problems clicking m4a links, downloading as .txt

Question

problems clicking m4a links, downloading as .txt

I searched for this topic with no success. I currently use iTunes 7.01, but have had this problem since I got my iBook, when it still had 6.x. iBook G4, 1.33 Ghz. OSX 10.4.8 now, but again, have had same problem since 10.3.x. Safari browser, the usual iLife "Mail" app. Newest versions of each, but again, same problem on all the older versions.

NOT REAL LINKS, JUST AN EXAMPLE:
http://www.someite.com/Somesong.mp3 Downloads fine
http:///www.somesite.com/Somesong.m4a Doesn't work right

If I click on a link on a website or in an email that is an mp3, Safari opens a "blank" browser page, then immediately downloads to my desktop and the file automatically gets an iTunes icon.

However, if I do the same thing with an m4a (AAC) file, Safari opens a browser page filled with code (looks like a "binary" file) and takes about the same time to finish loading the page as it would to download the m4a, but then the m4a appears nowhere on my desktop, nor does iTunes pop open, or anything.

I can get around this in on a webpage by ctrl-clicking and choosing "Download Linked File..." If I do this, it saves on the desktop (or wherever I say) as Songname.m4a.rtf Double clicking on it causes TextEdit to open. If I edit the name of the downloaded file and erase the .rtf at the end, it works fine.

However, I can't use this workaround if someone emails me a link to an AAC file, because Mail doesn't offer the "Download Linked File..." as a ctrl-click option.

What's up? I couldn't understand a Wintel machine not immediately recognizing an AAC file, but surely a Mac should know what the file is. Is there a way to set Safari to recognize the MiME type for .m4a files?

Any help would be appreciated.

-pc

I-Book G4 1.33 GHz, Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Posted on Nov 12, 2006 4:05 PM

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Answer 1

Nov 13, 2006 11:38 AM in response to Peter Chimbidis

Interesting problem - sorry I don't know the answer but you might want to post it in the Safari Forum as well.

Regards,
Colin R.

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Answer 2

Nov 13, 2006 11:47 AM in response to Peter Chimbidis

After the file downloads to the desktop, all you have to do is edit the extension in the filename. Fore example: "Somesong.mp4.txt" is on your desktop. Change it to "Somesong.mp4". The Finder will ask you if you are sure you want to change it and click "change to .mp4". Then it will act like a regular movie file.

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Answer 3

Nov 13, 2006 2:11 PM in response to Bruce Harris

Bruce, I wrote in my initial post that I already had done that. That doesn't help me when someone emails me the link, because there's no way to ctrl-click to get it to save to the desktop.

It also doesn't explain why mp3 files and any other file type I've ever downloaded, including all many of image files (tiff, jpeg, pict, gif) and audio files (wav, aiff) and video (wmv, quicktime, mov) etc., etc. always download fine, but m4a doesn't.

I do appreciate your offer of help and I realize my initial post was long which makes it annoying to read the whole thing.

I will also take the advice of posting in the Safari area. Thanks!

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Answer 4

Nov 13, 2006 2:19 PM in response to Peter Chimbidis

This may be a long shot but if you have Internet Explorer you can launch that and in the Preferences under the Receiving Files section there is an option for File Helpers.

In this I can see that if I edit .m4a it tells me the File Type Application is iTunes.

There are options on the panel for Handling, How to Handle, and one of them is Save To File.

Regards,
Colin R.

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Answer 5

Nov 13, 2006 2:48 PM in response to Colin Robinson

Colin, great point!

I never thought about other browsers. I just tried it with Firefox and it worked without me even having to tell it what to do. I clicked the link in Firefox and it offered to either download it to the desktop or open it with iTunes.

So this problem is definitely Safari related. I still want to figure out if there's a way to fix the problem, because clicking on a link in my email opens my default browser (and doesn't give me the option of opening the file in another program). I don't want to switch to Firefox as my default browser because it's still too goofy with quicktime stuff.

Thanks again for that idea.

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Answer 6

Nov 13, 2006 2:53 PM in response to Peter Chimbidis

Fingers crossed, if you change it in IE it should work in Safari.

Regards,
Colin R.

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Answer 7

Nov 13, 2006 3:58 PM in response to Colin Robinson

Colin, I'm giving you credit on this one. The I.E. idea didn't work. Even after making the change you suggested, both IE and Safari still DL the files as TXT.

However, your idea about the Safari forum led to my solution. I did a search there and came up with several threads about this problem. The only solution anyone offered that helped other folks was that the MiME types on the Server are the problem. They suggested modifying the .htaccess file on the server to add:

audio/aac .m4a

Sure enough, when I added that to my own website's server (using cPanel X), now the files are instantly recognized by Safari and download correctly as iTunes AAC files.

But... the nagging questions persist:
1) Why did it work fine with Firefox before I changed it?
2) When my friends with Wintel PCs download these .m4a files from my site, they have no problem either.
3) This of course doesn't help me when I want to download .m4a files from someone else's site.

Not questions that can likely be answered soon, but at least I got an answer for why it wasn't working with Safari (or IE I guess) for now.

Thanks again.

-pc

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