Alert Sound

You can change the Alert Sound that your Mac uses to get your attention. You do this in the Sound Control Panel found in the Apple Menu.

All you need to do is highlight the sound you would like to use and close the window. As you highlight a sound it will play for you.

You can add sounds by clicking the add button and recording your own sound or by adding a "System Sound" to your system folder.

A "System Sound" will have this icon and play when the icon is double clicked. To install a new sound just Drag & Drop it onto the CLOSED System folder. The sound file will be placed in the system suitcase and be immediately available.

You can find many "System Sounds" on the internet. Some good sources can be found on my Mac links page . If you have a sound you would like to use that isn't a "System Sound" you can convert most sounds with "Sound App" a great piece of free software by Norman Franke which can be downloaded from HERE.

These System Sounds are also used by other applications such as the clock's "chime on the hour", email programs' sound features and chat programs like ICQ & AIM. So just add sounds you would like to use for them as System Sounds and those sounds will be available to all.

Sound Sets

With OS 8.5 Apple introduced the Appearance Control Panel with which you can change the "Sound Sets" which associate sounds with interface elements like scrolling, opening or closing windows, clicking and the like. Again, my Mac links page has some good sources. These "Sound Sets" can be dropped onto a CLOSED System folder where they will be put into System Folder:Appearance:sound sets folder. Once you have installed a sound set it will appear in the popup menu and be available for use.

You can create your own Sound Sets with SoundSet Constructor