Windows Media ASX Files

An ASX file (Advanced Stream Redirector) is a special type of file which works closely with Windows Media ASF files.

• The ASF file is the actual media file, containing video, audio, etc.
• The ASX file is a metafile — a file which contains data about another file. In this case it is a simple text file containing a reference to an ASF file.

The purpose of an ASX file is to start the ASF file streaming.

To Create an ASX File

To create an ASX metafile, open a text editor such as Notepad and enter the following text (substituting your own ASF file name for "videofilename.asf"):

<ASX version="3">
<Entry>
<ref href="videofilename.asf" />
</Entry>
</ASX>

Save the ASX file in the same directory as the ASF file. Use the same name as the ASF file, but with a ".asx" extension (e.g. "videofilename.asx").

Click (or double-click) the ASX file to test it. Your media player should open and play the media file.

To Create a Hyperlink to the ASX File

Add a simple link to your web page that points to the ASX file like so:

<a href="videofilename.asx">Click here to play video</a>

When you click this link your player will open and begin playing the ASF file. The text file is transparent in this process — as far as the user is concerned this link just starts the video stream.

See also:

• Windows Media Streaming
• Windows Media vs Other Formats
• Creating Windows Media Files with Adobe Premiere
• Windows Media file formats: ASF, WMA, WMV, WMVHD