What does the phrase (link) next to all my inventory items mean? And how do I correct it?

[Yasmine Paramour]

I purchased some items last night, and when I went to log on today, those items are missing.  Also, I can't find the shape that I am wearing, it is not located in my inventory under worn items.  I do see it down at the bottom of the inventory screen in italics.  The word (link) is next to all items in my inventory.  What does (link) mean, how do I correct it, and how do I make a copy of the shape.  I attempted to copy/paste it, only to have the same result of the shapes name in italics and (link) next to it.  Thank you for any help or assistance. 

[Rolig Loon]

You will see the word ("link") on any inventory item that is being used in an outfit.  That means that the item itself is somewhere else in your inventory -- maybe in your Clothing folder, or maybe still in your Received Items folder -- and is simply being referred to by reference rather than having a second copy in the Outfits folder.  It's one way that your viewer protects you from having unnecessary extra copies of things to bloat inventory.

If you make the mistake of deleting the item itself (or if the system somehow removes it), you will still see the ("link") in your outfits, but it won't do anything.  It's exactly the same as what happens if you click on a broken link in a web page that leads to a page that no longer exists.  If you're seeing ("link") next to a lot of things, your inventory cache may have been damaged somehow.  If so, it's one of the few times when it actually makes sense to delete the cache and force the viewer to download a fresh copy from the servers.  Here's how to do it properly >>> http://wiki.phoenixviewer.com/fs_cache_clear

[Madelaine McMasters]

Hi Yasmine,

Rolig's explained links, now I'll add a li'l additional explanation of their benefit. Let's say you have a favorite pair of shoes, or head of hair, that you wear most of the time. You could copy (providing the things are copiable) them into each and every outfit folder. That actually doesn't take any more space than copying links, as everything in inventory is actually a link to the actual asset buried somewhere in SL.

However, imagine that you've noticed your shoes or hair aren't fitting quite right, or you want to adjust coloration. If you've placed copies of the shoes/hair in all those outfits, you'll now have to edit each and every copy to make it right. If, instead of Copy/Paste, you had done Copy/Paste as Link, you'd only need to edit the original item. Your changes will be reflected in every linked copy, as they're all pointing back to the original. And, as I've already hinted, links work for no-copy things.

When you're building outfits... Paste as Link!

[Madelaine McMasters]

Damn, Snugs never gives me kudos.

[Rolig Loon]

Yeah, Snugs always liked me best.