About First Look

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This article is part of the Second Life® Knowledge Base. Although Linden Lab can't guarantee its accuracy, as part of the Knowledge Base it must meet high quality standards, and designated reviewers must approve any changes.

Sometimes, we develop a new and interesting feature that we want to obtain Resident feeback about, to help refine or test it before we incorporate it into the true Second Life Viewer. When that happens, we release a First Look Viewer; this is literally your "first look" and opportunity to try a new feature.

How is First Look different than the preview grid?

The First Look Viewer connects to the main grid, while the preview grid Viewer connects to a special test grid that is separate from the main grid. On the preview grid, for instance, you can spend Linden Dollars inside the testing grid without actually affecting your true Linden Dollar balance. If you're using the First Look Viewer, you're getting a chance to try out some interesting new features, but remember that every transaction and interaction (like spending Linden Dollars) is taking place in the "real" Second Life, just as though you are logged in with the official Viewer.

Why should I install the First Look Viewer?

Good question! You might install the First Look viewer to get a sneak-peek at a nifty new feature (or features) while we test and tweak it for the maximum quality possible.

One thing about the First Look Viewer is that these new features are still undergoing some revisions. If you're looking for information on those new features, you can most likely find up-to-date information elsewhere on the wiki that describes the development project in more detail.

What happens next?

After a feature is shown in First Look and then undergoes more development, it often appears in a Release Candidate viewer, which is the last step for public testing before a feature becomes part of the official Second Life Viewer.

Go give it a try by seeing if any First Look Viewers are listed on our Downloads page!