Second Life Viewer

[ProductTeam Linden]

Last year, we tested two “modes” to the Second Life Viewer, Basic and Advanced. Advanced mode was the standard UI layout and functionality that existing users were familiar with. Basic mode presented a less featured UI that provided users with a less complicated introduction to Second Life. A few months ago, we merged those modes with the introduction of our current, more flexible, Viewer UI.

There was one area we explored for Basic Mode that never made it to release, which was a simplified presentation of Inventory aimed at new users, designed to encourage a well organized inventory from day one. For new users, managing and understanding inventory is often challenging. Drag and drop over large inventories can be problematic and daunting. New users are often confused about the meaning of certain system folders.

Today we have released a Project Viewer beta that includes this simplified presentation of inventory as an option. Before we consider any widespread changes to inventory, we want to know what you think about the Simple Inventory UI, noting that the target user is someone just starting out.  

The Simple Inventory UI offers new users:

• A simple display presenting only one folder at a time
• Improved wayfinding and findability
• Faster load of inventory items

Download the Project Viewer and take Simple Inventory for a spin. We’d like to hear what you like and don’t like about the design and interaction, as well as how it works with your own inventory.

It’s important to note that Simple Inventory was intended for Basic mode before Basic and Advanced modes were merged. It is still experimental and so it is unclear how it will function with extremely large Inventories, so if you have a large Inventory we don’t recommend using Simple Inventory as your only view.  

There are some incomplete features and known issues of which you should be aware. You can read more about these in the release notes, here.

Comments and feedback are welcome in this forum thread and bugs should be reported in Jira in the SINV project.

Thanks!

[Kadah Coba Honored Resident]

Not a fan of it so far, but its better than other recent UI changes at least.

It does make me wonder where this is going. I don't believe LL would keep and support two very different inventory UI's, especially after merging basic and normal modes. I'm a bit worried that SINV, or something like it, will become the only supported inventory view in the future.

[Michely Blogger Honored Resident]

Firstly I think the whole quest for improvement is valid, is positive, congratulations and thank you for this new idea, but Second Life is making so much changes in few time.
SL think a lot of new users with many changes and always end up losing people who are here will be more than 3, 4, 5 years. This new propose for Simple Inventory not is so bad, maybe useful in some moment, but learn the simple and the old Inventory for a new user is the same.

Well,as the two options are available, both the hierarchical as the old, not is a problem. I will continue to use and try and come back to say more things about this.

Sugestion for Second Life in general: Who spent more is the old users, nobody join in SL and spent $$ in 1 month, so please, think more in veterans and give priority for fix, adjust the bugs and problems there is now, maybe this way ourselves bring new users

[Rhett Linden]

Fear not that we would make such a large change to the Inventory UI.  This is a test for user feedback, nothing more.

[Michely Blogger Honored Resident]

Hi Rhett, 
No , I'm not thinking this, as i said before, is very good tests and search the better for all tools.
I just took advantage of this opportunity, speaking of changes and testing to give them a hint of Second Life, but as a fashion model and fashionista in SL, I am glad we are surelylooking for tools as important improvements.

And that i likee very much to blog and make tutorials i need and will go use this next days this beta for can coment more here

Good see you here, kisses

[Kadah Coba Honored Resident]

That's some what relieving to hear, many of us were wondering if something very disconcerting was going to befall to the inventory UI. D:

[Michely Blogger Honored Resident]

Talking about Inventory, I think very important to mention about how organizers of inventories sold in shops and the marketplace, another suggestion is that this team try and see how working. Some bloggers have reported on this form to organize our stuff and  we use most fashionistas, you can see how it works for add something to help in this project, if needed, I can send links to some examples.

[Amethyst Jetaime Contributor]

If you really want to simplify inventory handling the most helpful thing that you could do would be to have the UI for inventory act like a file manager on your computer.  Allow people to specify the folder and subfolder an item should go to when they put it in their inventory with the default being the folder it came from if it originally came out of their inventory .  Newbs would understand this concept very well as they are already use to it and it sure would make a huge difference in time spent managing inventory for everyone, even those of us that have large inventories.

[WhiteStar Magic]

"Drag and drop over large inventories can be problematic and daunting. "  

This is likely the top 10 Pet Peeve of users in SL. 

If Linden Labs REALLY WANTS TO MAKE INVENTORY BETTER ...  and I would really love to see a true Response to this Question by ProductTeam Linden. 

Why has Linden Labs NOT put in a Cut / Paste function for inventory ?   This single capability of CUT & PASTE to move inventory around would solve issues that have plagued Inventory Manglement since SL started.

Select Items or Folder, Right Click, CUT folder or item(s) and PASTE to where you want it. 

It's been done in TPV's, it started in Meerkat, went into Imprudence & Astra but I'm unsure of other TPV's.

Anxiously awaiting a valid answer.

[Cincia Singh Member]

Spot on! If LL wants new residents to have a better first experience, make that first experience more like what they're already familiar with.