Images, movies, & files act differently
The nature of what you’re inserting determines what happens when you insert it. In other words, sometimes media is actually displayed in a web browser, and sometimes a link is created to media. Let’s look at the details.
Inserting an image
Inserting an image into a Page will cause the image to be displayed in a visitor’s web browser when she loads your Page.
Inserting (or embedding) a movie
Inserting (or embedding) a movie into a Page will cause the movie to be displayed in a visitor’s web browser when she loads your Page. However, you can also provide visitors to your website with a link so they can download the video for viewing on their computers.
Insert a file
Inserting a file into a Page actually inserts a link to the file. Web browsers can’t view embedded files that aren’t images or movies inside webpages, so the best you can hope for is a link to the file. When the user clicks that link on your Page, her web browser will prompt her to download the file.
NOTE: Yes, in some cases when users click on a link to a PDF or DOC, that file may be displayed in their web browsers. But…
- Most web browsers or operating system can’t do that, so you can’t count on it.
- Many people find that behavior obnoxious, so you should always warn users about the link they’re about to click on (you’ll learn more about that in Inserting files into Blocks).