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Supported file types Images Sounds Animation Mesh Uploading images and sounds Cost Images Sounds Uploading in bulk Uploading animations Supported file types You can upload several different types of files for use in content creation. Images You can upload the following image file types: *.tga (Truevision Graphics Adapter) *.bmp (Bitmap) *.jpg (Joint Photographic Experts Group) *.jpeg (Joint Photographic Experts Group) *.png (Portable Network Graphics) When uploaded, images are converted into a valid size. Valid scales are square powers of two. To prevent unintended distortion, keep this in mind when creating images. The maximum resolution for uploaded textures is 1024 pixels. If you upload an image that is a higher resolution than this, it will be scaled down to pass the upload requisites. Valid image sizes include the following values: 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, and 1024 Sounds Sounds must be in .WAV file in standard PCM format, 16-bit/44.1kHz/mono or stereo (converted to mono), and less than thirty (30) seconds in length. Thus, 29.99 seconds is fine, but 30.0 will fail to upload. Sounds cannot be saved as 8-bit, 22.05 kHz, or any other frequency. Sounds in other formats can be converted in most sound programs. An example of a free quality converter is r8brain. Compression formats such as MP3 are not supported at this time. Animation You can upload animations in .bvh (Poser 2 or newer) and .anim formats. Recommended settings are ten frames per second. For more information on uploading animations, see How to create animations. Models Models refers to 3D mesh objects created in external modeling software such as Blender or Autodesk Maya. For more information about uploading mesh model assets, see Uploading a mesh model. Uploading images and sounds Upload your own images (textures), sounds, and animations for use in content creation. Cost Uploading files to Second Life costs a fee which depends on your membership type: Basic & Plus accounts: L$10 per upload Premium accounts: L$10 per upload Premium Plus accounts: L$0 per upload The cost is deducted from your inworld balance, regardless of whether you upload the files one at a time or use bulk upload. The purpose of Bulk Upload is to expedite the upload process, not to save Linden dollars. Images You can upload TGA, PNG, BMP, or JPG files with at least 24-bit color, for quality and compatibility. Files at lower bit depths may fail to upload. PNG (24-bit) and TGA (32-bit) files allow the use of transparent effects (for example, in a stained glass window) via an alpha channel. Most modern image editors can convert between formats. To upload an image: Choose Build > Upload > Image (L$10). Choose an image file. Optionally choose a preview format. Optionally enter a text description. Click Upload (L$10). Tip: When uploading, textures are scaled to the nearest "powers of 2" aspect ratio due to how the system handles textures. If you find this results in unwanted stretching/squishing, you may prefer to use your image editor's built-in resampling to optimize proportions prior to upload. Supported image formats Second Life supports TGA (32-bit supports alpha channel), PNG (24-bit supports alpha channel), and BMP. When you upload an image, the Viewer internally converts it to JPG2000 for optimized future transmission. For best quality, try to avoid uploading JPGs; their already-compressed quality degrades further because of the double conversion. Texture sizes Textures should be as small as possible — texture size is highly context-sensitive so it takes experienced artistic judgment. For example, if you're texture-mapping a tiny pebble, its detail can be negligible compared to a giant tree in the same scene. For general use, 512x512 is a fair balance. The maximum resolution for an uploaded texture is 1024x1024 pixels; if you upload a bigger image, it is scaled down to 1024x1024 pixels. Even if you have a fast Internet connection and a top-end graphics card, your computer can only display a finite amount of texture data. Sounds Sound files must be: WAV files in standard PCM format. 16-bit with 44.1kHz sample rate. Mono format. Stereo format will be automatically converted to mono. 30 seconds or less in length. Formats that don't work include MP3s or WAVs in 8-bit, 22.05 kHz, or any other frequency. You can convert sounds into the proper format using an audio editor like the free Audacity, or a specialized app like r8brain for Windows. To upload a sound: Choose Build > Upload > Sound (L$10). Choose a valid .WAV file. Optionally enter a text description. Click Upload (L$10). Uploading in bulk To upload more than one file at a time: Choose Upload > Bulk (L$10 per file). In the file browser dialog, select all the files you wish to upload. You can hold Shift ? or Ctrl while clicking to select multiple files. Using this method, you can upload files of different valid formats at the same time. You can also set default permissions for convenience when uploading. Uploading animations You can upload customized animations for use in gestures and scripted objects. This article covers the basic process of uploading an animation. For more information on creating, using, and uploading animations in Second Life, check out the Animation Guide article, and the Animation page on this Wiki. Note: Just like textures and sounds, animations cost L$10 each to upload for Basic, Plus, and Premium members. Premium Plus members can upload animations for L$0 per animation. Procedure You can upload animations in Biovision Hierarchy (BVH) or raw .anim format. To upload: Choose Build > Upload > Animation (L$10). From the file browser, choose the animation file you wish to upload.' Choose your desired options in the upload preview window, then press Upload (L$10). Upload Preview window The upload preview window presents multiple controls that can change the way your animation plays inworld. Click ? in the upper right of the window for a detailed explanation of all the settings.

Getting started with animesh Creating animesh objects Animating animesh objects Advanced animesh topics Editing animesh position and orientation Position and Scale Constraints Animesh building suggestions Animesh attachments Animesh skeleton state and customization Animesh information and displays Animesh FAQ Getting started with animesh Animated mesh (animesh) is a Second Life feature to allow independent objects to use rigged mesh and animations, just as you can with mesh avatars. This means that you can have wild animals, pets, vehicles, scenery features and other objects that play animations. Animesh is supported in all regions of the main grid and on the test grid. Currently animesh works with the default viewer. If you need a place to test animesh content, there are some dedicated test regions at Animesh1 and Animesh2, which are set to moderate maturity, and Animesh Adult, which is intended for adult content. Sample content animation and mesh files to test creating animesh are available for download at the Second Life Jira: BUG-139234. Creating animesh objects The animesh viewer adds one new feature to the UI for editing an in-world object. Right click a rigged mesh object you have permissions to edit and click Edit Select the Features tab Check Animated Mesh to turn the object into an animesh object There are some restrictions: the object must be one you have permissions to modify, it must not exceed the maximum triangle count limit for animesh objects, and you must be in an animesh-enabled region. If any of these condition are not met then the checkbox will not be enabled. Note Rigged mesh refers to a mesh object created in a 3D modeling program like Blender which has rigging, or data that gives the mesh object a skeleton with joints that can move in specific ways. Without rigging, a mesh object is more like a hollow solid sculpture than a flexible, movable creation. Animating animesh objects Simply setting an object to Animated Mesh doesn't get it moving right away -- it needs an animation file and a script which tells that animation to play. Select your animesh object (Right-click > Edit) Open the Content tab Add your animation and your script to play the animation to the animesh object's contents by dragging them from your Inventory into the Contents box Animesh adds three new LSL functions that can be used to run or stop animations, or check which animations are currently running. The commands are: llStartObjectAnimation llStopObjectAnimation llGetObjectAnimationNames For more information on how to use these functions in scripts to use with animesh objects, please click above to visit the Second Life Wiki LSL Portal entry for each one. Advanced animesh topics Editing animesh position and orientation A conventional static mesh object has a position defined when it’s rezzed and an orientation defined when it’s created. An animesh object still has an actual object position in a region, but the displayed mesh is shown at a location determined by its underlying skeleton and currently playing animations. Because of this, the visual location of an animesh object playing an animation may be at some displacement from its "real" position for physics and scripting purposes. Or in simpler terms, the bear object above has a 'fixed' location used for physics and scripts calculations, but its animation may cause it to wiggle around a bit visually. It never actually changes coordinates. The skeleton is positioned relative to the original object as follows: The object position is used as the location for the skeleton root joint. The object orientation matches the root object orientation. If the root object is a mesh, the bind shape matrix will be used. Playing animations can alter the visual position and orientation further by animating the pelvis joint. One result is that animesh objects will normally be oriented with their local X-axis as the forward direction. Static mesh objects are not necessarily created in this orientation, so there may be a change in orientation when an object becomes animesh. However, if the root object of an animesh linkset is a mesh, the bind shape matrix will also be used. This means that if you want your object to be oriented relative to the static mesh representation, you can use an animesh root mesh. If you want your object to have standard X-forward skeleton orientation, you can use a non-mesh root object (for example, a simple invisible prim) and then align your mesh child objects relative to that. Basically, if your static mesh object suddenly faces a different direction when you click Animated Mesh in the Edit window, you may find it helpful to check how the mesh was created originally, or to link your new animesh object to a root object and manipulate it accordingly until it faces the direction you want it to face. Using the Edit > Rotation and Edit > Move settings will adjust an animesh object's forward orientation and actual position (coordinates), but Edit > Scale cannot change the animesh object's skeleton, so the object will not visually change size. Position and Scale Constraints There are some constraints on the scale and positioning of animesh objects. These are intended to maintain consistency with limits on other types of in-world objects (such as conventional prims), and to make the behavior more predictable. There is a 64m scale limit for animesh objects. Objects exceeding this size threshold will be scaled down so their computed bounding box does not exceed 64m. There is a 3m offset limit for animesh objects. Offset is the distance between the "official" location of the static object and the bounding box of the animesh object as displayed. The display location of animesh objects will be constrained to not exceed this limit. These constraints are based on a real-time bounding box maintained for rigged meshes, so they may be triggered at some times and not others depending on the animations being played. For performance reasons the box does not update every frame, so the constraints can lag behind the current appearance slightly. Animesh building suggestions Animesh objects do not have attachments the way avatars do. To combine multiple meshes in a single animesh, you would link them together into a single linkset. If you link together multiple meshes, the original source meshes and any corresponding physics representations can be scattered around multiple locations. The meshes will all still display rigged to a single skeleton, with orientation as noted above. The recommended practice for now is to have a root prim that’s not a rigged mesh, and associate any physics representation with that root prim. The rigged meshes would then be non-physical children of this root. Also note that like rigged meshes on avatars, the rigged meshes in animesh objects are non-physical. The animation process only affects how things display on the viewer, so if you want to have a physics shape that lines up with your animesh object, you will need to manage the positioning and animations accordingly. Animesh attachments Animesh objects can also be attachments on your avatar. Like a conventional static attachment, an animesh attachment will move with the selected attachment point on your avatar, such as your right shoulder or left hand. Animesh attachments can then run animations, which can change their apparent position relative to their attachment point (for example, if the pelvis joint is part of the animation). Like static attachments, animesh attachments can be repositioned using the editing controls. Changing position or rotation will move the attachment relative to its attachment point. Currently, you can have at most one animesh attachment at a time as a Basic or Plus member or two animesh attachments if you are a Premium or Premium Plus member. Animesh Skeleton State and Customization Avatars support extensive customization via sliders. The bones in an avatar skeleton are positioned and scaled based on these customization settings, which are stored mostly in the avatar's shape wearable. Animesh objects do not currently support this type of customization; they do not have shape wearables, so there is no way to do the same kind of skeleton customization for them. The bone positions and scales for an animesh object are simply initialized from the default bone settings (defined in some configuration files that are part of the viewer installation - avatar_skeleton.xml and avatar_lad.xml). These default bone positions and scales can be overridden in the uploaded meshes, using values defined when the meshes were created. This is the same joint position mechanism that rigged meshes can also use to customize avatar positioning. We know there is a lot of interest in supporting more extensive customization of animesh objects, and are hoping to tackle this in a future project. Animesh information and displays Some additional displays are available to help you see the state of animesh objects: In the Advanced menu, the option Performance Tools > Show avatar complexity information shows you the computed complexity cost for avatars. The complexity display only works for avatars and independent animesh objects. Attached animesh objects have their complexity added to the avatar they are attached to, so they are not shown with a complexity display of their own. Show avatar complexity information now works for animesh objects as well and includes additional information as follows: VisTris is the number of currently displayed triangles associated with the object, based on the currently displayed LODs (levels of detail) for its component primitives. EstMaxTris is an estimated triangle count for the most complex LODs of the object; this is the number used to determine whether an object exceeds the triangle count complexity limit for animesh objects. Another updated display is Develop > Render Metadata > Collision skeleton. This will show the collision volumes for animesh objects as well as avatars, with the animesh objects shown a different color: The avatar in the example image has a blue skeleton The animesh bear is shown with a red skeleton In the same menu, Develop > Render Metadata > Joints will show the regular bones in the skeleton of both avatars and animesh objects. Both of the Render Metadata displays have a significant performance impact, so you will probably not want to enable them most of the time. Animesh FAQ What happens if I have an unsupported viewer? If you visit an animesh-enabled region with a non-animesh viewer, you will see animesh objects as non-animated static mesh objects, and animesh attachments as rigged meshes on the host avatar. What happens if I visit unsupported regions and try to use animesh content? This situation should not come up now that animesh support is enabled on the main grid. If you do run into a region, perhaps on the test grid, that lacks animesh support, then animesh objects will not work correctly. Scripts that try to use the new animesh LSL functions will give an error message if run in a non-animesh region. Once you return to an animesh region you may need to reset the script to get it working again. How can report a bug or request new features? Please report the bug using the standard JIRA process, and include [ANIMESH] in the title. How can I engage with other users of animesh? Visit the content creation forum area for animesh: https://community.secondlife.com/forums/forum/354-animesh/. Linden Lab will monitor this area while animesh is under development, and we will try to respond to questions of general interest. Attend the Content Creation User Group meeting, which is held most weeks on Thursday. All are welcome. See the Content Creation User Group Wiki Page for location and schedule information. Will any of my pre-animesh content change? No. Animesh is a new setting for mesh objects. Any content created without that setting should continue to work the same as before. If you see any change in the behavior of non-animesh objects, please report it as a bug. What’s the difference between an animesh attachment and a regular rigged mesh attachment? When should I use one or the other? Animesh attachments have a complete skeleton of their own, so they can move completely independently from your avatar. For example, an animesh fairy could flap its own wings separately from the wings on your avatar (this also means that animations between animesh objects and your own avatar may not be completely in sync, since they are animated independently). An animesh attachment can also become an independent object if it is detached. Regular mesh attachments use your avatar’s skeleton, so if they want to animate any part of your avatar they have to cooperate with other attachments. There are some cases where you could use either an animated attachment or a rigged mesh: if the object uses joints that are not being used for anything else, for example, it animates the wing bones of an avatar that does not have wings, then this could be implemented using either a regular rigged mesh attachment or an animesh attachment. Are there any restrictions on animesh content? The current limits are intended to help manage the performance costs associated with animesh objects: There is a limit to how many animesh objects can be attached to an avatar at one time. Currently this is a maximum of one for Basic and Plus members and two for Premium and Premium Plus members. Animesh objects in-world (ie, not attached to an avatar) will have a land impact that counts against the limits for the region they are in. Currently being animesh adds an additional 15 to the land impact of an object to reflect the extra resources these objects utilize. There is an additional land impact cost of 1.5 per 1,000 charged triangles in the model. All triangles in the highest LOD are charged, but only triangles exceeding a limit are charged in the coarser LODs; there is no LI penalty for LODs as long as each does not exceed half the complexity of the next highest level - for example, if the highest LOD has 10,000 triangles, you could make LODs with no penalty up to 5,000 triangles in the medium LOD, 2,500 in the low LOD, and 1,250 in the lowest LOD. LODs that exceed those limits will be counted against the LI only for any excess above those limits. Animesh objects have a complexity limit based on triangle count. Currently an animesh object can have at most 100,000 triangles in its most detailed LOD. This 100,000 limit is based on estimated triangle count, so the actual number of triangles can often be a bit higher. Attached animesh objects, like other attachments, do not count against land impact. However, they do affect the Avatar Rendering Cost calculations for the avatar they are attached to. The ARC for animesh objects, like the ARC for avatars, incorporates the effects of graphics properties of the mesh objects, and is scaled to be roughly proportional to the land impact - for example, if an animesh object has 50% higher land impact than the corresponding static mesh, then the ARC for that animesh should also be roughly 50% higher.

What is a baked texture and why would I want it on mesh? Major Features Benefits Creating content that supports Bakes on Mesh Wearable and Bake Channels Universal Wearables & Asymmetric Designs Setting a mesh to use baked textures Working with the new channels Working with Animesh Script Support Step-By-Step Example Test Content Known Issues In other languages: Deutsch Español Français Italiano 日本語 Português Bakes on Mesh is a feature to allow system avatar baked textures to be shown on mesh attachments. What is a baked texture and why would I want it on mesh? If you use a standard system avatar, you can wear several texture layers to customize your skin and add tattoos and clothing layers. To save processing time and provide everyone on any system the same view of your appearance, those textures are "baked" by a server into a single combined texture. Before Bakes on Mesh, the only option for custom mesh bodies and body parts to have multiple layers of textures on the same body was to use scripted texture application systems and multiple physical layers. This allows for some interesting effects, including being able to have an asymmetrical tattoo on one arm or leg and not the other. However, there are some drawbacks to this 'onion skin' approach to texture layering. Having more unique layers and unique textures to display on a mesh object uses more system resources than a single textured mesh; there are also typically fewer layers available, making it difficult to stack customizations after the first few layers are occupied. In addition, you would usually need to apply an alpha wearable to the underlying standard avatar body part to hide it so that it doesn't "poke through" or interfere with your mesh body or body part. With bakes on mesh, you can apply system skins and other texture wearables to your avatar directly by simply clicking Wear or Add. The viewer then applies the resulting baked texture to your Bakes on Mesh-enabled mesh body part. The underlying system avatar part is hidden for you automatically so the alpha wearable is not required. You can use different texture wearables with greater flexibility, mixing and matching components to get just the appearance you want. Swap your eyeliner out with ease, add a set of dimples or a splash of freckles, or pop on that cool scar that gives your avatar that extra bit of flare. Any mesh body part that supports Bakes on Mesh will reflect your choices simply by wearing the texture wearable from your inventory. Major Features Any face of a mesh object can be textured using any of the server baked textures. The corresponding region of the system avatar is hidden if any attached mesh is using a baked texture. New texture bake channels have been introduced to give more control over how meshes get textured. A new “universal wearable” is now provided with support for the new texture channels. Benefits Avoid the need for appliers, leading to an easier customization workflow. Avoid the need for onion avatars, leading to fewer meshes and fewer textures at display time. Avoid the need to sell full-perm meshes. The user can customize any mesh that’s set to use Bakes on Mesh by simply equipping the appropriate wearables, without needing to modify the mesh itself. Creating content that supports Bakes on Mesh Wearable and Bake Channels Avatar wearables have traditionally been baked into six different textures (BAKE_HEAD, BAKE_UPPER, BAKE_LOWER, BAKE_EYES, BAKE_SKIRT, BAKE_HAIR) by the baking service. These textures are derived by compositing the corresponding textures in the various wearable items on your avatar. For example, a shirt sets the UPPER texture, and multiple shirts layered together would contribute to the resulting BAKE_UPPER texture. The Bakes on Mesh project added five new bake channels as well: LEFT_ARM_BAKED, LEFT_LEG_BAKED, AUX1_BAKED, AUX2_BAKED, AUX3_BAKED. Unlike the original textures, the system avatar does not use any of these textures. They are purely extensions to allow more control over mesh appearance. LEFT_ARM_BAKED and LEFT_LEG_BAKED are intended to help with making mesh avatars where the left and right limbs have different textures. The AUX channels are general purpose, and could be used for body regions not possessed by system avatars (such as wings) or for other purposes. Altogether this gives 11 possible channels for wearables to use for textures, and for the baking service to produce. Universal Wearables & Asymmetrical Designs New channels aren’t useful unless there is some way to wear items that use those channels To meet this need, a new wearable type called Universal has been added. The Universal wearable has slots corresponding to all 11 of the new and old bake channels. In layering order, universal wearables go above the skin and tattoo wearables, and below all other types of clothing. Asymmetrical Designs The default Second Life UV layer uses a single area for the arm texture which is copied to both the left and right arm. Designers have requested the ability to create content for only one arm for quite some time, and the universal wearables object is designed to make this possible. For example, if you wish to create a tattoo design which only appears on the left arm, you can create a design using the Upper Torso UV map as the basis for your texture. Add your design to the arm area, as usual, but instead of creating a New Tattoo object in the Inventory window, create a New Universal wearable instead. You'll see multiple channels (boxes) to use for your texture. Simply add your design texture to the Left Arm Tattoo channel and your content will be applied only to the left arm of the Baked on Mesh texture when worn. Setting a mesh to use baked textures You can now apply these textures to the diffuse textures of your avatar’s attachments: Right click on the attachment, and click edit and from the edit face menu select textures. Click the diffuse texture icon to open up the texture picker. The texture picker has an extra radio button mode called 'bake' for selecting server bakes. The 'bake' radio button mode has a dropdown for selecting server bake textures. When an attachment is using a baked texture, the corresponding base mesh region of the system avatar is hidden. If a mesh face is set to show a baked texture but is not attached to an avatar, you will see a default baked texture. If you are using an older viewer without Bakes on Mesh support, then faces set to show baked textures will also display as the default baked texture, and base mesh regions will not be hidden. The “fallback” textures for the original bake channels. Viewers that don’t support Bakes on Mesh will show these images in place of the baked textures. You will also see these on any non-attachment objects that are set to use Bakes on Mesh. The new bake channels have similar fallback textures. Working with the new channels The new bake channels are handled a bit differently from the original six. With the original channels like upper body, there are several types of wearables that can affect the contents, and there is always a base layer of skin at the bottom of the texture stack. This means that unless you are using an alpha wearable, your bakes will always be opaque. For the new channels, the only textures are those supplied by any universal wearables you have on, so the resulting bakes can potentially be transparent. Note that this is currently the only way to make the new channels transparent, since there is no "Universal Alpha" wearable (we may add such a wearable in the future). If you want a transparent bake in one of the new channels to be used to make your mesh partially transparent, you will need to set the alpha mode for that face to "Alpha Blending". For example, in this case there is one universal wearable with a transparent ring texture. The texture is applied to the upper body and left arm channels. The alpha mode is set to Alpha Blending. Results: The upper body and right arm are opaque, because there is an opaque skin layer at the bottom of everything. The left arm is transparent and the transparency is applied to making portions of the left arm see-through: With the same outfit, but alpha mode set to None, you would see this. Note that now the left arm is opaque with a fallback color showing under the transparent regions: If you add an additional universal wearable with a suitable opaque skin texture for the left arm channel, you would get this. Now both arms are opaque, regardless of whether alpha mode is set to None or to Alpha Blending: Working with Animesh Animesh objects are treated somewhat differently when attached. Because they have their own skeletons, they are textured independently of the avatar they are attached to. An attached animesh object does not support Bakes on Mesh, and will display any Bakes on Mesh textures using the placeholder textures described above. Script Support Bakes on Mesh works by defining special texture ids corresponding to each of the bake channels. There are corresponding LSL constants for each of the channels, so you can also write a script that enables Bakes on Mesh for a mesh face. The LSL constants are: IMG_USE_BAKED_HEAD IMG_USE_BAKED_UPPER IMG_USE_BAKED_LOWER IMG_USE_BAKED_EYES IMG_USE_BAKED_SKIRT IMG_USE_BAKED_HAIR IMG_USE_BAKED_LEFTARM IMG_USE_BAKED_LEFTLEG IMG_USE_BAKED_AUX1 IMG_USE_BAKED_AUX2 IMG_USE_BAKED_AUX3 These can be used in commands like llSetLinkTexture() or llSetLinkPrimitiveParamsFast() For example: llSetLinkPrimitiveParamsFast(0, [PRIM_TEXTURE, 0, IMG_USE_BAKED_UPPER, <1.0, 1.0, 0.0>, ZERO_VECTOR, 0.0]); would set the first face of a non-linked prim to use the upper body baked texture. Step-By-Step Example Here we will convert a system avatar into a simple mesh avatar that uses bakes on mesh: 1. Log in using a Bakes on Mesh enabled viewer. 2. Enable the Develop menu. If not present, go to Me > Preferences, and in the Advanced tab click Show Develop Menu. 3. In the Develop menu, choose Develop > Avatar > Character Tests > Test Male. You will now see a standard system avatar. 4. You will need a mesh avatar to replace this system avatar. In a web browser, bring up https://jira.secondlife.com/browse/BUG-139234 and download the attached file "aditya_90.dae". 5. In the Second Life Viewer, choose Build > Upload > Model and choose the file "aditya_90.dae". In the upload options, check Include skin weight. Set the model name to "aditya_90". 6. Click calculate weights and fee, then upload. You should now have a mesh model in your inventory called "aditya_90". Attach this to yourself by double clicking it in your inventory. 7. At this point you have a mesh, shown with the white default texture, superimposed on your system avatar. Now we need to convert the mesh to use Bakes on Mesh. This will also hide the system avatar as we go. 8. Right click your avatar and pick edit. In the edit dialog, pick “Select Face”. Click the avatar’s chest to select the upper body. 9. In the Texture tab, click the white texture area. 10. Pick the “Bake” texture option and the “BAKED_UPPER” value in the pulldown. Then click OK. 11. Your avatar should now show the upper body correctly textured without excess white material. What you are seeing is the mesh surface textured with the upper body baked texture. The system avatar for the upper body is hidden. 12. Now repeat the process for the other body regions. Select face on the head area and set it to used BAKED_HEAD Select face for each of the eyes and set them to use BAKED_EYES Select face for the lower body and set it to use BAKED_LOWER 13. Getting all the faces selected and modified correctly is a bit tricky. If something gets messed up just try again with any face that gets messed up. At the end the avatar should look like this: 14. The hair looks wrong because it is an attachment that was not built for this mesh. You can get rid of it by right clicking and choosing Detach. At this point, you have a mesh avatar that’s fully configured to use Bakes on Mesh. You can now customize it the same way you would with the system avatar. For example, take off an item of clothing: Or customize something like eye color using the sliders: If you want to return to the system avatar appearance, just detach the mesh: Test Content There is some example content to help creators who want to get started with Bakes on Mesh: https://jira.secondlife.com/browse/BUG-139234 attached file "Aditya_for_BOM.dae" is an uploadable model file with separate faces for the left arm and left foot, so it can be used with the new left arm and left leg channels. https://jira.secondlife.com/browse/BUG-139234 attached file "aditya_90.dae" is an uploadable model that has the original set of faces defined, corresponding to head, upper body, lower body and so on. Left limbs and right limbs will display using the same textures with this model. Known Issues The following known issues are present in the initial full release of Bakes on Mesh: BUG-225518 "The Bake texture on linked objects is shown with a delay of 5-7 seconds when linked objects are added from the ground". This is a lag in the update of appearance for a newly attached object using Bakes on Mesh textures. BUG-227532 "[BOM] some mesh objects render alphas incorrectly using BAKED_SKIRT when system skirt has a transparent texture in local edit modes". This is a transient graphics issue seen when in local edit mode, when customizing your avatar. Goes away when you leave local edit. BUG-227533 "[BoM] alpha layering errors in local edit mode". Some objects may show incorrect alpha masking behavior in local edit. Goes away when you leave local edit. BUG-227535 "[BoM] Using the skirt channel in a universal wearable breaks the length of any existing system skirt". If your avatar has a system skirt (skirt wearable), and you are using a universal wearable with a skirt channel texture, then the length of the skirt will display incorrectly as maximum length. This is an issue with the baking service rather than the viewer itself. BUG-227537 "[BOM] When Alpha Wearable is applied, BoM attachments with Alpha mode: None turn red". If you make your avatar invisible using an alpha wearable, and then apply this invisible baked texture to an attachment using Bakes on Mesh, you get a solid color, red, shown on the attachment. Probably this should be the base color of the attachment instead. BUG-227536 "[BOM] Avatar does not cast accurate shadow if Alpha mode = Alpha blending". This is a pre-existing issue with alpha blended objects attached to avatars, but may be seen more often with Bakes on Mesh.

How to set permissions on an object Getting permissions back on a transferred object Next owner permissions Bulk-setting permissions Setting default permissions Setting bulk permissions in an object's contents Tip: To see who created a particular object, right-click the object, select Edit > General, and look for the Creator. You will also find the object's Owner listed here. How to set permissions on an object Permissions enable you to control what other people can do with the things you create. Permissions control: Copying: whether someone can make copies of your work. Modifying: whether someone can change your work. Transferring: also known as "Resell/Give Away." If the the object is inworld (rezzed), right-click it and choose Edit, then navigate to the General tab. If the object is in your inventory, right-click it and choose Properties. Permissions refers to the abilities the next owner will have over the object or item. They are: Modify: Checking this lets the next owner modify your creation. Unchecking it denies any modifications. Copy: Checking this lets the next owner copy your creation. If they drag the object from inventory to inworld, they will retain a copy in inventory. Unchecking it denies any copies; if they drag the object inworld it will leave their inventory until taken back into inventory. Transfer: Checking this lets the next owner give your creation to someone else. If the object permits copying, they can sell copies. If the object does not permit copying, they can only sell the original. Unchecking this means the next owner cannot give the object to anyone else. If the object permits copying but not transferring, they can make as many copies as they want for their own uses, but can never give a copy away or sell it. Important: Permission settings set while object is in your inventory are not cross-checked with contents until rezzed. For example if you place a no-copy item in a copy enabled prim the prim becomes no-copy. If you place that prim in your inventory and change back to copy enabled this state persists even after transferring to another resident because permissions are not cross-checked with contents until the object is rezzed. If you are not careful you can allow receiving resident to copy no-copy items. For safety, always make permission changes to rezzed objects only. First, rez a copy of an object to confirm the permissions look the way you want, then take that object back to your inventory. You can now use this verified copy in vendors, in your Marketplace store, or simply to give away to others, knowing that the permissions are correct. 💡 Tip: Use the object's Name to keep track of changes you make by adding a version number at the end of the name. If you have 14 copies of "Fancy Couch" in your inventory, it can be hard to track which one is the most recent. If you add a version number to the end of the name and update it when you make changes, you'll know which copy is the most recent -- "Fancy Couch v.1.1" is newer than "Fancy Couch v.1.0". Getting permissions back on a transferred object Unfortunately, you cannot regain permissions for an object you have given to someone else. Linden Lab is unable to reset permissions on an object; the permissions you give the next owner are permanently marked as the most lenient permissions the object can ever have in the future. If permissions allow, it is a good idea to create a backup copy of an object before you give it to someone else. This way, you always have a copy of the "most permissive" version of the object! Important: Default permissions are no modify and no copy! Always check permissions before giving objects to others. You can set your own preferred default permissions in the Preferences > Advanced section of the viewer settings. Next owner permissions Permissions let you control what other people can do with things you create. The basic permissions include: Copy (whether someone can make copies of your work), Modify (whether someone can change your work), and Transfer. If the object is inworld (rezzed), right-click it and choose Edit, then click the General tab. If the object is in your inventory, right-click it and choose Properties. Under Next owner: Modify - Checking this lets the next owner modify your creation. Unchecking it denies modifications. One exception to this falls under "fair use": an object can always be removed from the contents of another object, even if the container object is no-modify. Copy - Checking this lets the next owner copy your creation. If they drag the object from inventory to inworld, they retain a copy in inventory. Unchecking it denies any copies; if they drag the object inworld, it leaves their inventory until taken back into inventory. Transfer: Checking this lets the next owner transfer your creation to someone else. If the object is also copy-enabled, they can sell copies. If the object doesn't permit copies, they can only sell the original. Unchecking Transfer means the next owner can't give the object to anyone else. If the object is set to Copy but not Transfer, they can make as many copies as they want for their own uses, but can never give a copy away or sell it. Tip: A firsthand way to learn permissions "in the wild" is to visit stores and see how they display permissions. For instance, the shorthand of "MCT" for "Modify, Copy, and Transfer (Resell/Give away)" is often used on packaging. If a couch is modifiable and transferrable but not copyable, it may look like this: Important: Permissions changes to an object in your inventory are not fully applied to contents until that object is rezzed. This can be problematic if you intended to make an object entirely no-copy but gave it away without confirming the contents were restricted. As a safety precaution, make sure to rez and retake objects before distributing them. Other relevant permissions are: Share with group - If an object is set to a group, this allows other members of the same group to edit it, dependent on restrictive permissions. This can make collaborative building easier since for example, group members can move shared objects. As with permissions in general, be careful of who else has access to your objects, and don't enable this if it's not needed. See also "How do I manage objects on group-owned land?". Allow anyone to move - If this option is checked, anyone can move your object. This is rarely used because most people don't want complete strangers either unintentionally or maliciously destroying their building projects. Allow anyone to copy - Anyone can take a copy of the object by right-clicking it, then choosing More > Take Copy from the pie menu. However, this feature can be confusing to use because the object and all of its contents must be fully-permissive and also have Allow anyone to copy checked. As a result, most people opt to use an easier alternative: set the object for sale as a free (L$0) copy instead. Tip: An object or contents item that is modifiable, copyable, and transferrable is "fully-permissive", or in Second Life lingo, "full perms" for short. Setting default permissions The Second Life Viewer includes some features for setting your default permissions. When you create new items, they'll have your chosen permissions set on them by default. Setting default permissions preferences Go to Me > Preferences > Advanced > Default Creation Permissions. A window appears allowing you to specify Next owner permissions. Check the ones you want to enable for each item type; you can set different defaults for different types of items, like Notecards, Scripts or Objects. Uploads refers to both Textures and Screenshots; Settings are Environmental Settings like skies, water, or day cycles. Click OK to save your selected preferences. Setting bulk permissions in an object's contents The second way to bulk-set permissions is when the items are in an object's contents: Right-click an object with contents you want to change. Click the Content tab. Click Permissions button. Check or uncheck content (item) types whose permissions you want to change. You can also click All or uncheck All to select or deselect them globally. By the way, "Textures" and "Snapshots" are essentially the same thing and both are represented under Textures. (Click Help in the "Bulk change content permissions" window for more technical background and caveats.) Similar to setting default permissions when uploading, there's a Next owner section here. Check the ones you want to enable or disable. Doing this is dependent on an item's already-restricted permissions: you can't make a no-copy object copyable. When you're satisfied with your settings, click Apply and wait a few seconds. The permissions are applied.

Prerequisites Cost to upload GETTING STARTED: Uploading your first model Step 1: Choose a model to upload Step 2: Define visual levels of detail Uploading your own LOD files Step 3: Define the model's physics shape Step 4: Upload Options Step 5: Calculate weights & fee Step 6: Upload Bonus section: Rigging options Wearing a model with rigging In other languages: Deutsch Español Français Português Italiano 日本語 Note: This is a basic walkthrough of how to upload a model. For full details on the parameters available for uploading a model, see Model Upload UI reference. Update: Viewer version 3.8.1.303230 modified the mesh importer to (optionally) improve debug output, perform name-based LOD association, and handle models with many materials. For additional information on this update, see the official Second Life Viewer release notes. Prerequisites Before you can upload mesh objects, you must: Have payment information on file. You can add payment information by visiting the Billing Information section of your Second Life account page. Have accepted the IP terms on your account page. If you are planning to use the beta grid (Aditi), you must also accept the IP terms there, but do not need payment information on file. Have at least one compatible COLLADA (.dae) file on your computer. You can create your own by using most popular 3D software packages, or, if you have the appropriate rights, you can download models created by other 3D artists from online repositories. Try our sample content page for a free model if you're just getting started. You may check your mesh upload status at any time by visiting your account page on the Second Life website. Cost to upload There is a Linden dollar fee to upload a model; the fee depends on the model's complexity. GETTING STARTED: Uploading your first model If you're new to uploading mesh models to Second Life, here's a quick and easy set of instructions to get you started. Don't worry about the myriad of controls in the upload window for now; they're for Residents who want fine control over their model's appearance and physics. For a more detailed breakdown of the upload procedure, keep reading below. To upload a mesh model: Choose a .dae file stored on your computer by choosing Build > Upload > Model. If you don't have any models on your computer, you may download some from the sample content page. Preview your model's automatically generated levels of detail on the Level of Detail tab by clicking High, Medium, Low, and Lowest. Notice how the object's complexity is reduced at each level. Click the Physics tab and choose Lowest from the dropdown menu in Step 1: Level of Detail. Step 2 and Step 3 are not required. Click the Upload options tab and check the boxes for any additional features on your model, such as textures. Click Calculate weights & fee, then review the resource weights, land impact, and Linden dollar upload cost of your model. Click Upload to upload your model to Second Life. Tip: To avoid spending Linden dollars while experimenting with uploading models, you may wish to use the Second Life Beta Grid (Aditi). The Beta Grid allows you to test new features and experiment with potentially costly designs in a safe environment, using a copy of your Second Life account. Actions taken on the preview grid cannot affect your inventory or L$ balance on Second Life's main grid. Step 1: Choose a model to upload Second Life accepts COLLADA (.dae) models, which can be edited and created in many popular 3D modeling packages. If you do not currently have any COLLADA models on your computer, you may download some from the sample content page. To begin uploading a model: Choose Build > Upload > Model... Select the .dae file on your computer and click Open. In the Upload Model window, enter a suitable name for your model in the Model name field. If your model includes textures, check the Textures box underneath the Preview pane to make sure the textures are displayed properly. Step 2: Define visual levels of detail Levels of detail determine what your model looks like from various distances. As you get farther away from a model, it renders in less detail to boost visual performance. Second Life generates these lower detail models by default, but you may use this step to tweak each level or even upload your own lower detail models. You can preview your model at any level of detail by clicking High, Medium, Low, or Lowest. While previewing your model at each level of detail, you may change the parameters used for simplifying it from your original model if you chose Generate from one of the Source dropdown menus. For full details on Triangle Limit and Error Threshold, see Upload Model UI reference. Uploading your own LOD files You may upload your own simplified models by choosing Load from file from the Source dropdown menus. You may wish to create your own lower-detail models in order to preserve critical details that may be lost during the automatic simplification process. The mesh uploader uses very strict naming rules for these custom LOD files: File names ending with "_LOD2" must be used for Medium level of detail File names ending with "_LOD1" must be used for Low level of detail File names ending with "_LOD0" must be used for Lowest level of detail File names ending with "_PHYS" must be used for the model's physics shape Additionally, material names must match exactly between each level of detail. Some 3D modeling programs such as Blender automatically change material names to prevent duplication when multiple versions of a model are loaded into the same scene. Material names are sorted alphabetically upon importing a model from the 3D modeling program of your choice, and may not retain the order they had in the original model. If material order is important to your model, you must name them accordingly. For more detailed information on uploading mesh models with multiple materials, see Uploading a multi-face mesh on the Second Life Wiki. Note: If you need to upload an old model that does not conform to these LOD naming rules, you may enable the debug setting called ImporterLegacyMatching in the Second Life Viewer. Access the Debug Settings window by choosing Advanced > Debug Settings from the top menu bar. Step 3: Define the model's physics shape A model's physical shape, as interpreted by Second Life's physics engine for calculating collisions, can be different from its visual shape. For example, you may wish to simplify a very complex vehicle into a square physical box shape, which allows you to have a visually complex vehicle that requires comparatively little physics computation and does not overtax the region's ability to process moving physical objects. You may upload your own physics representation as a .dae file or you may use Second Life's analysis and simplification tools to generate a physics shape automatically. The quickest way to generate a physics model for your object is to choose Use Level of Detail and select a level of detail from the dropdown menu. This creates a physics model based on one of your model's visual levels of detail. Remember that lower physics costs are desirable, so choose the lowest level of detail that reasonably represents the shape of your model. You do not need to complete Step 2: Analyze or Step 3: Simplifiy unless your physics model is extremely complex or shows red lines in the preview window. For advanced information on usage of the physics analysis and simplification tools, see Upload Model UI reference. Step 4: Upload options Before you upload, make sure to include any necessary optional parameters on the Modifiers tab: Scale: Changes the base size of your model. Increasing the scale increases the resource cost. Include Textures: Includes any textures applied to the COLLADA model. The textures are automatically applied to the Second Life version of the model when it is uploaded. Include Skin weight: Includes any skin weight information in the COLLADA model. This option only applies to models that are meant to move and flex with your avatar when worn as avatar attachments. Include Joint positions: Includes joint position information from the COLLADA file. This option only applies to models that are meant to alter an avatar's joint positions when worn as an attachment. Pelvis Z Offset: Changes the vertical positioning of a rigged model. Step 5: Calculate weights & fee When you click Calculate weights & fee, Second Life calculates the download, physics and server weights of your model in order to determine its land impact and Linden dollar upload cost. The base Linden dollar cost to upload is L$10 plus L$10 for each texture applied to the model, and an additional cost based on the complexity of the model. For more information about weights and land impact, see Calculcating land impact. Step 6: Upload When you upload a model, it appears in the Objects folder in your inventory. As with all objects in Second Life, you can then drag it from your inventory to the ground, or you can wear it as an attachment. Bonus section: Rigging options Rigged models allow you to represent your avatar skeleton as a mesh that conforms to your joints and motions. This means that you can wear a rigged model that changes the length and orientation of your avatar's limbs and animates accordingly. If your COLLADA model contains joint position and skin weight information, you can preview how it will look with an avatar's default idle animation by checking the Skin weights box underneath the Preview pane. Wearing a model with rigging You may wear a rigged model by right-clicking it in your inventory and selecting Wear. You may often wish to pair a rigged model with an alpha mask to hide your avatar's normal shape.

The coalesce feature Coalesced object relationships Caveats about coalesced objects Troubleshooting selecting objects Sandboxes Public Linden sandboxes Building with other Residents The group method The friend method Tip: For an overview of the tools available for building objects in the Second Life world, see the Build Tools article. The coalesce feature A coalesced object is a combination of objects taken or returned into inventory together. If you select multiple objects and choose Take from the object menu, they'll be taken into your inventory as a coalesced object Try this experiment to locate your coalesced object in My Inventory: As this experiment shows, coalesced objects are found in My Inventory with the name of the last object selected. When the selected objects are taken into inventory, the coalesced object is located in the Objects folder. When they are returned, the coalesced object is located in the Lost And Found folder. Note: Single objects in inventory have an icon that looks like a cube (), while coalesced groups of objects have an icon that looks like a stack of cubes (). Coalesced object relationships When an object is placed inworld, it has coordinates that identify its location on the grid. These XYZ coordinates are relative to the region the object is placed in. When more than one object is taken or returned into a coalesced object and then rezzed at a new location, each object shows different XYZ values relative to the new location, however the objects maintain their spatial relationship to each other. For an introduction to coalesced object relationships, take a look at this quick tip video: Now that you see how objects maintain their relationships to each other, you can use this information when creating a coalesced object on a large parcel and rezzing that object on a smaller parcel. Since the objects maintain their relative positions, you will need enough square meters of land to rez the coalesced object again. Caveats about coalesced objects Rezzing a coalesced object near a parcel/region boundary may result in objects being returned to inventory. Coalesced objects have prim limits because the time required to rez them can exceed the capacities of Second Life's servers, causing problems when Residents attempt to take complex coalesced objects into inventory. To rez an object that exceeds the prim limit, create a support ticket requesting that the object be broken into a set of smaller objects. Parcel owners can rez Linden trees. When using the Click-Drag-Select method for your content, make sure the selection area does not contain Linden trees unless you are planning to rez the coalesced object on a parcel that you own. Take the same precautions when using Shift-Select. If you have a coalesced object with Linden trees or would like to learn more, watch this video tutorial: Selecting moving objects can cause those objects to go offworld when you rez the coalesced object. Either take those objects into inventory separately, or, if you want to turn off all scripts in all of the selected objects, go to Build > Scripts > Set Scripts to Not Running. Warning: If your coalesced object contains one or more no-copy objects and is rezzed across the boundary of a parcel where building isn't allowed, the content will not return to your inventory, resulting in content loss. Don't rez coalesced objects close to no-build parcels from Torley on Vimeo. Warning: A maximum of 1000 scripts can be rezzed at once! If you are creating a coalesced object with many scripts, try creating objects in sections that contain scripts so that you will be able to rez those objects again. If you have valuable content, take those items into inventory before taking or returning your other items. If you're having trouble rezzing a coalesced object, please contact Support for further assistance. Troubleshooting selecting objects Right-clicking an object and choosing Edit selects the object, opening a floating window with many editing options. Alternatively, in Edit mode, you can drag and draw a selection rectangle over multiple objects. If both of these fail to make object outlines appear (indicating they have been selected), then try the steps below. Go to Build > Options. Uncheck Select Only My Objects if you're trying to select objects owned by another Resident. This includes a friend who's given you permission to edit their objects. Uncheck Select Only Movable Objects if you're trying to select an object you can't move. This is generally determined by Allow anyone to move in the General tab of the build tools, but also applies to group-deeded objects and objects a friend has allowed you to edit. Uncheck Select By Surrounding if you have a hard time using the selection rectangle to select objects. Re-select the desired objects. Sandboxes A sandbox is a parcel of land which has been put aside for building practice. Much like real sandboxes and conceptual sandbox games, these are spaces of creativity and chaos. Several sandboxes exist for specific purposes — such as the Weapons Testing Sandbox — but the majority are simply for regular building. Signs within each sandbox area make it clear what kind of activities are allowed there. Sandboxes usually have auto return enabled to clean themselves several times a day; look for auto-clean info before building, so you aren't caught by surprise. Since sandboxes are experimental, they may also be unstable — be sure to regularly take inventory backups of anything that's important. What is a sandbox? from Torley on Vimeo. Public Linden sandboxes These full-region sandboxes are owned by Linden Lab: Sandbox Cordova - Push scripts off. Sandbox Goguen - Push scripts off. Sandbox Newcomb - All scripts off. Sandbox Wanderton - All scripts off. Sandbox Island - Push scripts off. Sandbox Island Extension - Push scripts off. Sandbox - Weapons testing (no damag - Push scripts on; damage off. Combat (sandbox) - Red Team's HQ - Damage-enabled; you can be killed here (and teleported home). Combat (sandbox) Rausch - Damage-enabled; you can be killed here (and teleported home). Combat (sandbox) - Blue Team's HQ - Damage-enabled; you can be killed here (and teleported home). Zindra Vortex - Located on the Adult continent Zindra. There are also these partial-region sandboxes, smaller than the above but still useful if you're nearby: Sandbox Morris - Near the famed Morris-Ahern Welcome Area. Sandbox Plum - Near Lime, which was at one time a Welcome Area and a copy of the even-older Morris design. Here "landbox" for terraforming - Feel free to reshape the terrain. Watch a video tutorial showing you how. Building with other Residents There are a few ways to allow friends to edit your objects in Second Life. This is often referred to as collaborative building or collaborative creation. It's a useful way to let groups of people work together on a building project. The group method Right-click the object and choose Edit to bring up the object editor. Click on the General tab in the editor. Click on the Edit Wrench to the right of Group and assign the object to the group you and your friend are in. Select the checkbox below. Note: If you want other group members to be able to take copies of your object, you should make sure to set the next owner permissions (Modify, Copy, Transfer) appropriately. Note: Any other group members will also be able to edit the object. Group members can only edit objects that are shared with the group, according to their Group Role permissions. Object-related group permissions (and friend permissions) are explained in this video tutorial: Let friends & groups edit your objects from Torley on Vimeo. The friend method Open your friends list by clicking Communicate > Friends. View your friend's profile by clicking the View profile icon on the far right by his or her name. Click the Gear button on the upper right of the profile window that appears and select Permissions from the dropdown. Select the Edit, delete or take my objects checkbox. Click Save. Important: This gives your friend the ability to edit all of your objects. Making sure you are shown as the creator of an object It sometimes happens that a skin or shape you've modified and prepared to sell still lists someone else as the creator. (To view the item's creator, right-click it in Inventory and select Object Profile.) This tends to happen if you use one of our system default avatar templates in your Inventory's Library > Clothing folder. If the item is fully permissive, then there are no functional restrictions: you can modify and sell it. For the sake of consistency, you may still prefer to have your name listed as its creator. To make sure your name is listed as the creator of an object: Click the Inventory icon on the toolbar. Click the + button at the bottom. You'll see you can make new item types like scripts, notecards, gestures, clothes, and body parts. All of these will list you as creator. Try it and see! While you cannot change the creator of an item, you can copy a modifiable item's settings to another item that lists you as creator. For example, a body shape consists of numerous slider settings, so you can reproduce the shape by using the same slider settings. Important: Respect intellectual property! Don't use the technique above to infringe on someone else's copyright. All objects you originally rez inworld are created in your name. If you link multiple objects together to form a linkset (Build > Link), the last selected prim will be the visible creator when an object's properties are shown, although that doesn't tell the full story. To show all prim creators in an object: Right-click the object. Click Object Profile. The INVENTORY window opens. Click the Details button at the bottom of the window. This opens a window that lists the individual prims and who originally created them.

Adding shared media to an object Using the build tools Drag and drop Next steps Showing shared media at the correct aspect ratio What works? Finding and applying the media's dimensions Aligning the media Entering the aspect ratio Navigating shared media Trying out Shared Media navigation Adding shared media to an object You can add web-based media content to the surface of any objects you are allowed to modify. To add media to an object: Using the build tools Right-click the object and choose Edit. Choose Select Face in the build tools window. Click one face of your object. For example, if your object is a cube, click the side of the cube on which you wish to display your media. Click the Texture tab of the build tools window. Click the Materials dropdown and choose Media. Click the Choose button. In the General tab of the Media Settings window, enter your media's URL in the Home Page field. Click Apply, then OK. Close the build tools window. Important: Make sure to apply your media to only one face of the object! Rendering the same media multiple times can needlessly cause severe performance and bandwidth problems for Residents who view your object. Drag and drop You can also drag and drop URLs and favicons from your favorite web browser onto a prim to add Shared Media. More about this feature is shown here. Next steps To start viewing your media, click the media-enabled surface of your object once. A set of media controls appears, and your media loads. From this point forward, you can interact with your media as though you are viewing it with a standard web browser. Tip: To use Flash, popularly used in a wide variety of media from YouTube to interactive games to collaboration webapps, you need to download and install Flash. Showing shared media at the correct aspect ratio Shared Media is setup to show square media. However, you can change this to fit any aspect ratio. There are three key things you need to know: The media's exact dimensions in pixels. The offset alignment of the media — calculated with an Align button. The aspect ratio of the media — easily calculated using a tool, as we'll see. What works? Content that can undergo this process includes but is not limited to: Direct links to a supported image type, like an animated GIF, JPG, or PNG. Rich interactive media like Flash that's isolated on a page. This technique is likely to fail if there's a page with a Flash media embedded in the middle of whole bunch of other stuff, but usually works if the Flash media is the only thing on the page. data&colon; URIs that fall under the above. data&colon; URIs save you time by letting you show content without having to upload a webpage to a server. Note: At this time, it is not possible to play embedded .mp4 files in Second Life using Shared Media. Watch this easy video tutorial to see how it all works in action, then as-needed, follow the text steps below: Finding and applying the media's dimensions First, view the media in an external web browser. If it's an image, most browsers show the size in pixels (like 500x375) in the title bar. If it's Flash media or something else, try viewing the page source (usually available as a context menu option if you right-click the page). Try this example and look for where it says height="433" width="720". Specified dimensions are highly typical in Flash media embed code. Once you have those dimensions, in the Second Life Viewer: Right-click the object and choose Edit. In the Build Tools window that appears, click the Texture tab. Click the Select face radio button and click the face of the object where your media is displayed Click the Choose button. The Materials/Media dropdown must be set to Media in order to see this button. Under the Media Settings window's General tab, uncheck Auto Scale Media on Face of Object. Enter the exact size in the Size fields. Click OK. Note: If you later re-enable Auto Scale Media on Face of Object, it uses your defined Size as a starting point. Therefore, if you set a very small Size, Second Life attempts to properly scale your media's aspect ratio using that small size. Aligning the media This is easy. Back in the Texture tab of the Build Tools window, click Align. The media aligns itself to "hug" the full face of the prim. If it doesn't, there may be elements on the media's source page that interfere with positioning. Entering the aspect ratio In your web browser, do a pixels-to-meters conversion: Open a calculator such as the Aspect Ratio Calculator or the Continuum Javascript Ratio Calculator. In one set of boxes, enter the pixel dimensions of the media you used earlier. In the other set of boxes, enter one of the desired dimensions of the object. The calculator gives you the other number. Back in the Viewer: In the Object tab of the Build Tools window, enter that second set of metric numbers. The object resizes and the media should appear at the right aspect ratio without undesired squashing or stretching. If you're interested in tweaking your content futher, you could make a Shared Media template. Navigating shared media Some objects in Second Life can display web-based media content, much like a common web browser. If you are already comfortable browsing the web, Shared Media controls should be easy to learn. Trying out Shared Media navigation Find a media-enabled object. These objects are easily identified by the media controls that appear when your mouse cursor moves over them. You can also use one of your own media-enabled objects. Click the media once to give it focus. You must click the media itself, and not another part of the same object. Notice the navigation controls that appear: Back and forward buttons: Cycle through previously visited pages. Home button: Returns the media to this object's home URL. Refresh/stop button: Reloads the current page or stops the loading of a page that is in progress. Address bar: Navigate to any URL by typing it into this bar. Magnifying glass/right arrow button: The magnifying glass automatically positions your camera in front of the media, then changes to the right arrow button, which returns your camera view to your avatar. Window button: Opens the current URL in an external web browser. Try visiting several of your favorite websites to get a feel for how web content is presented in Second Life. Any web pages you view are fully interactive, meaning you can click any links and type into any text fields you see! Note: The creator of a shared media object can disable navigation controls and keyboard and mouse interactivity on it.

Saving textures Texture icons Alpha channels How to use alpha channels and get clothing templates Saving textures You can export any fully-permissive texture from Second Life and save it to your hard drive (or other storage medium). Fully-permissive means you must have ALL Modify, Copy, and Resell/Give away (transfer) rights for the texture. You can check this by right-clicking a texture in your inventory and selecting Properties. Example of a fully-permissive texture: By default, textures you upload yourself, whether it's via File menu > Upload Image or the Snapshot Preview's Save to your inventory (L$10) mode, are fully-permissive for you. So here's how to do it: Double-click the texture in inventory to view it. Go to File > Save Texture As. Give it a name (it doesn't auto-copy the name of the texture), and save it to a directory. If you go to that directory on your computer, you should see a texture.tga file. The TGA file format can also be used to upload textures into Second Life. Most graphics editors are capable of viewing TGA, and there are some free ones, like FastStone or XnView, which can convert into other formats too. This video tutorial shows you how the above steps work in action: Save textures to disk from Torley on Vimeo. In any case, once the texture's on your local disk, you're free to edit it, then re-upload it back into Second Life if you want. You can upload them to a photo-sharing website like Flickr, which has a lot of Second Life pictures in many groups. Texture icons All textures have two icons, and they function the same, but the icon denotes how the texture got into Second Life. If you use File > Upload Image, the resulting texture has this icon and ends up in the Textures folder () and looks like this: And if you take an inworld snapshot (Snapshot button, choose Save to your inventory ($L10), then click Save (L$10)), the resulting texture has this icon and ends up in the Photo Album folder () and looks like this: One other difference is, if someone else sends you a snapshot with the latter icon, it'll end up in the Textures folder. Alpha channels Transparency information in TGA and PNG textures, which can be uploaded with the Second Life Viewer, is stored as a grid of grayscale data called an alpha channel. The alpha channel's pixel values, ranging from black to white, determine the texture's degree of transparency. Transparent textures are used to create organic shapes such as flames, trees, clothing with ripped fabric — just about anything where visibly boxy dimensions are undesirable. How to use alpha channels and get clothing templates Different image editors have different specific implementations. Consult your preferred paint program's manual for guidance, and try to find knowledgeable people who have created the kind of image you want to make. Most image editors have forums or other social networks dedicated to getting the most out of their product. Alpha channels are a critical part of advanced clothing creation. The Texture Tools and Clothing Tutorials pages are good resources to help you get started. For more information, see the SL Creation Forums and Second Life Answers.

Creating and uploading animations Uploading animations into Second Life Using animations Using QAvimator to create animations Creating and uploading animations An animation is a set of instructions that causes an avatar to engage in a sequence of motions. You can create custom animations with commercial and open source tools such as Poser, Blender, and others. Important: Animations should not be confused with gestures. For information about gestures, see Using gestures and animations. Residents have created several animation applications especially for Second Life, some of which are available on the Second Life Marketplace. Check out the Second Life Community Animation Forum for tips, tricks, and links to tools to help you create animations for Second Life. Uploading animations into Second Life To upload an animation into Second Life: Save the animation in biovision hierarchy (BVH) format Choose Build > Upload > Animation (L$10)... in the Second Life Viewer. There is a L$10 fee for uploading an animation for Basic, Plus, and Premium members. Premium Plus members can upload animations for L$0 per animation asset. For more information on uploading an animation, see Uploading assets. Using animations You can use animations in gestures, but don't confuse the two. To activate an animation in your inventory, double-click the animation name. This opens a dialog box with the animation name, a field in which to see or enter a description of the animation, and two buttons: Play Locally allows you to see the animation, but it will not will be visible to others. This is useful to make sure the animation is really something you want others to see your avatar doing. Play Inworld allows those within visual range to see your avatar perform the animation There are many scripted objects within Second Life that contain animations, such as furniture, vehicles, and more. Residents also often use HUD (heads up display) objects to animate their avatars with dances, new standing animations, and emotive animations like laughing or hugging. The interface for using animations inside scripted objects can look very different depending on the content, but most objects have basic instructions on how to use them included in their packaging. The Second Life Marketplace has an entire section devoted to animations -- some are designed to be purchased and then added to inworld content or to be played from inventory directly, while others might be sold as a tool like an animation override (AO) HUD or a dance HUD that contains several animations which can be played by a menu.

.gallery { display: flex; flex-wrap: wrap; justify-content: center; gap: 20px; } .gallery img { width: 300px; height: 200px; object-fit: cover; border-radius: 10px; } How to build objects Getting started Editing prims Using Shift-drag to copy objects Using the Copy selection feature Using the Content tab Linking objects Linking The Undo Feature In other languages: Français How to build objects This page presents a short "crash course" on building in the Second Life® virtual world. Getting started You can create objects only on land that permits building. Land that prohibits object creation is marked Building/dropping not allowed: when you are on such a parcel, you will see an icon at the top of your screen as shown in the image at right. To begin building: Right-click the ground and choose Build to open the Build window. You can also press Ctrl+4 or Ctrl+B or select Build from the top menu on your Viewer. In the Build window, choose the type of basic shape (or primitive) you wish to create, then click the location inworld where you wish to build it. The shape appears (typically with a resounding "whoosh" sound). Editing prims Use the Build window to move, resize, rotate and otherwise manipulate inworld objects. Tip: Checking Snap to grid in the Build window forces you to position objects on an arbitrary grid. This is helpful in making sure that objects line up correctly and are precisely spaced. The video tutorial below discusses working with the building grid, which is useful for precision in building. Topics include: Turning on the grid Adjusting grid increments Adjusting grid snap-to increments Altering grid length Snapping objects to the grid How to use the building grid from Torley on Vimeo. Moving Right-click an object and select Edit. This opens the Build window to the Object tab. Choose Move to enable the Position function. Click and drag the red/green/blue axes on an object to move it around. Clicking on the red (X), green (Y), and blue (Z) arrows lets you drag the object only along those axes. Rotating Right-click an object and select Edit. Choose Rotate in the Build window to bring up the rotation sphere. Click and drag anywhere within the sphere to rotate the object freely along all three axes. Click and drag a specific ring (red/green/blue) to rotate the object only around that axis. Resizing Right-click an object and select Edit. Choose Stretch from the Build window to bring up the sizing box. Click and drag one of the white corner boxes to scale the entire object proportionally. Click and drag a red, green or blue box to re-size a prim's length, width or height (respectively) without changing the other dimensions. If the Stretch Both Sides option is checked, the object's opposite corner moves in the opposite direction. If Stretch Both Sides is unchecked, the opposite corner remains in place. If the Stretch Textures option is checked, the object's textures are proportionally resized together with the object. If unchecked, the textures retain their original size. This means that if you are increasing the object's size, the textures repeat rather than stretching to fill the additional area. If you are downsizing, you will see only as much of the original texture as fits on the smaller object. Entering specific values Under the Object tab (shown above), enter specific X, Y, and Z coordinates to move, re-size, or rotate the object. Changes to these values are always based on the center of the object (the point where the red, green and blue axes meet). Advanced edits Advanced building tools on the Object tab. Slice takes volume from the object. Path Cut removes pieces from within. The Object tab offers several additional options for editing basic prim shapes. Here are some common examples: Path Cut (begin/end): Takes out a slice of the object around its local X-axis (except for boxes and cylinders, which have slices taken from the Z-axis). You can specify where the cut starts and ends. Hollow: Puts a hollow center in the object starting from the center of the shape and expanding out. You can specify what percentage of the radius is hollow. Twist (begin/end): Puts twists into the object, warping its shape as well as texture alignment. Taper: Reduces the size of the top or bottom sides (x or y axes, negative or positive) of the prim. Top Shear: Shifts (shears/skews) the top surface of the object away from the bottom. You can shift the X and Y axes separately. Dimple (begin/end): Cuts a hole in a sphere from ring of latitude (you specify the percentage) to the top or bottom of the Z axis. The dimple cuts straight to the origin of the object (leaving a cone-shaped hole). Slice: Cuts vertical slices from your object along the Z-axis. Three useful features You may find the following features useful as you build and move objects: Show Hidden Selection - Choose Build > Options > Show Hidden Selection to see the hidden contours and planes of a selected object. Show Light Radius for Selection - This feature shows the range of illumination for a lighted object. To use it: Right-click the desired object and select Edit > Features. Select the checkbox next to Light.The object is now a light source. Choose Build > Options > Show Light Radius for Selection to see how far the emitted light from the object travels. To adjust the distance of the object's emitted light, right-click it, select Edit > Features, and click the up and down arrows to increase or decrease the Radius. Show Selection Beam - The selection beam is the line of particles you see when you are pointing at and manipulating objects. The feature is on by default, but if you think it gets in the way, you can disable it: Choose Build > Options and uncheck Show Selection Beam. Using Shift-drag to copy objects You can Shift -drag to copy an object you have permission to copy. This isn't obviously stated in the build tools but is a popular way to copy objects. Here's a simple example: Right-click the ground and choose Build. Click the ground again to rez a generic cube. Right-click the cube and choose Edit. The positioning arrows appear. Hold down Shift , left-click one of the arrow heads, and drag the object. You're dragging the original, and a copy is left behind at the original location. Tip: If you use Build > Undo (Ctrl+Z) after Shift -dragging an object, the original snaps back to its original position — a creative use of selective Undo. You can do this to align it another way. Using the Copy selection feature Copy selection allows you to duplicate selected prims and align them adjacent to each other. For example, if you're copying sections of a wall and Shift -dragging to copy is proving tricky to fine-tune, you may want to take advantage of this alternative. To understand how this works, let's use a simple example: Right-click the ground and choose Build. Click the ground again to rez a generic cube. From the Build Tools window, select Create. Check Keep Tool selected so we can do the following steps repeatedly. Click the Copy selection checkbox. For now, check Center Copy and uncheck Rotate Copy. Now, click on the faces of the cube. Each time you do so, the cube is duplicated, aligned edge-to-edge with a previous cube. Here's what the options do: Center Copy - Copies are centered on the target object, which is useful for neat building in-a-line where you want objects to be aligned along an axis. Otherwise, objects will be placed edge-to-edge, but may be staggered or askew. Note that with curved prims like spheres, this means one of the copy's edges is touching the source, but isn't interpenetrating (overlapping). Rotate Copy - Copies rotate to match the target object, instead of the original values the source object has. This can make it easier to line up something that's already at an angle, such as a house's slanted roof. Using the Content tab If you have permission to modify an object, you ca use the Content tab to:: Drag any objects from your Inventory into the Content folder. Copy or move the contents of an object to your Inventory. Permanently delete objects from the Content folder. To add inventory to the object Content folder: Right-click the object inworld and choose Edit from the pie menu (or press Ctrl-3 and click on the object). Open the Content tab (click More if you can't see it). Drag the desired item from your Inventory into the Content folder. To remove objects from the Content folder: Right-click on the object inworld and choose Open from the pie menu. Use one of the following options: Open your Inventory and drag the contents to your Inventory window. Click Copy to Inventory. Click Copy and Wear. Note: If the contents have copy permissions, a copy is placed in your Inventory. If an object is (no copy), the object will leave the Contents folder and move to your Inventory. Select one or more objects (Ctrl-select more than one object), right-click and select Delete (or press the Delete key on your keyboard) to remove objects without placing them in your Inventory. Important: Objects that are not rezzed, but are instead deleted from a Content folder do not go to your Inventory Trash folder! They are permanently deleted. If the object is (no copy), be aware it will be gone if you select it and press the Delete key! Note: Unlike your own inventory, an object's inventory cannot have two items with the same name. If you copy an item with the same name as an existing item into the object's inventory, the new object will be renamed; e.g. object, object 1, object 2 etc. Linking objects You can link several primitives (prims) together to create one cohesive object. A linked object is, for all intents and purposes, considered one object. It has one name, acts as one object (for example, if physics are enabled on it), and it cannot be broken apart unless you Unlink it. However, a linked object still counts as the sum of its prims when determining your land's object limits. One prim of the object is considered the parent or root link. The name of the parent link is the name of the whole linked object. The inventory of the root prim is, for most purposes, the inventory of the whole object. The center (or origin) of the root prim is the center of the whole object, even if the root prim is not the physical center of the object itself. Vehicle scripts look at the root prim's orientation to determine the "front" of the vehicle. As a result, it is important which prim you select as the root prim. Linking Follow these steps to link together two or more prims: If you are not in the object Editor already, right-click any object and choose Edit, or open the Editor with Ctrl-3. With no object selected in the editor, hold down Shift and click on each prim you wish to link together, one at a time. Make the most important prim and/or scripted prim (root) the last one you select (such as the seat of a vehicle). Then, go to the Tools menu and select Link, or just press Ctrl-L. You can select Tools->Unlink or press Ctrl-Shift-L to break the object apart. Be aware of the following limitations: A linked object cannot exceed 54 meters in any dimension. Normally a linkset can have up to 256 prims; sitting avatars count as one prim each. Vehicles, or any physics-enabled object, cannot have more than 32 prims (sitting avatars don't count toward the physical prim limit). There is no nesting of linked groups. In other words, if you link a third object to two objects already linked and then unlink them it will not yield two groups but three. The Undo Feature Second Life's Undo is used to revert certain changes to an earlier state. While selecting an object, use Build > Undo, or the much quicker keyboard shortcut of Ctrl-Z. Watch this video to learn more: How to use Undo from Torley on Vimeo. Limitations Undo doesn't work if you have: Changed any of the texture settings on an object. (It won't switch back to the previous setting.) Deleted an object. (It won't bring it back inworld.) Added contents to an object. (If you drag a no-copy object from inventory into another object's contents, selecting Undo won't take it out.) This isn't all-inclusive; Undo generally doesn't work for most of an object's parameters. What does undo work on? Undo primarily reverts changes made to the position, size, and rotation of an object. For example, if you accidentally move a sofa inside a wall, undo snaps it back to where it was last. As shown in the video above, Undo can help you retrieve objects lost in walls. If you change the position, size, or rotation of an object using the numerical entry fields in the Build window's Object tab, you must click the object again to bring into focus and make Undo work. You can also use Undo when writing notecards or editing scripts; in this context, it functions similarly to a word processor's, and untypes what you last entered. Undo should also work on attachments. Please note that: Each object has its own independent "chain" of undos which remembers multiple steps. Since this data is stored on our servers, you should be able revert changes to objects inworld even after relogging. Remember that you must specifically select an object to undo changes to that object. (You'll see the positioning arrows and a yellow silhouette glow.)

Normal maps Specular maps Advanced techniques and technical details Normal and specular maps in Second Life are texture layers that convey additional rendering information to the graphics engine. This additional information is used in conjunction with standard "diffuse" textures to add a whole new level of detail to otherwise flat surfaces without drastically increasing either land impact or graphical or server lag. Tip: Applying a normal or specular map to an object does cause the object's land impact to be calculated using the standard land impact parameters rather than prim count. However, the maps themselves do not contribute to the land impact rating. Normal maps Normal mapping is a method of simulating the lighting of bumps and dents on an otherwise flat surface, creating the illusion of a physically detailed surface. In Second Life, this technique can be used to add detail to a geometrically simple object without significantly increasing the object's land impact or sacrificing graphical performance. The normal map itself is stored as a texture, with the red, green, and blue values representing the X, Y and Z coordinates of the surface normal. To apply a normal map to an object you own in Second Life: Right-click the object and click Edit. Click the Texture tab in the Build Tools window. Click the Texture (diffuse) dropdown menu and select Bumpiness (normal). Click the box above the word Texture to open the Pick: Texture window. Choose a normal map texture from your inventory and click OK. The normal map is applied to your object. Specular maps Specular mapping is a method used to define the shape of shiny or reflective areas on a surface. For example, if a textured surface represents a wooden box with metal parts, a specular map can be applied to define only the metallic portions of the texture as shiny. In Second Life, specular mapped surfaces reflect light cast by either the sun or local lights. Specular maps are stored as RGBA textures; The reflected color is tinted by the RGB value (a red specular map reflects white light as if it is red), and the alpha channel conrols the intensity of the reflected environment map. To apply a specular map to an object you own in Second Life: Right-click the object and select Edit. Click the Texture tab in the Build Tools window. Click the Texture (diffuse) dropdown menu and select Shininess (specular). Click the box above the word Texture to open the Pick: Texture window. Choose a specular map texture from your inventory and click OK. The specular map is applied to your object. Increase Glossiness to increase the reflectiveness of your specular mapped area; increase Environment to increase the intensity of the reflected environment map. Glossiness and Environment are also modulated by the alpha channel of the specular map. Tip: If you want to access the Glossiness, Environment, and Color controls for your entire object without applying a specifically shaped specular map, you may click the Blank button in the texture picker for a completely white texture. Advanced techniques and technical details You can find case studies, advanced techniques, and technical details on Second Life's normal and specular mapping features at the Good Building Practices portal on the Second Life wiki.

Why am I not seeing Materials effects in my viewer? What map types are supported with Materials? I just added a normal and specular map and my object doesn't look any different. What's up? What are the system requirements to view Materials? What happened to the flip option on horizontal and vertical repeats per face (which allows tiling of textures)? I’ve updated my repeats and rotation on my diffuse map, but they aren’t updated on the normal and specular maps. How do I fix this? Some colors appear slightly different with the Materials Viewer. Can you fix this? Why are my Materials objects now using Land Impact as opposed to Prim Accounting? I’m seeing what I believe is unexpected behavior when viewing items/building items with Materials. What do I do? List of GPUs where advanced lighting is enabled by default: List of GPUs where Materials is available but not enabled by default: Why am I not seeing Materials effects in my viewer? Your viewer must support Materials. The Second Life Release viewers 3.6.0 and later do. Please check Third Party Viewer web sites for whether or not the version you are using supports Materials. In addition, you must have Advanced Lighting Model checked in your Graphics settings. What map types are supported with Materials? Currently normal and specular maps are supported. Other map types, such as bump maps are not currently supported. Note that bump maps will not work if applied as normal maps. I just added a normal and specular map and my object doesn't look any different. What's up? First, make sure you have Advanced Lighting Model set to on. Then find a movable light source and move it across the surface of your object to see the effect. What are the system requirements to view Materials? OpenGL 3.0 is required One of the following supported GPUs: GeForce 8 and later Intel HD and later ATI Radeon X1000 and later What happened to the flip option on horizontal and vertical repeats per face (which allows tiling of textures)? The flip option just made the repeats value negative, so we now allow these values to be negative instead of providing the flip checkbox. This was done to allow new functionality on the Build Tool while not increasing the size of the floater. I’ve updated my repeats and rotation on my diffuse map, but they aren’t updated on the normal and specular maps. How do I fix this? You need to go to each texture type and set the repeat and rotation values. Currently, there is no way to apply the same values to all maps at the same time. Some colors appear slightly different with the Materials Viewer. Can you fix this? Slight changes to the way colors appear is expected with the new functionality. Materials now supports gamma correction, which changes the color curves, resulting in slight fluctuations in color hue or intensity. Why are my Materials objects now using Land Impact as opposed to Prim Accounting? Moving forward, all new graphics features will use Land Impact to better evaluate the system load so users and creators alike can make more educated decisions about how to build and what to place in their regions. I’m seeing what I believe is unexpected behavior when viewing items/building items with Materials. What do I do? Please file a MATBUG for the time being. Eventually, this will switch over to using the normal BUG project--we will let you know when that happens. List of GPUs where advanced lighting is enabled by default: ATI All-in-Wonder X1800 ATI All-in-Wonder X1900 ATI Radeon X1800 ATI FireGL ATI FirePro M5800 ATI FirePro M7740 ATI FirePro M7820 ATI M76 ATI Radeon HD 6600M ATI Radeon HD 6700M ATI Radeon HD 6800M ATI Radeon HD 6600G ATI Radeon HD 7500 ATI Radeon HD 7600 ATI Radeon HD 7700 ATI Radeon HD 7800 ATI Radeon HD 7900 ATI Radeon HD 7000 Series ATI Mobility Radeon HD 550v ATI Mobility Radeon HD 560v ATI Mobility Radeon HD 565v ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2700 ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3800 ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4800 ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5000 Series ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5100 ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5300 ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5500 ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5600 ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5700 ATI Mobility Radeon HD 6200 ATI Mobility Radeon HD 6300 ATI Mobility Radeon HD 6400M ATI Mobility Radeon HD 6500M ATI Mobility Radeon HD 6600M ATI Mobility Radeon HD 6700M ATI Mobility Radeon HD 6800M ATI Mobility Radeon HD 6900M ATI Radeon HD 2900 ATI Radeon HD 3600 ATI Radeon HD 3700 ATI HD3700 ATI Radeon HD 3800 ATI Radeon HD 4600 ATI Radeon HD 4700 ATI Radeon HD 4800 ATI Radeon HD 5400 ATI Radeon HD 5500 ATI Radeon HD 5600 ATI Radeon HD 5700 ATI Radeon HD 5800 ATI Radeon HD 5900 ATI Radeon HD 6400 ATI Radeon HD 6500 ATI Radeon HD 6600 ATI Radeon HD 6700 ATI Radeon HD 6800 ATI Radeon HD 6900 ATI Radeon 5xxx ATI R580 (X1900) ATI RV570 (X1900 GT/PRO) AMD ANTILLES (HD 6990) ATI ROBSON AMD BARTS (HD 6800) AMD WRESTLER AMD SUMO AMD CAICOS (HD 6400) AMD CAYMAN (HD 6900) AMD CYPRESS (HD 5800) AMD HEMLOCK (HD 5970) AMD JUNIPER (HD 5700) AMD PARK AMD REDWOOD (HD 5500/5600) AMD TURKS (HD 6500/6600) AMD RV635 (HD 3600) AMD RV670 (HD 3800) AMD R680 (HD 3870 X2) AMD R700 (HD 4800 X2) AMD RV730 (HD 4600) AMD RV740 (HD 4700) AMD RV770 (HD 4800) AMD RV790 (HD 4800) ATI FirePro 5000 ATI FirePro 7000 ATI FirePro M Intel HD Graphics 3000 Intel HD Graphics 4000 NVIDIA G100M NVIDIA G 410M NVIDIA GT 130M NVIDIA GT 140M NVIDIA G210M NVIDIA GT 220M NVIDIA GT 230M NVIDIA GT 240M NVIDIA GTS 250M NVIDIA GTS 260M NVIDIA GTX 260M NVIDIA GTX 270M NVIDIA GTX 280M NVIDIA 300M NVIDIA GT 320M NVIDIA GT 330M NVIDIA GT 340M NVIDIA GTS 350M NVIDIA GTS 360M NVIDIA 410M NVIDIA GT 420M NVIDIA GT 430M NVIDIA GT 440M NVIDIA GT 450M NVIDIA GTX 460M NVIDIA GTX 470M NVIDIA GTX 480M NVIDIA GT 520M NVIDIA GT 530M NVIDIA GT 540M NVIDIA GT 550M NVIDIA GTX 560M NVIDIA GTX 570M NVIDIA GTX 580M NVIDIA 610M NVIDIA GT 620M NVIDIA GT 630M NVIDIA GT 640M NVIDIA GT 650M NVIDIA GTX 660M NVIDIA GTX 670M NVIDIA GTX 680M NVIDIA GTX 690M NVIDIA G100 NVIDIA G210 NVIDIA 210 NVIDIA GT 240 NVIDIA GTS 240 NVIDIA GTS 250 NVIDIA GTX 260 NVIDIA GTX 270 NVIDIA GTX 280 NVIDIA GTX 290 NVIDIA 310 NVIDIA 315 NVIDIA GT 320 NVIDIA GT 330 NVIDIA GT 340 NVIDIA 405 NVIDIA GT 420 NVIDIA GT 430 NVIDIA GT 440 NVIDIA GTS 450 NVIDIA GTX 460 NVIDIA GTX 470 NVIDIA GTX 480 NVIDIA 510 NVIDIA GT 520 NVIDIA GT 530 NVIDIA GT 540 NVIDIA GTX 550 NVIDIA GTX 560 NVIDIA GTX 570 NVIDIA GTX 580 NVIDIA GTX 590 NVIDIA 605 NVIDIA GT 610 NVIDIA GT 620 NVIDIA GT 630 NVIDIA GT 640 NVIDIA GT 650 NVIDIA GTX 650 NVIDIA GTX 660 NVIDIA GTX 670 NVIDIA GTX 680 NVIDIA GTX 690 NVIDIA G86 NVIDIA G92 NVIDIA GeForce 6100 NVIDIA GeForce 7900 NVIDIA GeForce 8300 NVIDIA GeForce 8600 NVIDIA GeForce 8700 NVIDIA GeForce 8800 NVIDIA GeForce 9400 NVIDIA GeForce 9500 NVIDIA GeForce 9600 NVIDIA GeForce 9800 NVIDIA G94 NVIDIA NB9E NVIDIA Quadro 2000 M/D NVIDIA Quadro 3000M NVIDIA Quadro 4000M NVIDIA Quadro 4000 NVIDIA Quadro 50x0 M NVIDIA Quadro 6000 NVIDIA Quadro CX NVIDIA Quadro FX 2700M NVIDIA Quadro FX 2800M NVIDIA Quadro FX 3600 NVIDIA Quadro FX 3700 NVIDIA Quadro FX 3800 NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500 NVIDIA Quadro FX 880M NVIDIA Quadro FX 4800 List of GPUs where Materials is available but not enabled by default: ATI All-in-Wonder HD ATI Display Adapter ATI FireGL 5xxx ATI FirePro M3900 ATI FireMV ATI Radeon HD 6300M ATI Radeon HD 6400M ATI Radeon HD 6500M ATI Radeon HD 6300G ATI Radeon HD 6400G ATI Radeon HD 6500G ATI Radeon HD 7200 ATI Radeon HD 7300 ATI Radeon HD 7400 ATI Mobility Radeon 4100 ATI Mobility Radeon 5000 ATI Mobility Radeon HD 530v ATI Mobility Radeon HD 540v ATI Mobility Radeon HD 545v ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2400 ATI Mobility Radeon HD 2600 ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3400 ATI Mobility Radeon HD 3600 ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4200 ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4300 ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4500 ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4600 ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5400 ATI Mobility Radeon Graphics ATI Radeon HD 2300 ATI Radeon HD 2400 ATI Radeon HD 2600 ATI Radeon HD 3200 ATI Radeon HD 3300 ATI Radeon HD 3400 ATI Radeon HD 4200 ATI Radeon HD 4300 ATI Radeon HD 4500 ATI Radeon HD 6200 ATI Radeon HD 6300 ATI Radeon 3000 ATI Radeon 3100 AMD RS880 (HD 4200) AMD RV620 (HD 3400) ATI 760G/Radeon 3000 ATI FirePro 2000 ATI FirePro 4000 Intel GMA 3600 Intel HD Graphics 2000 Intel HD Graphics Mesa NVIDIA G 110M NVIDIA G 120M NVIDIA G 310M NVIDIA GT 120 NVIDIA GT 130 NVIDIA GT 140 NVIDIA 200 NVIDIA G200 NVIDIA GT 220 NVIDIA GT 230 NVIDIA GeForce 7100 NVIDIA GeForce 8100 NVIDIA GeForce 8200M NVIDIA GeForce 8200 NVIDIA GeForce 8400M NVIDIA GeForce 8400 NVIDIA GeForce 8500 NVIDIA GeForce 8600M NVIDIA GeForce 8700M NVIDIA GeForce 8800M NVIDIA GeForce 9100M NVIDIA GeForce 9100 NVIDIA GeForce 9200M NVIDIA GeForce 9200 NVIDIA GeForce 9300M NVIDIA GeForce 9300 NVIDIA GeForce 9400M NVIDIA GeForce 9500M NVIDIA GeForce 9600M NVIDIA GeForce 9700M NVIDIA GeForce 9800M NVIDIA ION NVIDIA nForce NVIDIA Quadro 1000M NVIDIA Quadro 400 NVIDIA Quadro 600 NVIDIA Quadro FX 770M NVIDIA Quadro FX 1600M NVIDIA Quadro FX NVIDIA Quadro NVS 1xxM NVIDIA Quadro NVS 2100M NVIDIA Quadro NVS 3100M NVIDIA Quadro NVS 4200M NVIDIA Quadro NVS NVIDIA Corporation N12P NVIDIA Corporation N11M PowerVR SGX545

1 Overview 1.1 Prerequisites 2 Graphics preferences settings 3 Shadows 3.1 Receiving shadows 3.2 Casting shadows 3.3 Shadows on bumpy objects 3.4 Shadow settings 3.4.1 None 3.4.2 Sun/Moon 3.4.3 Sun/Moon + Projectors 4 Ambient occlusion 5 Depth of field 6 Creating light sources 6.1 Projectors 6.1.1 Limitations 6.1.2 Projectors and shininess 6.1.3 FOV 6.1.4 Focus 6.1.5 Ambiance 6.2 Point lights Overview Enabling lighting and shadows in the Second Life Viewer enables you to display: High quality real-time shadows. Full dynamic lighting for an infinite number of local light sources. Special effects such as ambient occlusion and depth of field. Sky and water environments appear and function the same regardless of whether lighting and shadows are enabled. Note: You must be running Second Life Viewer version 2.7.1 or later to use this feature. Prerequisites This feature requires an OpenGL 3.0-capable graphics card, such as Nvidia GeForce 8600 and 8800, GTX 2xx, or Radeon HD 4xxxx. If your graphics card cannot support the feature, then it is disabled by default, and you cannot enable it. Graphics preferences settings To enable or change your lighting and shadows settings: Choose Me > Preferences. Click the Graphics tab. Click Advanced. Check Atmospheric shaders (under Shaders) and Hardware skinning (under Avatar Rendering). Note: In general, enabling lighting and shadows lowers the frame-rate somewhat; by default the feature is disabled on hardware where the typical frame-rate would be decreased below 10FPS. When Atmospheric shaders is enabled, if your system supports it, you can then enable: Lighting and Shadows Ambient Occlusion Shadows When you check Lighting and Shadows, you can then enable Ambient Occlusion, Depth of Field, and select the desired type of Shadows. To enable Water Reflections, check Basic shaders. Options are "Minimal", "Terrain and Trees", "All static objects", "All avatars and objects", "Everything". Warning: Lighting and Shadows can greatly lower performance and conflict badly with antialiasing. If you crash when trying to enable Lighting and Shadows on an otherwise supported system, disable antialiasing. Shadows Shadows are cast in the direction opposite the sun or moon (or other light source). Shadows start fading away as the distance to the object approaches your draw distance (set in your graphics preferences). Faces far from the camera (more than about 256 meters) will not receive shadows. As they approach this distance, the received shadows quickly fade away. Receiving shadows The following can receive shadows (have shadows cast upon them): Avatars and avatar impostors. Glowing prims. Sculpted prims. Water, ground, and foliage. Particles that are not full-bright (this can produce cool "shafts of light" effects). Full-bright surfaces (opaque or transparent) cannot receive shadows. Key to illustrations in this section: A = avatar B = opaque object C = 39% transparency D = 40% transparency E = 80% transparency F = opaque full-bright object G = alpha texture (per-pixel transparency) Casting shadows Things that can cast shadows: Alpha pixels that are less than 40% transparent. Full-brights, glowies, sculpties, avatars, foliage, ground. Things that do not cast shadows: Alpha pixels 40% or greater transparent. Avatar impostors. Particles. An object that both casts and receives shadows can cast a shadow on itself. For example, an avatar's arm can cast a shadow on the avatar's leg, where appropriate. Shadows on bumpy objects Full-bright bumpy objects render the same as they would with lighting and shadows off. Non-full-bright bumpy objects display realistic lighting for the depth-like roughness of the bump texture, according to the direction of the lighting. Shadow settings In preferences, you can choose to see the following types of shadows: None Sun / Moon Sun / Moon + Projectors None Broadly-speaking, setting Shadows to None looks similar to turning off Lighting and Shadows altogether, except: You experience somewhat smoother lighting from sun, moon, and local lights. Shininess on non-full-bright surfaces looks different. Any number of lights now light the scene simultaneously. Increased accuracy in lighting means that a bright light near a surface may now light nearby points on that surface more intensely than previously. Avatar impostors are lit similarly to non-impostors Sun/Moon Setting Shadows to Sun/Moon causes all qualifying objects to cast shadows and have shadows cast upon them. Sun/Moon + Projectors When you select Sun/Moon + Projectors shadows, objects cast shadows from the light of the sun and the moon and up to two projector light sources. Shadows are only cast from the two most significant projectors in the scene. Point lights never cast shadows. Ambient occlusion You may use shadows settings with or without ambient occlusion. Enabling ambient occlusion causes a subtle darkening of nooks and crannies in shapes. Enabling Ambient Occlusion and setting Shadows to Sun/Moon simultaneously exhibits both effects, with the added effect that shadows are smoother (softer and blurrier). Depth of field Check Depth of field to make objects far from the focal distance appear fuzzy or out-of-focus. Depth of Field On Depth of Field Off Learn more about depth of field — you can fine-tune settings and achieve effects like tilt-shift (miniature-looking scenes), as shown on the login screens. Tip: The depth of field feature can be useful when taking photographs of items for sale inworld and on Marketplace. Learn more about photographing your products. Creating light sources Creating and editing a light source is the same as in previous releases, but the Build Tools provide some additional options when Lighting and Shadows is enabled, as shown at right. The extra options are: Texture-chooser next to the light's color-chooser. Click it to choose a texture for the light. This enables you to create projectors, lights that project a texture. When you select a texture, the following settings then take effect: FOV (field of view) Focus Ambiance The standard light attributes color, intensity, radius, and falloff have the same effect regardless of whether Lighting and Shadows is enabled. Projectors A projector is a light source that casts a directional, textured light similar to that of a slide projector. To create a projector light source, select a texture for it in the build tools. The features of projectors are visible when Lighting and Shadows is enabled. A projector differs from a regular (point) light as follows: It respects the FOV, Ambiance and Focus attributes. It only casts light along its negative Z-axis: the light is directional, and may be pointed at things like a flashlight. Thus, the effect of a projector's light depends on the rotation of the object with the light. The projector's light has the selected texture, tinted with the color selected alongside it, like a slide-projector. A projector's light creates shadows if: You have selected Sun/Moon + Projectors for your Shadows preference. The projector is one of the two closest to the object casting shadows. Limitations Projectors do not project textures onto alpha/transparent faces that have partial transparency. Such faces are lit by the projector as if Lighting and Shadows were disabled. When Lighting and shadows is disabled, a projector behaves like a point light, but it continues to obey the Color, Intensity, Radius, Falloff attributes of the light. This essentially makes it operate like a spotlight. Projectors and shininess A projecting prim reflecting in a shiny surface exhibits a reflection of the prim's projected texture. This is increasingly sharper and brighter, the shinier the reflecting surface is. FOV The FOV setting defines the field of view of the projector, in radians. The field of view is the angular width of the cone of light projected. The possible range of values from 0.0 to 3.0 correspond to widths from 0 degrees to approx 172 degrees (almost a hemisphere of influence). Fidelity of shadows caused by a projector may degrade as the FOV becomes larger. Focus A projected texture appears blurrier the further the projection point is from the projector. The Focus value controls how attenuated this effect is. Positive values keep the projection sharper for farther distances, negative values make the projection start to blur at a closer range. Ambiance Ambiance adds a very blurred version of the projected image to all faces within the cone of influence, regardless of whether they are in shadow or facing away from the projector. The goal is to roughly simulate light influence being diffused in all directions by surfaces receiving a projected image. Thus it is acceptable that this be even brighter on faces facing away from the projector. The brightness of this effect is proportional to the Ambiance value. Point lights Existing in-world point light sources do not cast shadows. Point lights are largely unaffected by the Lighting and Shadows setting, except: The generated light should generally look smoother (less triangular, less delineated, and more rounded in its influence) The generated light may appear brighter on surfaces close to the light source. Lights whose areas of influence overlap may make that area seem lit much more brightly than previously. Every light in the scene will have a cumulative influence on lighting (not just the closest six lights). These exceptions may not apply to light falling upon transparent or alpha-textured faces: faces with a lot of partial transparency appear essentially identical (apart from shadows falling upon them) regardless of whether Lighting and Shadows is enabled. Note: In general, enabling lighting and shadows will lower the frame-rate somewhat; by default the feature is disabled on hardware where the typical frame-rate would be decreased below 10FPS.

1 Sculpted prims overview 2 How to create a sculpted prim Sculpted prims overview A sculpted prim is a primitive whose shape is determined by a texture, called a sculpt texture. You can use sculpted prims to create complex, organic shapes that are not possible with conventional Second Life prims. How to create a sculpted prim Sculpted Prims are created and manipulated in a slightly different way than conventional prims. Check out the following steps to create your first Sculpted Prim: Find a piece of land where you can build. Right-click the ground and select Build. Select any type of prim from the tools window (the default is a Box) and click the ground to create it. Click the Edit button and select the Object tab. In the building block type dropdown menu, select Sculpted. Notice how some of the object editing parameters turn into a colorful texture! That texture, called a sculpt texture, defines the shape of the sculpted prim. You can change the sculpt texture by clicking on it and choosing a new texture from the PICK:TEXTURE window. You can change the position, size, and rotation of a sculpted prim by using the edit tools the same way you would with a conventional prim. Note: If you pick a texture that was not intended to be a sculpt texture (like a snapshot, or some wallpaper), the sculpted prim takes on a crazy, unexpected shape we like to call "texture vomit." These crazy shapes won't hurt Second Life or your computer's performance, but they may hurt your eyes! You can find some free sample sculpt textures on the Sculpt Maps and Textures page of the Second Life Wiki. For information on how to create your own sculpt textures for Second Life, check out the 3D Software Guide and the Sculpt Textures in Paint Programs pages of the Second Life Wiki.

How to make an object do something How to make a temporary object Where to find scripting help How to make an object do something Linden Scripting Language, also referred to as LSL, is a programming language that allows you to add interactive behavior to any object in Second Life. For example, you can make fire, rain, or snow with particles, doors that open when you click them, lights that move or flash different colors — you can even create an entire game. Learning how to write scripts opens up countless creative possibilities, enabling you to bring your objects to life and make them interactive. A script is a list of instructions that are to be executed in the order they are written. Since these instructions are performed by a computer, they must be written in a specific format and grammar (called a syntax). Learning a scripting or programming language for the first time can be a daunting task; however, if you've used other programming or scripting languages, you should be able to grasp LSL quickly. How to make a temporary object Temporary objects are automatically deleted after a short time. This is great for any short-term object you don't intend to keep. Examples include bullets from guns, physics experiments, or test scripts that involve motion or might otherwise get away from you. To make an object temporary: Right-click the object and choose Edit. Or press Ctrl-3 and click on the object. Open the Object tab. Click More if you don't see it. Select the checkbox next to Temporary. Note: Temporary objects don't count toward your land object or prim limits. Where to find scripting help See our LSL (Linden Scripting Language) Portal, which contains links to helpful resources, including the Resident-run LSL Wiki. The LSL Wiki is being actively expanded by Residents as a repository for scripting documentation, since any Resident can edit the Second Life Wiki. So if you've got help to give, you're welcome to share your knowledge. Also, see the Scripting and Scripting Library forums (there are Scripting Tips and Scripting Library archives too, for contributions before February 2010). Be sure to check the Event Calendar inworld for scripting classes hosted by knowledgeable Residents!

Creating clothing Creating new clothing in Appearance mode Creating new clothing outside Appearance mode Video tutorial Creating tattoos Creating clothing Clothing in Second Life® can refer to two things: Mesh clothing items - These include textures that are baked directly onto your avatar mesh in a specific location and order, as well as customizable settings like length and height. There are 9 types of mesh clothing including shirts, pants, and socks. This article covers how to create this kind of clothing. Objects made of prims - These attach to specific attachment points on your avatar. Many clothing designers make prim skirts, cuffs, collars, and shoes in tandem with mesh clothing to create a richer effect. You can learn more about attachments in our articles on building and attaching items. If an item of mesh clothing is modifiable, you can alter it using the My Appearance editor. Note: If an item in My Inventory says "no modify," it can't be changed. You can create custom textures for clothing using an image editor like Adobe Photoshop or GIMP. There are many ways to do this; visit the Clothing Tutorials wiki page for resources such as templates and guides. Creating new clothing in Appearance mode If you want to use a custom clothing texture, select Build > Upload > Image (L$10) to add it to My Inventory. (It costs L$10 to upload an image.) Right-click your avatar and choose My Appearance. The APPEARANCE window opens. Click the Gear icon in the bottom left corner and select New Clothes. Select the clothing item you wish to create (for instance, New Shirt). The item automatically appears on your avatar. Adjust the sliders until the clothing is the shape you want. Click the Texture box to select a clothing texture from My Inventory, or drag the texture from My Inventory onto Texture. It is applied to your clothing item and becomes visible within moments. If desired, click Color/Tint and add an additional color to the entire article of clothing. Click Save As at the bottom left of the APPEARANCE window. Add a description in the text box, then click OK to save your work. In the Edit Outfit tab, remove any item of clothing you don't want to wear by clicking the X to its left or right-clicking the item and selecting Take Off. Creating new clothing outside Appearance mode Click the Inventory button on the left side of the viewer to open the INVENTORY window. Choose a folder in which to create your new clothing item, for instance, Clothing. Right-click the folder and choose New Clothes > [clothing item name]. Rename the clothing item as desired. To add a texture or otherwise edit the new clothing item, double-click it to wear it, then right-click your avatar and enter the My Appearance editor. Click the Gear menu in the bottom left corner and select Edit Outfit. Click the Edit Wrench icon next to the item you wish to edit, or right-click the item and select Edit. Refer to steps 7-10 above to customize your clothing item. Note: All mesh clothing you make using New Clothes will show your name as the original creator. Modifying clothing made by someone else, even if you change the texture, will not make you the creator. Video tutorial This video visually guides you through the above steps. Creating tattoos You can apply images and textures of your own design to your avatar's skin. However, most avatars use the skin texture layer for wearing custom skins and use clothing layers to wear tattoos. Here we explain how to wear tattoos you have created using both the skin layer and the clothing layers. Tattoos, like other forms of texture transparency in Second Life, require a special part of an image known as an alpha channel. The alpha channel serves as a "hidden color" that shows where to draw the texture and where to remain transparent. One such use for alpha channels would be to "paint" a window into a wall without physically building the window. While detailed image editing and alpha channels are beyond the scope of this article, you can find Second Life's fashion templates and other useful information in the Clothing Tutorials page on the Second Life wiki. If you have a tattoo texture you would like to apply to your avatar, just choose one of the following two methods. Tip: Do not use the first method if your avatar wears a custom skin. To apply the tattoo directly to your skin layer: Import your texture into your Inventory by selecting Build > Upload > Image (L$10). (It costs L$10 to upload an image.) Right-click your avatar and choose My Appearance. Click the Gear menu in the bottom left corner of the APPEARANCE window and select New Body Parts > New Skin. Select the appropriate box: if the tattoo is designed for your face, double-click the Head Tattoo box. If the tattoo is designed for your chest, double-click he Upper Tattoo box. If the tattoo is designed for your legs, double-click the Lower Tattoo box. The PICK: TEXTURE window opens. Select and double-click the desired texture. It appears on the part of your avatar you indicated. Click Save. To apply the tattoo as a clothing layer (use this if you wear a custom skin): Import your texture into My Inventory by selecting Build > Upload > Image. Right-click your avatar and choose My Appearance. Click the Gear menu in the bottom left corner and select Edit Outfit > New Clothes > [clothing item name]. Tip: Tattoos usually work best when created on the undershirt or underpants layer so that they appear underneath clothing layers like shirts and pants. Adjust the sliders until the clothing is the shape you like. Keep in mind that tattoos should be skintight. Click on the Texture box to select a texture from My Inventory. Click on Color/Tint and apply an additional color to the entire tattoo if desired. Click Save As at the bottom left to name and save your work.

What is a click action? How to set a click action Click action types Touch/grab (default) Sit on object Buy object Pay object Open Play parcel media Open parcel media What is a click action? A click action enables you to interact with an object with a single left click. In addition, each click action has a special cursor indicating what it does. This makes using objects easier, especially for new Residents. For example, if something has the Buy object click action, you will see a L$ cursor when you hover your mouse cursor over the object. You can then purchase it by clicking once, then clicking again to confirm the purchase. How to set a click action To set a click action for an object: Right-click on the object. Choose Edit. The Build Tools window appears (shown at right). In the General tab, choose the desired click action from the Click To: list. Close the Build Tools window. Click action types You can select the following click actions: Touch Sit on object Buy object Pay object Open Zoom Touch This is the default, and invokes no special click action. If the object is scripted, it responds to what it's programmed to do when someone clicks on it. Also, if you hold down Ctrl (PC) or Cmd (Mac), the cursor changes to a hand, and you can move objects you have permission to. Sit on object The cursor changes to a chair when you hover over the object. When clicked, your avatar sits on it (or tries to), with the same result as right-clicking the object and selecting Sit Here. Also makes it easier to sit on an object instead of right-clicking and choosing Sit Here repeatedly, which tends to result in "No room to sit here..." error messages on narrow and odd-shaped objects. Make stuff easier to sit on from Torley on Vimeo. Buy object Requires the object to be set for sale. The cursor changes to a "$" when you hover over the object. When clicked, a Buy window appears, then you can purchase, with the same result as right-clicking the object and selecting Buy. Pay object Requires a pay script in the contents to work, and is a common alternative to Buy object when choose-your-own-price flexibility, stats tracking, and other options are needed. The cursor changes to a stack of coins when you hover over the object. When clicked, a pay window appears, with the same result as right-clicking the object and selecting Pay.... Open You must own the object and it must have contents to open it. Very useful if you sell content which is intended to be packaged and "unwrapped" from boxes. The cursor changes to an open box when you hover the object. When clicked, an Object Contents window appears, with the same result as right-clicking the object and selecting Open. Play parcel media Requires a parcel with associated media (see parcel media). You can make the media screen itself a click action-enabled object, which allows someone to click on the screen to start or pause a movie. If the parcel movie isn't playing, the cursor changes to a play icon when you hover over the object. When clicked, the movie plays. If the parcel movie is playing, the cursor changes to a pause icon when you hover over the object. When clicked , the movie pauses! The result is the same as clicking the Play button on your toolbar, only more immersive since it's inworld. PARCEL MEDIA: Click actions from Torley on Vimeo. Open parcel media Use this with web pages and similar web media to provide a larger view. The cursor changes to a link icon when you hover the mouse cursor over the object. When clicked, the webpage opens in the inworld web browser OR your external web browser, depending on your preferences. If used on a parcel with a movie, it functions the same as Play parcel media, but with no pause option.

What is Project Bento? New bones, joints, and attachment points Getting started with Project Bento Creating content for Project Bento Creating mesh content Creating animations Frequently asked questions What do I need in order to use the new joints? What kind of content can take advantage of the new joints? I am using a classic (non-mesh) avatar. Can I use the new joints? How will Project Bento affect my old content? What are the system requirements for Project Bento? What features are available to help troubleshoot issues with my avatar skeleton? Show Bones Reset Skeleton More information about Project Bento In other languages: Deutsch Español Français Italiano Português 日本語 Note: Because Project Bento makes changes to the Second Life avatar skeleton, some avatars (specifically, those using the new joints, bones, and animations allowed by Project Bento) will appear to be distorted or "bunched up" to Residents who are not running the Project Bento Release Candidate Viewer. This is expected during the Release Candidate period and will be resolved once Project Bento leaves Release Candidate status. If you are running the Release Candidate Viewer and still observe a distorted avatar, you can reset your view of the avatar's skeleton by right-clicking the avatar and choosing Reset Skeleton. This resets the skeleton for you only; other Residents in the area (including the distorted avatar) will see no change. What is Project Bento? Project Bento is an extension to the existing avatar skeleton to include many new bones, joints, and attachment points. These new bones support rigging and animation to provide the opportunity for a much wider range of avatar body types, facial expressions, and animations than is currently possible in Second Life. The "classic" (default) Second Life avatar is not changing with the introduction of Project Bento, and all the existing joints in the avatar skeleton have not been altered. This means that all existing avatars and attachments will continue to function as designed and will not need to be updated. However, new mesh avatars and mesh attachments may take full advantage of the new joints and attachment points. New bones, joints, and attachment points A full listing of the new bones and attachment points can be found in the Project Bento Skeleton Guide on the Second Life wiki. A summary of the new bones and attachment points: New limb bones - For wings, additional arms, or extra legs. Tail bones - Include your tail in avatar animations. New hand bones - For finer control over hand animations. New face bones - For complex facial expressions, and animating ears and antennae New attachment points - Associated with the new bones. Accessorize your new limbs! Getting started with Project Bento To get started, you need to download and install the Project Bento Release Candidate Viewer from the Alternate Viewers page on the Second Life Wiki. Third-Party Viewer support for Project Bento will not be available until after Project Bento leaves Release Candidate status and is fully released. Once installed, log into Second Life to upload and test content with the extended avatar skeleton. Tip: To see an avatar's bones in the Second Life Viewer, you can use a new option in the Develop menu: Develop > Avatar > Show Bones. Creating content for Project Bento Creating content for Project Bento is very similar to the current process for creating rigged mesh content. With the addition of more joints, there are some new limitations and differences: Creating mesh content As with all mesh content in Second Life, meshes for Project Bento must be created in an external modeling program such as Maya or Blender. These meshes must be exported as Collada (.dae) files for upload into Second Life. Meshes may be rigged to any of the bones or collision volumes of the avatar skeleton, but may not be rigged to attachment points. Meshes may be rigged to a maximum of 110 joints; this is less than the total number of joints in the new extended avatar skeleton, so you must make sure that your mesh does not list more joints than you are actually weighting to. If you need to rig to more than 110 joints, you need to model in more than one piece such that each piece does not exceed the limit. Meshes may include overrides for the positions of some or all of the included joints to change the shape of the avatar. If you are wearing multiple meshes with different joint position overrides, only one of the meshes is chosen to provide the value for the joint offset. To minimize conflicts, define only as many joint position overrides as you need for each mesh. When uploading, you can choose whether to apply available skin weights and joint position overrides to the uploaded mesh. If skin weight or joint position override information is missing or invalid, these options are ignored. Creating animations Creating animations for the new skeleton in Project Bento is very similar to the process for creating animations for existing avatars, with more joints and a few limitations: Animations may be uploaded in .bvh or .anim formats Animations can be applied only to recognized avatar joints and attachment points, which are defined in "avatar_skeleton.xml". We suggest leaving attachment points unmodified, except for a mesh override so non-rigged attachments will behave as expected. The total size of uploaded animations cannot exceed 120kb For additional information on creating and uploading animations for Second Life, see our Knowledge Base article and our community-maintained wiki page on How to create animations. Frequently asked questions What do I need in order to use the new joints? Project Bento is currently available on the main Second Life grid (Agni) using the Project Bento Release Candidate Viewer. What kind of content can take advantage of the new joints? Mesh avatars and mesh attachments may take advantage of the new joints, and newly uploaded animations are able to move them. I am using a classic (non-mesh) avatar. Can I use the new joints? Classic avatars themselves do not use the new joints, but the joints are available for use by attachments. This means that while classic avatars can't suddenly grow extra limbs or use complex facial animation, they can wear mesh-based attachments that use the new joints and animations, such as wings, tails, or even animated masks. How will Project Bento affect my old content? Project Bento does not affect any existing content in Second Life. All existing avatars and animations should continue to function as they were designed. What are the system requirements for Project Bento? Some older graphics cards and drivers may encounter difficulty rendering the increased number of joints, and you may experience a change in framerate as a result. If possible, upgrade your OS or driver to the latest version. What features are available to help troubleshoot issues with my avatar skeleton? The Second Life Viewer includes some tools to help troubleshoot or fix problems you may encounter with avatar skeletons. Show Bones You can view avatar bones by selecting Develop > Avatar > Show Bones from the top menu bar. If you cannot see the Develop menu, you can enable it by checking Show Develop Menu under the Advanced tab of the Preferences window. While enabled, the Show Bones feature shows avatar bones as colored lines: Red - If there is a joint position defined for the bone. Cyan - If the bone is rigged to at least one mesh. Green - In all other cases. Note that the Show Bones feature can negatively impact the performance of the Second Life viewer and is not intended for routine use. Reset Skeleton When something has gone wrong with an avatar's skeleton or animations, you can reset the avatar's skeleton by right-clicking the avatar and selecting either Reset Skeleton or Reset Skeleton And Animations. Choosing Reset Skeleton restores the avatar to its correct state by resetting it to its default position, then applying the appropriate sliders and joint positions. Choosing Reset Skeleton And Animations resets the avatar's skeleton as described above, and also resets the avatar's animations. When applied to another Resident's avatar, this resets the state of their active animations but does not stop them; no changes will be visible to other Residents. When applied to your own avatar, all animations on your avatar are stopped, and other Residents are able to see the change. Note that Reset Skeleton and Reset Skeleton And Animations affects only your Second Life Viewer and do not affect other Residents (with the exception of stopping animations on your own avatar). More information about Project Bento Follow the discussion on our Creation Forum, or read our initial announcement on the Second Life Blog. For more detailed information on how to test Project Bento and provide feedback, please see Project Bento Testing on the Second Life Wiki. A full list of the new bones and attachment points introduced with Project Bento can be found on the Second Life Wiki, in BentoSkeletonGuide.

HUD basics Using HUDs Troubleshooting HUDs Moving your HUDs If wearing one HUD makes another disappear If you can't see your HUD Advanced usage HUD basics A heads-up display (HUD) is a two-dimensional user interface element that controls inworld elements, such as your avatar or animations. A HUD typically consists of a control panel with buttons that do certain things; you activate it by "wearing" it as you would an article of clothing. HUDs are created by Residents using LSL. For more information, see HUD. HUDs are used in many kinds of products where information needs to be directly communicated to you. Popular uses include: Animation overrides - Click buttons to change how your avatar looks when moving. Books - HUDs are useful for viewing info that may be tricky to camera-zoom in on. Combat systems and games - See your health, stamina, experience points, and other relevant in-game info. An HUD can be a whole game experience, similar to casual gaming in a web browser. (In fact, with Shared Media, an HUD can show Flash-based games.) Customizable attachments - Click color swatches to change your hair, clothes, shoes, or more exotic accessories like neko tail and ears. Make particle effects (like fire and smoke). Multi-tools - Gadgets that consolidate various practical functions in one HUD. Photo enhancements Vehicles - Use HUDs to display features such as dashboards with speedometers, gear indicators, and distance traveled. Location - Shows a GPS position indicating where you are on the sim with the X and Y location on a map. Tip: You can browse and buy many HUDs on the Second Life Marketplace Using HUDs After you get a HUD (and unpack it if necessary), it appears in your inventory, perhaps in a folder (with notecard instructions and a landmark to the store it came from). Right-click the HUD and select Wear to automatically attach it to the point the HUD creator set when they made it. If there are buttons, they may be labeled, and you can often safely explore by clicking them to see what they do. Note: Any Second Life object can be attached to any attachment point. However, attaching something as a HUD that is not designed as one may not be very useful. For example, attaching a house object may show up as a big, wood-textured square that obscures your field of view. Troubleshooting HUDs Moving your HUDs To move an HUD you're wearing: Right-click the HUD onscreen (not in your inventory) and select Edit. Drag the arrowheads to reposition the HUD. The HUD remembers its position the next time you log in. In some circumstances (like a sudden Viewer crash), the HUD may forget its position, so use this workaround in addition to the above: Right-click the HUD and select Detach. Find the HUD in your inventory, right-click it and select Wear. Reposition the HUD following the steps above. If wearing one HUD makes another disappear These HUDs are being worn on the same attachment point. To solve the problem: In your inventory, right-click one of the HUDs and select Attach To HUD. You will see the list of attachment points and, in brackets, which HUDs are currently attached to them. Select an attachment point that isn't already occupied. Reposition the HUD as desired using the steps above. Also, in Viewer 2.4 and newer, you can attach multiple objects to the same point. If you can't see your HUD Follow these steps to retrieve an off-screen HUD. Create a cube. Right-click the cube and select Put On > Attach HUD > Center. Move your scroll wheel down or hold Alt + left mouse button and drag your mouse cursor down. The screen reduces and anything offscreen becomes viewable. Locate the missing HUD and put it into edit mode by right-clicking on it and selecting Edit. Using the arrows that appear in edit mode, move the missing HUD back onto the screen. Scroll the mouse wheel or hold Alt + left mouse button and move the mouse up to bring it back to size. Right-click the cube you attached as a HUD and select Detach. If the HUD is hidden: Go to World > Show > Advanced menu. From the Advanced menu at the top of the Viewer window, select Highlighting and Visibility > Show HUD Attachments. Advanced usage For advanced information on using HUDs, see Creating HUDs.