users of Soundslides.

Where Is Your Project Folder?

When you start up Soundslides, you are asked if you want to begin a NEW project or open an OLD project.

If you select NEW, you need to do two things -- and make a note of them:

  1. Name the project folder for this NEW Soundslides project.
  2. Choose where you will save the project folder.

If you work on a Soundslides project, and save it, and close the Soundslides program, later you might need to work on that project again. When you do, it is VERY IMPORTANT that you know these two things:

  1. What did you name the project folder for that OLD Soundslides project?
  2. Where did you save that project folder?

Do not destroy delete, lose or dismantle your old Soundslides project folders. Keep them safe. You will want to use them again.

What Is the publish_to_web Folder?

After you Save and then Export your Soundslides, a window opens on your computer.

This window shows the contents of the publish_to_web folder for your Soundslides project.

The publish_to_web folder is INSIDE your Soundslides project folder.

The publish_to_web folder contains your Soundslides. You must upload the complete publish_to_web folder to your Web site.

How Do I Put My Soundslides on the Web?

File transfer protocol (FTP) is how we send large files from one computer to another using the Internet -- not an e-mail attachment.

Here is a beginner's tutorial for FTP.

There are very good instructions at the Soundslides site too.

Your publish_to_web folder has a file inside it named index.html -- this is a Web page.

  1. Upload your entire publish_to_web folder to your Web host.
  2. Rename your publish_to_web folder on the Web host. Let's imagine you renamed it to: holiday
  3. Let's imagine your domain name is: mywebhome.com
  4. The URL for your Soundslides is:
    http://mywebhome.com/holiday/index.html

My Audio Sounded Fine, but Now ... It Sounds Like Chipmunks!

See this Help page at the Soundslides site.

This 7-page guide to using Audacity (PDF, 236 KB) provides the correct export settings for your MP3 file (see page 6).

More information and assistance is available on the Support page for Soundslides.