Second Life Wiki - User contributions [en]

Limits

2014-06-10T18:46:25Z

Perrie Juran: /* Communication */

<noinclude>{{KBmaster}}</noinclude>
== Summary ==
{{RightToc}}
The Second Life Viewer and simulators have a division of labor, keeping track of the data that makes Second Life run. The Viewer's job is to:

* Handle locations of objects.
* Get velocities and other physics information, and does simple physics to keep track of what is moving where.

The simulator's job is to:

* Run the physics engine.
* Detect collisions.
* Keep track of where everything is
* Send locations of content to the Viewer along with updates when certain changes occur.

Limits are necessary for all of these components to work together. The list below outlines many of the '''Second Life numerical limits that affect your inworld experience'''. Some of these will likely change over time, so if you spot something incorrect/outdated, please take a moment to update it.

{{KBcaution|1=The scope of this page is focused on Linden Lab's official Viewers, keeping in mind [[Third_Party_Viewer_Directory|3rd-party viewers may differ]]. Cite sources and provide substantiation for limits that aren't provided by Linden Lab. Also, unconfirmed speculation [[Talk:Limits|goes on this discussion page]]. Don't add data without a hard limit, and don't add obscure trivia that doesn't practically affect the general inworld experience.|width=80%}}

== [[Avatar]] ==

* '''Max. # of attachments''' - 38 combined [[HUD]] or body attachments.
** They can be viewed by right-clicking your avatar and choosing '''Edit My Outfit'''.
** With the formal introduction of [[multiple attachments|multiple attachments to a single point]] in Viewer 2.4, you can attach up to 38 total objects, and they can all be attached to a single point.
* '''Max. # of clothing layers per slot''' - 5 (this includes alpha and Tattoo Layers)
* '''Max Clothing Texture''' - 512x512 px (except 128x128 px for eyes) - Server Side Appearance will downsize larger textures.
* '''Max. unassisted fly height''' - Stable hover at current ground elevation ''plus'' 5020m.
** You can easily acquire a flight attachment to fly high. Also see [[flight limit]] and [[Limits#Navigation|the Navigation section]] below.
* '''Common shoe sizes''' - Most women's shoes are designed for a size 0 (zero) foot. Men's generally scale up to 14.
** You can check this by going to Edit menu > Appearance and clicking on the Shape > Legs tab.

* '''Max. length of avatar name''' - 31 for first name, 31 for last name, 63 in total (including the space).

* '''Max. length of {{LSLGC|Username}}''' - All lower case and a maximum of 63 including the '.'(eg; firstname.lastname)
**Older account user names are a combination of the First and last name in lower case separated by a period(.)(eg; lilmix.pixelmaid)
**Modern user names are a single name(no period)(eg; john1234) - '''Max.''' length is 31 characters
**The {{LSLGC|Legacy Name}}s for modern user names always shows Resident as the last name. So the Max is 40 characters in total for a new avatar's legacy name(including the space and last name 'Resident')
*'''Min. length of [[Display_Names]]''' - At least one script character
*'''Max. length of Display Names''' - 31 characters
**Display Names can include most Unicode script characters, spaces, and some punctuation.

* '''Max. avatar speed''' - 250m/s (with only attachments to assist)
* '''Max. teleport speed''' - 10 teleports per 15 seconds, since SL server 1.27.1

== [[Animation]] ==

{| class="sortable" width="100%" {{Prettytable}}
|- {{Hl2}}
! '''Limit affects'''
! '''Lower limit'''
! '''Upper limit'''
! '''Comment'''
! '''More coverage'''
|-
||Length of animation
| n/a
| {{no|60.0 seconds}}
| Limited by length or Size, whichever is reached first
| n/a
|-
||Size of Animation
| n/a
| {{no|120k bytes}}
| Limited by length or Size, whichever is reached first. Size is after conversion to SL [[Internal Animation Format|internal animaton format]], not BVH source which can be much larger.
| n/a

|-
||animation priority
| {{no|0}}
| {{no|4, with custom tools 6}}
| n/a
| [[Animation_Priority]]
|-
||Number of unique joints per animation
| n/a
| {{no|32}}
| n/a
| n/a
|}

== [http://community.secondlife.com/t5/English-Knowledge-Base/Build-Tools/ta-p/700039 Building] ==

{| class="sortable" width="100%" {{Prettytable}}
|- {{Hl2}}
! '''Limit affects'''
! '''Lower limit'''
! '''Upper limit'''
! '''Comment'''
! '''More coverage'''
|-
||[[Prim]] dimensions
| {{no|<0.01, 0.01, 0.01>}}
| {{no|<64.0, 64.0, 64.0>}}
| Used to be <10.0, 10.0, 10.0> prior to Second Life Server version 11.08.17.238770
| [[llSetScale]], [[PRIM_SIZE]] and [[Megaprim]]
|-
||Number of prims in a linkset
| n/a
| {{no|256 prims}}
| Used to be 255 prior to Second Life Server version 1.26
| n/a
|-
||Linking distance
| n/a
| {{no|[[Linkability_Rules]]}}
| n/a
| n/a
|-
||[[Mesh/Mesh_physics#Physics_Resource_Cost|Physics cost]] for a physical object
| n/a
| {{no|32.0}}
||Additional notes:
* If you try to link more, it'll either say "Can't enable physics for objects with more than 32 primitives" or "Object has too many primitives -- its dynamics have been disabled.".
* On server versions 1.38 and below, each sitting avatar counted as 1 prim. From 1.40.2 the limit is only on actual prims.
| [[OBJECT_PHYSICS_COST]]
|-
||Build or rez height
| n/a
| {{no|4096.0 meters}}
| 768.0 meters for Viewers prior to version 1.20
| n/a
|-
||Prim name length
| n/a
| {{no|63 bytes UTF-8 [[String|string]]}}
| same limit for {{LSLGC|Avatar/Name|avatar names}}, although the character set for avatar names is significantly limited.
| n/a
|-
||Prim description length
| n/a
| {{no|127 bytes UTF-8 [[String|string]]}}
| n/a
| n/a
|-
||Temporary prims' lifetime
| n/a
| {{no|up to around 60 seconds}}
| depends upon when the next garbage collector cycle is
| n/a
|-
||Number of temporary prims
| n/a
| {{no|RegionPrimLimit - NumberOfPrimsInRegion + Minimum(0.5*RegionPrimLimit, 1000)}}
| n/a
| n/a
|-
||Length of hovertext
| n/a
| {{no|254 bytes UTF-8 [[String|string]]}}
| n/a
| [[llSetText]] and [[PRIM_TEXT]]
|}

== [[Communication]] ==

{| class="sortable" width="100%" {{Prettytable}}
|- {{Hl2}}
! '''Limit affects'''
! '''Lower limit'''
! '''Upper limit'''
! '''Comment'''
! '''More coverage'''
|-
||Whisper distance
| n/a
| {{no|10 meters}}
| <code>/whisper</code> as the first few characters in a message can be used in viewer-2-code based viewers in local chat.
| n/a
|-
||Chat distance
| n/a
| {{no|20 meters}}
| text spoken as a "chat" step '''within gestures''' cannot be shouted or whispered. /whisper and /shout ''can'' be used in the "Replace with" field.
| n/a
|-
||Shout distance
| n/a
| {{no|100 meters}}
| <code>/shout</code> as the first few characters in a message can be used in viewer-2-code based viewers in local chat.
| n/a
|-
||Length of a chat message and whether or not it is truncated
| {{no|1 byte or single-byte character}}
| {{no|1024 bytes or single-byte characters}}
| Limit does not apply to instant messages via [[llInstantMessage]] and communication between IM and email, the limit there is 1023 bytes or single-byte characters.
| [[llInstantMessage]]
|-
||Number of offline messages
| n/a
| {{no|Capped at 25 messages.}}
| Number of offline messages (involving [[IM|IMs]], inventory offers, group notices, group invitations) received before messages get capped. Note: If autoAcceptNewInventory (debug setting) is set to TRUE (the default is FALSE), then all inventory offers, even above 25, go directly to inventory and do not count against the cap on offline messages.
| [[IM]]
|-
||Length of a properly delivered email reply to an [[IM]]
| n/a
| {{no|1023 bytes or single-byte characters}}
| n/a
| n/a
|-
||Time after which a reply to an [[IM]] can be sent via email.
| {{no|when receiving the IM via email.}}
| {{no|5 days after receiving the offline IM via email.}}
| n/a
| [https://blogs.secondlife.com/community/features/blog/2007/02/06/im-to-e-mail-return-addresses-changing Second Life Blogs]
|-
||Time period for which [[IM|IMs]] are stored within Second Life.
| n/a
| {{no|31 days after receiving the [[IM]]}}
| [[User:Torley_Linden|Torley Linden]] confirmed this with [[User:Kelly_Linden|Kelly Linden]]
| n/a
|-
||Number of [[IM|IMs]] sent by an object within an hour
| n/a
| {{no|5000 per hour}}
| n/a
| n/a
|}

== [[Gesture]]s ==

{| class="sortable" width="100%" {{Prettytable}}
|- {{Hl2}}
! '''Limit affects'''
! '''Lower limit'''
! '''Upper limit'''
! '''Comment'''
! '''More coverage'''
|-
||Shortcut key mappings
| n/a
| {{no|33 unique combinations, since {{K|F2}}–{{K|F12}} can be used with the {{K|Ctrl}} or {{K|Shift}} modifiers.}}
| n/a
| [[All_keyboard_shortcut_keys]] and [http://community.secondlife.com/t5/English-Knowledge-Base/Keyboard-shortcuts/ta-p/1086557 the knowledge base]
|-
||Chat step length
| n/a
| {{no|127 bytes or single-byte characters}}
| n/a
| n/a
|-
||Wait time
| n/a
| {{no|3600 seconds (which is one hour)}}
| n/a
| n/a
|}

== [[Group]]s ==

* '''Maximum number of groups you can belong to:''' 42
** Roles within groups are sort of like sub-groups. In many cases, you can use them instead of creating new groups.
* '''Minimum number of members in a group:''' 2
** A group with only 1 person for 48 hours will be disbanded (cancelled). Unless the group owns land.
* '''Maximum number of roles allowed in a group:''' 10 (including "Owners" and "Everyone", which cannot be deleted)
* '''Maximum Group Name:''' 35 single-byte characters.
* '''Maximum Group Title:''' 20 single-byte characters.
* '''Maximum Length of a Group Notice:''' 512 single-byte characters.

== [[Inventory]] ==

* '''Maximum number of inventory items that can be sent in a folder:''' 42
** Folders count as items too. This has more to do with packet size limits than cheeky Douglas Adams references.
* '''Maximum number of inventory items that can be contained in a prim:''' None, but more items increase the loading time when you open it.
* '''Maximum characters in an inventory item name:''' 63
* '''Maximum notecard line:''' None, but scripts can only read the first 255 bytes.
* '''Maximum notecard size:''' 65,536 bytes
* '''Number of items in the Library:''' 1,248 as of 2010-06-17
* '''Number of items in the Library:''' 2,210 as of 2012-11-04
** Verified by [[How_does_the_Library_work|hiding the Library]] and counting the difference.
* '''Maximum number of inventory items displayed in a single inventory folder:''' Several thousand. 
** This was discussed during [http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Simulator_User_Group/Transcripts/2011.03.08] "the folder will load up to the limit number of items, and remaining ones won't show up in the viewer. you still own them, they aren't lost, but they will be hidden until the folder size is reduced."
** There is no specified limit for total avatar inventory, very large folders can be split.

== [[Land]] ==

* '''Maximum [[Land#Parcel|parcel]] size:''' 65,536 meters²
** Covering a whole region, or square on the World Map.
* '''Minimum parcel size:''' 16 meters²
* '''Maximum parcel name length:''' 63 single-byte characters
* '''Maximum parcel description length:''' 255 characters
* '''Region name length:''' Under Linden Concierge policy, minimum of 3 characters, and a maximum of 25 characters (including spaces). See [[Linden Lab Official:Guidelines for Private Region Naming|Guidelines for Private Region Naming]].
** Rare exceptions exist, like [http://slurl.com/secondlife/X/128/128/24 X].
* '''Maximum ban line height for "no entry" or "pay to access"''' (in other words, "allow public access" is turned off in the parcel options) is the parcel's ground elevation ''plus'' 50 meters. If a user is '''explicitly banned by name''', the height is the parcel's ground elevation ''plus'' 5000 meters. On current viewers this is visible to the full extent.
* '''Maximum prims in a [[Land#Region|region]]:'''
** Full region: 15,000
** [[Land#Homestead|Homestead]]: 3,750
** [[Land#Openspace|Openspace]]: 750
* '''Maximum auto return value''': Besides "0" (which means ''never''), {{HoverText|999,999|Almost 23 months}} minutes is the highest auto return value.
* '''Terraforming limits:'''
** Most mainland can be raised/lowered by 4 meters (+/-).
** Some mainland cannot be terraformed, including: Bay City regions, Boardman, Brown, De Haro, Kama City regions, Nautilus City regions, Nova Albion regions, and Shermerville regions.
** [http://community.secondlife.com/t5/English-Knowledge-Base/Linden-Homes/ta-p/700103 Linden Homes] do not allow terraforming.
** A few, very old mainland Regions like Da Boom have a terraform range of 40 meters (+/-).
** Estate (private island) terraformability is settable to a maximum of 100 meters (+/-) by the estate owner or managers.
* '''Maximum water height:''' 100 meters using inworld controls, 255 meters by using a *.raw file upload.
** Region water height is usually 20 meters, and adjacent regions should have the same water height, or else they will look discontinuous.
* '''Maximum terrain height:''' 255 meters using inworld controls (mainland limit), 510 meters by using a *.raw file upload.
* '''Miscellaneous estate limits:''' You can have a maximum of 10 estate managers, 500 allowed Residents, 63 allowed groups, and 500 banned Residents.
** See World menu > Region/Estate > Estate tab.
* '''Maximum number of agents'''
** Full region: 100 (Typically set to 40 on mainland, 55 on Linden Homes regions, but this does vary. Some meeting areas have this set to 60 and higher.)
*** Recent server performance improvements make regions with 60 agents in them perform quite well.
** [[Land#Homestead|Homestead]]: 20
** [[Land#Openspace|Openspace]]: 10
* '''Freeze Time:''' Land owners can [[freeze]] other Residents for up to 30 seconds. Members of land owning groups can also be granted this ability.
* '''Minimum parcel that can be listed in Places or All search:''' 144 meters² 
* '''Minimum parcel that can be listed in Events:''' 512 meters²
* '''Maximum altitude for event listings:''' 768 meters ({{JIRA|WEB-814}})
* '''Maximum heights that objects can be seen on the [[World Map]]:''' 400.005m

== [[Mesh]] ==

{| class="sortable" width="100%" {{Prettytable}}
|- {{Hl2}}
! '''Limit affects'''
! '''Lower limit'''
! '''Upper limit'''
! '''Comment'''
! '''More coverage'''
|-
||Number of vertices
| n/a
| {{no|65536 vertices per LOD for each [[mesh]] - See [[Talk:Limits#Mesh_Limits|discussion page]]}}
| n/a
| n/a
|-
||COLLADA file size
| n/a
| {{no|Maximum mesh asset size after compression is 8 MB, roughly equivalent to a 256 MB Raw COLLADA file.}}
| n/a
| n/a
|-
||Bone influence weights per vertex
| n/a
| {{no|4}}
| n/a
| n/a
|-
||Number of materials per mesh
| n/a
| {{no|8}}
| n/a
| n/a
|-
||Number of materials per face
| n/a
| {{no|1}}
| n/a
| n/a
|-
||Physics weight for a vehicle
| n/a
| {{no|32.0}}
| n/a
| n/a
|}

===User Found Temporary Mesh limits:===
''Because of an apparent bug in the importer stay within these limits.''
* 174,752 triangles, beyond which additional triangles will appear as holes.
* The 64k vertices per material is pre-empted by a limit of 21,844 triangles per material, which is presently reported as {{Jira|BUG-1001}}. (4/2014 - See [[Talk:Limits#Mesh_Limits|discussion page]])

:: The import process will continue making new materials beyond 8 x 21,844 (=174,752) triangles, but the extra triangles then get dropped by the limitation to 8 materials, causing holes in the resulting object. Over the 21,844 triangle limit, the vertex count will start to climb steeply, even with smooth shading, because the materials get highly interspersed. So the same vertices have to appear in multiple material lists. So the moral of the story is to stay below 21,844 triangles per material, for now, if you want to avoid some unexpected effects.

== Misc. ==

*'''[https://secondlife.com/currency/describe-limits.php Billing and Trading Limits]''' - Includes [https://secondlife.com/whatis/economy-market.php LindeX] currency exchange limits.
*'''Contacts in Communication > Friends tab ''' - A maximum of 20 simultaneous contacts can be selected to change permissions, remove, or invite for a conference chat.

== Navigation ==

[[File:Max Alt.jpg|thumb|right|435px|'''Height counter error above 2147483647 meters''']]
* '''Absolute height limit:''' [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2147483647#2147483647_in_computing 2147483647] = 231 − 1 meters, which causes the altitude counter to roll over. Altitudes well below this cause graphics errors probably due to limited floating point number precision.
* '''Highest z-value of an [[SLurl]], that will still teleport you to a positive altitude:''' 4096
** This used to be much higher, but is clamped in late model viewers.

== [[Profile]] ==

Each 7-bit ASCII character is encoded in one byte. International characters might need more bytes. When pasting text instead of typing, you can get in one byte more into each of the below.

* '''2nd Life tab's About field''' - 510 bytes
* '''Picks tab''' - 10 picks with 1022 bytes each
* '''1st Life tab's Info field''' - 253 bytes
* '''Classified tab''' - 100 listings with x bytes each
* '''My Notes''' - 1022 bytes

== Performance ==

* '''Healthy Viewer FPS''' - Generally, FPS above 15 is good. The higher it gets, the smoother. You can check via [[Advanced]] menu > Performance Tools > Lag Meter, or for more advanced usage, see Advanced > Performance Tools > Statistics Bar.
* '''Avatar Rendering Cost scores''' - [[Avatar Rendering Cost|Learn all about it!]]

== [[Scripting]] == 

* '''Height at which scripts reactivate on a no-script parcel''' - 50 m above terrain mesh. Scripted objects that take controls will keep running when you fly down or enter a no-script parcel. (If scripts are disabled in the region debug panel, they will not run at any height.)
* '''Maximum height where scripts can run''' - none, as long as the object remains rezzed or attached.
* '''Maximum script source code size''' - 65536 single byte characters (that's a viewer limit and can be changed in the config file 'panel_script_ed.xml').
* '''Maximum script memory size (LSO)''' - 16384 bytes.
* '''Maximum script memory size (Mono)''' - 65536 bytes (the maximum memory available to Mono scripts can be constrained via [[llSetMemoryLimit]]).
* '''Maximum active [[llListen|listeners]] per script''' - 65.
** '''Usable channel for each listener''' - ''min.'' -2147483648, ''max.'' 2147483647, including the following special channels: [[PUBLIC_CHANNEL]] ''and'' [[DEBUG_CHANNEL]].
* For specific scripting limits, look up calls in the '''[[LSL Portal]]'''.

== [[Sound]] ==

{| class="sortable" width="100%" {{Prettytable}}
|- {{Hl2}}
! '''Limit affects'''
! '''Lower limit'''
! '''Upper limit'''
! '''Comment'''
! '''More coverage'''
|-
||Sound length
| n/a
| {{no|any length ''less than'' 10.0 seconds}}
| You're advised to cut longer sounds into 9.9-second-pieces.
| n/a
|}

== [[Textures]] ==
* '''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspect_ratio Aspect ratios]''' of profile, place, etc. pictures — all of these were measured at UI size (Edit menu > Preferences > General tab > UI Size) = 1.000:

=== Second Life Viewer 3.6 ===

* '''Search > Classifieds thumbnail''' - ~3:2 (101×69 pixels)
* '''Search > Classifieds expanded''' - ~4:3 (159×120 pixels)
* '''Search > Classifieds expanded > More Info''' - native aspect ratio
* '''Search > Destination Guide thumbnail''' - ~3:2 (101×69 pixels)
* '''Search > Destination Guide expanded''' - ~4:3 (159×120 pixels)
* '''Search > People''' - 1:1 (100×100 pixels)
* '''Search > Places expanded''' ~4:3 (159×120 pixels)
* '''Place Profile''' - ~3:2 (290×197 pixels)
* '''About Land > Options tab''' - ~4:3 (195×150 pixels)
* '''Profile > Picture''' - native aspect ratio; thumbnail cropped to 72×72 pixels; zoomed uncropped up to 300×300 pixels
* '''Profile > Real world picture''' - native aspect ratio; thumbnail cropped to 45×45 pixels; zoomed uncropped up to 300×300 pixels
* '''Profile > Picks thumbnail''' - 4:3 (60×45 pixels)
* '''Profile > Pick expanded''' - 4:3 (320×240 pixels)

=== 1.x Series Viewers ===
(official Viewer up to 1.23.5, still used by some [[Alternate viewers|Third Party Viewers]])
* '''Search > All for "Classifieds", "People", and "Places"''' - 4:3 (256×192 pi×els)
* '''Search > Places and Classified tabs''' - ~7:5 (398×282 pixels)
* '''Search > Land tab''' - ~7:5 (358×252 pixels)
* '''Profile > 2nd Life tab''' - ~4:3 (178×133 pixels)
* '''Profile > Picks tab''' - 16:9 (288×162 pixels)
* '''Profile > 1st Life tab''' - 1:1 (133×133 pixels)
* '''Profile > Classifieds tab''' - ~3:2 (206×137 pixels)
* '''Profile > Web tab''' - 1:1 (400×400 pixels)
** A scrollbar uses 15 pixels on the right-hand side.
* '''About Land > Options tab''' - ~3:2 (178×117 pixels)
* '''Group Information > General tab's "Group Insignia"''' - 1:1 (126×126 pixels)
** Some of these textures are shared (for example, Search > All place pages, Search > Places, and About Land > Options use the same image), so you should pick a well-balanced ratio and size.
** [[Texture_aspect_ratios|Learn how to get correct texture aspect ratios when editing images.]]

=== All Viewers ===

* '''Maximum texture size''' - 1024×1024 pixels
** All Second Life textures are constrained to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_of_2 powers of 2] (e.g., 128, 256, 512).
** Some textures inworld have a resolution as high as 2048×2048; this is due to a previous limit that was higher.
** We strongly recommend you use as small textures as possible because larger ones consume more memory and take substantially longer to load.
** Where large textures are being forced by import to only 512×512, lower your ...> Preferences >...> UI Size under 1.0, to increase import size to the max 1024×1024.

[[Category:Creation]] [[Category:Tutorials]] [[Category:Lists]]

=== Notes ===
In general 1 byte is enough to contain one character.

Limits

2014-06-10T15:35:02Z

Perrie Juran: /* Communication */

<noinclude>{{KBmaster}}</noinclude>
== Summary ==
{{RightToc}}
The Second Life Viewer and simulators have a division of labor, keeping track of the data that makes Second Life run. The Viewer's job is to:

* Handle locations of objects.
* Get velocities and other physics information, and does simple physics to keep track of what is moving where.

The simulator's job is to:

* Run the physics engine.
* Detect collisions.
* Keep track of where everything is
* Send locations of content to the Viewer along with updates when certain changes occur.

Limits are necessary for all of these components to work together. The list below outlines many of the '''Second Life numerical limits that affect your inworld experience'''. Some of these will likely change over time, so if you spot something incorrect/outdated, please take a moment to update it.

{{KBcaution|1=The scope of this page is focused on Linden Lab's official Viewers, keeping in mind [[Third_Party_Viewer_Directory|3rd-party viewers may differ]]. Cite sources and provide substantiation for limits that aren't provided by Linden Lab. Also, unconfirmed speculation [[Talk:Limits|goes on this discussion page]]. Don't add data without a hard limit, and don't add obscure trivia that doesn't practically affect the general inworld experience.|width=80%}}

== [[Avatar]] ==

* '''Max. # of attachments''' - 38 combined [[HUD]] or body attachments.
** They can be viewed by right-clicking your avatar and choosing '''Edit My Outfit'''.
** With the formal introduction of [[multiple attachments|multiple attachments to a single point]] in Viewer 2.4, you can attach up to 38 total objects, and they can all be attached to a single point.
* '''Max. # of clothing layers per slot''' - 5 (this includes alpha and Tattoo Layers)
* '''Max Clothing Texture''' - 512x512 px (except 128x128 px for eyes) - Server Side Appearance will downsize larger textures.
* '''Max. unassisted fly height''' - Stable hover at current ground elevation ''plus'' 5020m.
** You can easily acquire a flight attachment to fly high. Also see [[flight limit]] and [[Limits#Navigation|the Navigation section]] below.
* '''Common shoe sizes''' - Most women's shoes are designed for a size 0 (zero) foot. Men's generally scale up to 14.
** You can check this by going to Edit menu > Appearance and clicking on the Shape > Legs tab.

* '''Max. length of avatar name''' - 31 for first name, 31 for last name, 63 in total (including the space).

* '''Max. length of {{LSLGC|Username}}''' - All lower case and a maximum of 63 including the '.'(eg; firstname.lastname)
**Older account user names are a combination of the First and last name in lower case separated by a period(.)(eg; lilmix.pixelmaid)
**Modern user names are a single name(no period)(eg; john1234) - '''Max.''' length is 31 characters
**The {{LSLGC|Legacy Name}}s for modern user names always shows Resident as the last name. So the Max is 40 characters in total for a new avatar's legacy name(including the space and last name 'Resident')
*'''Min. length of [[Display_Names]]''' - At least one script character
*'''Max. length of Display Names''' - 31 characters
**Display Names can include most Unicode script characters, spaces, and some punctuation.

* '''Max. avatar speed''' - 250m/s (with only attachments to assist)
* '''Max. teleport speed''' - 10 teleports per 15 seconds, since SL server 1.27.1

== [[Animation]] ==

{| class="sortable" width="100%" {{Prettytable}}
|- {{Hl2}}
! '''Limit affects'''
! '''Lower limit'''
! '''Upper limit'''
! '''Comment'''
! '''More coverage'''
|-
||Length of animation
| n/a
| {{no|60.0 seconds}}
| Limited by length or Size, whichever is reached first
| n/a
|-
||Size of Animation
| n/a
| {{no|120k bytes}}
| Limited by length or Size, whichever is reached first. Size is after conversion to SL [[Internal Animation Format|internal animaton format]], not BVH source which can be much larger.
| n/a

|-
||animation priority
| {{no|0}}
| {{no|4, with custom tools 6}}
| n/a
| [[Animation_Priority]]
|-
||Number of unique joints per animation
| n/a
| {{no|32}}
| n/a
| n/a
|}

== [http://community.secondlife.com/t5/English-Knowledge-Base/Build-Tools/ta-p/700039 Building] ==

{| class="sortable" width="100%" {{Prettytable}}
|- {{Hl2}}
! '''Limit affects'''
! '''Lower limit'''
! '''Upper limit'''
! '''Comment'''
! '''More coverage'''
|-
||[[Prim]] dimensions
| {{no|<0.01, 0.01, 0.01>}}
| {{no|<64.0, 64.0, 64.0>}}
| Used to be <10.0, 10.0, 10.0> prior to Second Life Server version 11.08.17.238770
| [[llSetScale]], [[PRIM_SIZE]] and [[Megaprim]]
|-
||Number of prims in a linkset
| n/a
| {{no|256 prims}}
| Used to be 255 prior to Second Life Server version 1.26
| n/a
|-
||Linking distance
| n/a
| {{no|[[Linkability_Rules]]}}
| n/a
| n/a
|-
||[[Mesh/Mesh_physics#Physics_Resource_Cost|Physics cost]] for a physical object
| n/a
| {{no|32.0}}
||Additional notes:
* If you try to link more, it'll either say "Can't enable physics for objects with more than 32 primitives" or "Object has too many primitives -- its dynamics have been disabled.".
* On server versions 1.38 and below, each sitting avatar counted as 1 prim. From 1.40.2 the limit is only on actual prims.
| [[OBJECT_PHYSICS_COST]]
|-
||Build or rez height
| n/a
| {{no|4096.0 meters}}
| 768.0 meters for Viewers prior to version 1.20
| n/a
|-
||Prim name length
| n/a
| {{no|63 bytes UTF-8 [[String|string]]}}
| same limit for {{LSLGC|Avatar/Name|avatar names}}, although the character set for avatar names is significantly limited.
| n/a
|-
||Prim description length
| n/a
| {{no|127 bytes UTF-8 [[String|string]]}}
| n/a
| n/a
|-
||Temporary prims' lifetime
| n/a
| {{no|up to around 60 seconds}}
| depends upon when the next garbage collector cycle is
| n/a
|-
||Number of temporary prims
| n/a
| {{no|RegionPrimLimit - NumberOfPrimsInRegion + Minimum(0.5*RegionPrimLimit, 1000)}}
| n/a
| n/a
|-
||Length of hovertext
| n/a
| {{no|254 bytes UTF-8 [[String|string]]}}
| n/a
| [[llSetText]] and [[PRIM_TEXT]]
|}

== [[Communication]] ==

{| class="sortable" width="100%" {{Prettytable}}
|- {{Hl2}}
! '''Limit affects'''
! '''Lower limit'''
! '''Upper limit'''
! '''Comment'''
! '''More coverage'''
|-
||Whisper distance
| n/a
| {{no|10 meters}}
| <code>/whisper</code> as the first few characters in a message can be used in viewer-2-code based viewers in local chat.
| n/a
|-
||Chat distance
| n/a
| {{no|20 meters}}
| text spoken as a "chat" step '''within gestures''' cannot be shouted or whispered. /whisper and /shout ''can'' be used in the "Replace with" field.
| n/a
|-
||Shout distance
| n/a
| {{no|100 meters}}
| <code>/shout</code> as the first few characters in a message can be used in viewer-2-code based viewers in local chat.
| n/a
|-
||Length of a chat message and whether or not it is truncated
| {{no|1 byte or single-byte character}}
| {{no|1024 bytes or single-byte characters}}
| Limit does not apply to instant messages via [[llInstantMessage]] and communication between IM and email, the limit there is 1023 bytes or single-byte characters.
| [[llInstantMessage]]
|-
||Number of offline messages
| n/a
| {{no|Capped at 25 messages.}}
| Number of offline messages (involving [[IM|IMs]], inventory offers, group notices, group invitations) received before messages get capped. Note: If autoAcceptNewInventory (debug setting) is set to TRUE, then all inventory offers, even above 25, go directly to inventory and do not count against the cap on offline messages.
| [[IM]]
|-
||Length of a properly delivered email reply to an [[IM]]
| n/a
| {{no|1023 bytes or single-byte characters}}
| n/a
| n/a
|-
||Time after which a reply to an [[IM]] can be sent via email.
| {{no|when receiving the IM via email.}}
| {{no|5 days after receiving the offline IM via email.}}
| n/a
| [https://blogs.secondlife.com/community/features/blog/2007/02/06/im-to-e-mail-return-addresses-changing Second Life Blogs]
|-
||Time period for which [[IM|IMs]] are stored within Second Life.
| n/a
| {{no|31 days after receiving the [[IM]]}}
| [[User:Torley_Linden|Torley Linden]] confirmed this with [[User:Kelly_Linden|Kelly Linden]]
| n/a
|-
||Number of [[IM|IMs]] sent by an object within an hour
| n/a
| {{no|5000 per hour}}
| n/a
| n/a
|}

== [[Gesture]]s ==

{| class="sortable" width="100%" {{Prettytable}}
|- {{Hl2}}
! '''Limit affects'''
! '''Lower limit'''
! '''Upper limit'''
! '''Comment'''
! '''More coverage'''
|-
||Shortcut key mappings
| n/a
| {{no|33 unique combinations, since {{K|F2}}–{{K|F12}} can be used with the {{K|Ctrl}} or {{K|Shift}} modifiers.}}
| n/a
| [[All_keyboard_shortcut_keys]] and [http://community.secondlife.com/t5/English-Knowledge-Base/Keyboard-shortcuts/ta-p/1086557 the knowledge base]
|-
||Chat step length
| n/a
| {{no|127 bytes or single-byte characters}}
| n/a
| n/a
|-
||Wait time
| n/a
| {{no|3600 seconds (which is one hour)}}
| n/a
| n/a
|}

== [[Group]]s ==

* '''Maximum number of groups you can belong to:''' 42
** Roles within groups are sort of like sub-groups. In many cases, you can use them instead of creating new groups.
* '''Minimum number of members in a group:''' 2
** A group with only 1 person for 48 hours will be disbanded (cancelled). Unless the group owns land.
* '''Maximum number of roles allowed in a group:''' 10 (including "Owners" and "Everyone", which cannot be deleted)
* '''Maximum Group Name:''' 35 single-byte characters.
* '''Maximum Group Title:''' 20 single-byte characters.
* '''Maximum Length of a Group Notice:''' 512 single-byte characters.

== [[Inventory]] ==

* '''Maximum number of inventory items that can be sent in a folder:''' 42
** Folders count as items too. This has more to do with packet size limits than cheeky Douglas Adams references.
* '''Maximum number of inventory items that can be contained in a prim:''' None, but more items increase the loading time when you open it.
* '''Maximum characters in an inventory item name:''' 63
* '''Maximum notecard line:''' None, but scripts can only read the first 255 bytes.
* '''Maximum notecard size:''' 65,536 bytes
* '''Number of items in the Library:''' 1,248 as of 2010-06-17
* '''Number of items in the Library:''' 2,210 as of 2012-11-04
** Verified by [[How_does_the_Library_work|hiding the Library]] and counting the difference.
* '''Maximum number of inventory items displayed in a single inventory folder:''' Several thousand. 
** This was discussed during [http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Simulator_User_Group/Transcripts/2011.03.08] "the folder will load up to the limit number of items, and remaining ones won't show up in the viewer. you still own them, they aren't lost, but they will be hidden until the folder size is reduced."
** There is no specified limit for total avatar inventory, very large folders can be split.

== [[Land]] ==

* '''Maximum [[Land#Parcel|parcel]] size:''' 65,536 meters²
** Covering a whole region, or square on the World Map.
* '''Minimum parcel size:''' 16 meters²
* '''Maximum parcel name length:''' 63 single-byte characters
* '''Maximum parcel description length:''' 255 characters
* '''Region name length:''' Under Linden Concierge policy, minimum of 3 characters, and a maximum of 25 characters (including spaces). See [[Linden Lab Official:Guidelines for Private Region Naming|Guidelines for Private Region Naming]].
** Rare exceptions exist, like [http://slurl.com/secondlife/X/128/128/24 X].
* '''Maximum ban line height for "no entry" or "pay to access"''' (in other words, "allow public access" is turned off in the parcel options) is the parcel's ground elevation ''plus'' 50 meters. If a user is '''explicitly banned by name''', the height is the parcel's ground elevation ''plus'' 5000 meters. On current viewers this is visible to the full extent.
* '''Maximum prims in a [[Land#Region|region]]:'''
** Full region: 15,000
** [[Land#Homestead|Homestead]]: 3,750
** [[Land#Openspace|Openspace]]: 750
* '''Maximum auto return value''': Besides "0" (which means ''never''), {{HoverText|999,999|Almost 23 months}} minutes is the highest auto return value.
* '''Terraforming limits:'''
** Most mainland can be raised/lowered by 4 meters (+/-).
** Some mainland cannot be terraformed, including: Bay City regions, Boardman, Brown, De Haro, Kama City regions, Nautilus City regions, Nova Albion regions, and Shermerville regions.
** [http://community.secondlife.com/t5/English-Knowledge-Base/Linden-Homes/ta-p/700103 Linden Homes] do not allow terraforming.
** A few, very old mainland Regions like Da Boom have a terraform range of 40 meters (+/-).
** Estate (private island) terraformability is settable to a maximum of 100 meters (+/-) by the estate owner or managers.
* '''Maximum water height:''' 100 meters using inworld controls, 255 meters by using a *.raw file upload.
** Region water height is usually 20 meters, and adjacent regions should have the same water height, or else they will look discontinuous.
* '''Maximum terrain height:''' 255 meters using inworld controls (mainland limit), 510 meters by using a *.raw file upload.
* '''Miscellaneous estate limits:''' You can have a maximum of 10 estate managers, 500 allowed Residents, 63 allowed groups, and 500 banned Residents.
** See World menu > Region/Estate > Estate tab.
* '''Maximum number of agents'''
** Full region: 100 (Typically set to 40 on mainland, 55 on Linden Homes regions, but this does vary. Some meeting areas have this set to 60 and higher.)
*** Recent server performance improvements make regions with 60 agents in them perform quite well.
** [[Land#Homestead|Homestead]]: 20
** [[Land#Openspace|Openspace]]: 10
* '''Freeze Time:''' Land owners can [[freeze]] other Residents for up to 30 seconds. Members of land owning groups can also be granted this ability.
* '''Minimum parcel that can be listed in Places or All search:''' 144 meters² 
* '''Minimum parcel that can be listed in Events:''' 512 meters²
* '''Maximum altitude for event listings:''' 768 meters ({{JIRA|WEB-814}})
* '''Maximum heights that objects can be seen on the [[World Map]]:''' 400.005m

== [[Mesh]] ==

{| class="sortable" width="100%" {{Prettytable}}
|- {{Hl2}}
! '''Limit affects'''
! '''Lower limit'''
! '''Upper limit'''
! '''Comment'''
! '''More coverage'''
|-
||Number of vertices
| n/a
| {{no|65536 vertices per LOD for each [[mesh]] - See [[Talk:Limits#Mesh_Limits|discussion page]]}}
| n/a
| n/a
|-
||COLLADA file size
| n/a
| {{no|Maximum mesh asset size after compression is 8 MB, roughly equivalent to a 256 MB Raw COLLADA file.}}
| n/a
| n/a
|-
||Bone influence weights per vertex
| n/a
| {{no|4}}
| n/a
| n/a
|-
||Number of materials per mesh
| n/a
| {{no|8}}
| n/a
| n/a
|-
||Number of materials per face
| n/a
| {{no|1}}
| n/a
| n/a
|-
||Physics weight for a vehicle
| n/a
| {{no|32.0}}
| n/a
| n/a
|}

===User Found Temporary Mesh limits:===
''Because of an apparent bug in the importer stay within these limits.''
* 174,752 triangles, beyond which additional triangles will appear as holes.
* The 64k vertices per material is pre-empted by a limit of 21,844 triangles per material, which is presently reported as {{Jira|BUG-1001}}. (4/2014 - See [[Talk:Limits#Mesh_Limits|discussion page]])

:: The import process will continue making new materials beyond 8 x 21,844 (=174,752) triangles, but the extra triangles then get dropped by the limitation to 8 materials, causing holes in the resulting object. Over the 21,844 triangle limit, the vertex count will start to climb steeply, even with smooth shading, because the materials get highly interspersed. So the same vertices have to appear in multiple material lists. So the moral of the story is to stay below 21,844 triangles per material, for now, if you want to avoid some unexpected effects.

== Misc. ==

*'''[https://secondlife.com/currency/describe-limits.php Billing and Trading Limits]''' - Includes [https://secondlife.com/whatis/economy-market.php LindeX] currency exchange limits.
*'''Contacts in Communication > Friends tab ''' - A maximum of 20 simultaneous contacts can be selected to change permissions, remove, or invite for a conference chat.

== Navigation ==

[[File:Max Alt.jpg|thumb|right|435px|'''Height counter error above 2147483647 meters''']]
* '''Absolute height limit:''' [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2147483647#2147483647_in_computing 2147483647] = 231 − 1 meters, which causes the altitude counter to roll over. Altitudes well below this cause graphics errors probably due to limited floating point number precision.
* '''Highest z-value of an [[SLurl]], that will still teleport you to a positive altitude:''' 4096
** This used to be much higher, but is clamped in late model viewers.

== [[Profile]] ==

Each 7-bit ASCII character is encoded in one byte. International characters might need more bytes. When pasting text instead of typing, you can get in one byte more into each of the below.

* '''2nd Life tab's About field''' - 510 bytes
* '''Picks tab''' - 10 picks with 1022 bytes each
* '''1st Life tab's Info field''' - 253 bytes
* '''Classified tab''' - 100 listings with x bytes each
* '''My Notes''' - 1022 bytes

== Performance ==

* '''Healthy Viewer FPS''' - Generally, FPS above 15 is good. The higher it gets, the smoother. You can check via [[Advanced]] menu > Performance Tools > Lag Meter, or for more advanced usage, see Advanced > Performance Tools > Statistics Bar.
* '''Avatar Rendering Cost scores''' - [[Avatar Rendering Cost|Learn all about it!]]

== [[Scripting]] == 

* '''Height at which scripts reactivate on a no-script parcel''' - 50 m above terrain mesh. Scripted objects that take controls will keep running when you fly down or enter a no-script parcel. (If scripts are disabled in the region debug panel, they will not run at any height.)
* '''Maximum height where scripts can run''' - none, as long as the object remains rezzed or attached.
* '''Maximum script source code size''' - 65536 single byte characters (that's a viewer limit and can be changed in the config file 'panel_script_ed.xml').
* '''Maximum script memory size (LSO)''' - 16384 bytes.
* '''Maximum script memory size (Mono)''' - 65536 bytes (the maximum memory available to Mono scripts can be constrained via [[llSetMemoryLimit]]).
* '''Maximum active [[llListen|listeners]] per script''' - 65.
** '''Usable channel for each listener''' - ''min.'' -2147483648, ''max.'' 2147483647, including the following special channels: [[PUBLIC_CHANNEL]] ''and'' [[DEBUG_CHANNEL]].
* For specific scripting limits, look up calls in the '''[[LSL Portal]]'''.

== [[Sound]] ==

{| class="sortable" width="100%" {{Prettytable}}
|- {{Hl2}}
! '''Limit affects'''
! '''Lower limit'''
! '''Upper limit'''
! '''Comment'''
! '''More coverage'''
|-
||Sound length
| n/a
| {{no|any length ''less than'' 10.0 seconds}}
| You're advised to cut longer sounds into 9.9-second-pieces.
| n/a
|}

== [[Textures]] ==
* '''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspect_ratio Aspect ratios]''' of profile, place, etc. pictures — all of these were measured at UI size (Edit menu > Preferences > General tab > UI Size) = 1.000:

=== Second Life Viewer 3.6 ===

* '''Search > Classifieds thumbnail''' - ~3:2 (101×69 pixels)
* '''Search > Classifieds expanded''' - ~4:3 (159×120 pixels)
* '''Search > Classifieds expanded > More Info''' - native aspect ratio
* '''Search > Destination Guide thumbnail''' - ~3:2 (101×69 pixels)
* '''Search > Destination Guide expanded''' - ~4:3 (159×120 pixels)
* '''Search > People''' - 1:1 (100×100 pixels)
* '''Search > Places expanded''' ~4:3 (159×120 pixels)
* '''Place Profile''' - ~3:2 (290×197 pixels)
* '''About Land > Options tab''' - ~4:3 (195×150 pixels)
* '''Profile > Picture''' - native aspect ratio; thumbnail cropped to 72×72 pixels; zoomed uncropped up to 300×300 pixels
* '''Profile > Real world picture''' - native aspect ratio; thumbnail cropped to 45×45 pixels; zoomed uncropped up to 300×300 pixels
* '''Profile > Picks thumbnail''' - 4:3 (60×45 pixels)
* '''Profile > Pick expanded''' - 4:3 (320×240 pixels)

=== 1.x Series Viewers ===
(official Viewer up to 1.23.5, still used by some [[Alternate viewers|Third Party Viewers]])
* '''Search > All for "Classifieds", "People", and "Places"''' - 4:3 (256×192 pi×els)
* '''Search > Places and Classified tabs''' - ~7:5 (398×282 pixels)
* '''Search > Land tab''' - ~7:5 (358×252 pixels)
* '''Profile > 2nd Life tab''' - ~4:3 (178×133 pixels)
* '''Profile > Picks tab''' - 16:9 (288×162 pixels)
* '''Profile > 1st Life tab''' - 1:1 (133×133 pixels)
* '''Profile > Classifieds tab''' - ~3:2 (206×137 pixels)
* '''Profile > Web tab''' - 1:1 (400×400 pixels)
** A scrollbar uses 15 pixels on the right-hand side.
* '''About Land > Options tab''' - ~3:2 (178×117 pixels)
* '''Group Information > General tab's "Group Insignia"''' - 1:1 (126×126 pixels)
** Some of these textures are shared (for example, Search > All place pages, Search > Places, and About Land > Options use the same image), so you should pick a well-balanced ratio and size.
** [[Texture_aspect_ratios|Learn how to get correct texture aspect ratios when editing images.]]

=== All Viewers ===

* '''Maximum texture size''' - 1024×1024 pixels
** All Second Life textures are constrained to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_of_2 powers of 2] (e.g., 128, 256, 512).
** Some textures inworld have a resolution as high as 2048×2048; this is due to a previous limit that was higher.
** We strongly recommend you use as small textures as possible because larger ones consume more memory and take substantially longer to load.
** Where large textures are being forced by import to only 512×512, lower your ...> Preferences >...> UI Size under 1.0, to increase import size to the max 1024×1024.

[[Category:Creation]] [[Category:Tutorials]] [[Category:Lists]]

=== Notes ===
In general 1 byte is enough to contain one character.

Advanced menu/1.23/1.23

2013-12-28T16:46:41Z

Perrie Juran: upadated information for viewer 3.6, the current viewer december 2013

{{KBwarning|The '''Advanced''' menu and the unique features within it are NOT supported by Linden Lab, because they're intended for technical debugging. You may find the Advanced menu beneficial and Lindens appreciate Residents documenting its use, but '''LL does NOT guarantee it to function correctly. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK.'''}}

{{Help|Viewer=*|Glossary=*}}
{{GettingStartedNav}}

This page is part of the ''Resident-contributed, unofficial'' Second Life User's Manual, describing how the Viewer software works. Please see the main [[User's Manual]] page as a starting point.

==What is this menu for?==
The '''Advanced''' menu contains more technical settings than the rest of the Second Life Viewer, which is why they're usually hidden. Some of them are useful, but none of them are essential in order to use any of Second Life's features. If you'd like to enable the '''Advanced''' menu, you can [http://blogs.secondlife.com/community/community/tnt/blog/2010/12/07/viewer-24-beta-much-easier-to-enable-advanced-menu-and-run-multiple-viewers set it in your viewer preferences]. Or, if you prefer, use the following shortcuts:

* '''Windows''' - {{K|Ctrl|Alt|D}}
* '''Mac''' - {{K|Ctrl|Opt|D}}
* '''Linux''' - {{K|Ctrl|Alt|D}}

{{KBnote| In some cases on Windows, there may be a shortcut conflict with another application. In which case, hold down {{K|Ctrl|Alt|Shift|D}}.}}

{{KBnote| In Viewer 2, the Linux binding changed to {{K|Ctrl|Alt|D}}, which may conflict with window manager specific default shortcuts. In Ubuntu, for example, it's necessary to change Gnome's "Keyboard Shortcuts" preference for "Hide all normal windows and set focus to the desktop" in order for the key chord to be passed through to SL.}}

Video of how to do it in Viewer 2:

{{KBvideo|LL4g5Iersq4|640|505|type=youtube}}

Additionally, there are two related menus:

* '''Develop''' - Choose '''Advanced''' menu > '''Show Develop Menu''' to enable it. This contains even more technical features for [[Snowstorm|Viewer developers]]. Some features are casually useful, however. (For example, if you find "{{xref|facelight|facelights}}" annoying, disable '''Develop''' > '''Rendering''' > '''Render Attached Lights'''.)
* '''Admin''' - Not unlike [http://www.belolats.com/2010/07/5-inception-levels-4-dream-levels.html descending into another dream level], choose '''Develop''' menu > '''Show Admin Menu'''. Unlike '''Advanced''' and '''Develop''', the options here are view-only, and can only be used by Linden Lab employees. Unless there's been an actual [[security issues|security exploit]], don't worry.

== More details ==
{{Todo|Many details below are for the older Viewer 1.23 and need to be updated.}}

=== Useful Items for General Users ===

* Stop Animating me - Cancels all animations affecting your avatar.

* '''[[Rebake Textures]]''' - Forces your computer to redo and send your avatar skin + clothing again. Sometimes this does not happen correctly the first time, and other users will see your avatar as a persistent cloud (avatar did not load at all), grey (shape loaded but not textures), or parts look wrong (some textures did not load properly).

* Set UI Size to Default

* Set Windows Size - use this to take video at a specific resolution

* Limit Select Distance - disable to edit far-away objects

* Disable Camera Constraints - disable it to zoom around freely

* '''High Res Snapshot''' - doubles the pixel count of snapshots saved to disk

* Quiet Snapshots to Disk - enable to take snapshots without the usual sound and avatar animation

* '''Show Debug Settings''' - Enter "RenderFarClip" to set draw distance to non-standard values. Values below normal 64m minimum are useful to reduce lag. '''Caution:''' randomly changing debug settings can mess up your viewer program and cause it to crash; in that case you can delete or rename your ''settings.xml'' file to force all settings to their default values.

=== All Advanced Menu Items (obsolete 1.23 picture) ===

[[File:V1.23 Advanced Menu.jpg|thumb|300px|left]]

== Consoles (should be moved to Develop menu page) ==

==== '''Consoles Submenu >''' ====

Displays fixed windows with technical information about the viewer program:

> '''''Frame Console''''' - it's no more in V2 !

> '''''[[Texture Console]]''''' - Shows progress and status information about textures while they are being fetched or decoded (size, memory taken up by them, level of detail...)

> '''''Debug Console''''' - Shows a console window that displays technical information about the client's actions as it does them

> '''''[[Fast Timers]]''''' - Shows how much time different tasks that are executed for each frame take (in other words, how much of each frame in the client is taken up by specific processes)

> '''''Notifications Console''''' -

> '''''Region Info to Debug Console''''' -

> '''''Group Info to Debug Console''''' -

> '''''Capabilities Info to Debug Console''''' -

==== '''HUD Info Submenu >''' ====

Displays fixed overlay on the 3D view with the following choices:

> '''''Velocity''''' - Shows a scale with current avatar velocity in m/s

> '''''Camera''''' - Shows avatar and camera positions in grid coordinates

> '''''Wind''''' - Shows wind speed and direction

> '''''FOV''''' - Shows camera field of view

* '''High-res Snapshot''' - When set, makes a snapshot double the screen size instead of equal to the screen size.
* '''[[Quiet Snapshots to Disk]]''' - When set snapshot sound and animation are not played.
* '''Show Mouselook Crosshairs'''
* '''[[Debug Permissions]]''' - Shows detailed information about object permissions in the edit menu.
* '''Clear Group Cache''' - Clears the cached groupmembers lists.

==== '''Rendering Submenu >''' ====

Controls many aspects of how the graphics card or chip displays the 3D view

> '''''Types''''' > - The items below are displayed when checked

::> > '''''Simple''''' -
::> > '''''Alpha''''' - [[Transparency]]/opacity
::> > '''''Tree''''' - Toggles rendering of [[terrain]] plants.
::> > '''''Character''''' - Toggles rendering of the avatar mesh.
::> > '''''SurfacePatch''''' - [[Ground]]
::> > '''''Sky''''' - Toggles rendering of the sky box.
::> > '''''Water''''' - Toggles rendering of water.
::> > '''''Ground''''' - ''not sure what it renders but disabling it has not effect other than speeding up the client. -spitfire clary''
::> > '''''Volume''''' - [[Prim]]s
::> > '''''Grass''''' - [[Grass]] and other terrain vegetation
::> > '''''Clouds''''' - [[Cloud]]s
::> > '''''Particles''''' - Toggles rendering of [[particles]].
::> > '''''Bump''''' - [[Bumpmapping]]

> '''''Features''''' > -

::> > '''''UI''''' - Toggle rendering of the [[user interface]]. Make sure to remember the key shortcut, as once you disable this the menus will disappear.
::> > '''''Selected''''' -
::> > '''''Highlighted''''' -
::> > '''''Dynamic Textures''''' -
::> > '''''Foot Shadows''''' - Toggles rendering of the small [[shadow]]s that appear at any [[avatar]]'s feet.
::> > '''''Fog''''' - [[Fog]]
::> > '''''Test FRInfo''''' -
::> > '''''Flexible Object''''' - [[Flexible]] objects

> '''''Info Displays''''' > -

::> > '''''Verify ''''' -
::> > '''''BBoxes ''''' - Bounding boxes
::> > '''''Points ''''' - Vertices
::> > '''''Octree ''''' - Occlusion tree
::> > '''''Shadow Frusta ''''' -
::> > '''''Occlusion ''''' - Occlusion planes
::> > '''''Render Batches ''''' -
::> > '''''Animated Textures ''''' -
::> > '''''Texture Priority ''''' -
::> > '''''Avatar Rendering Cost ''''' - Shows a score above each avatar, indicating, how ''expensive'' it is to render. A higher score will lag the viewer more than a low score. Read [[Avatar Rendering Cost]] for more details.
::> > '''''Texture Area (sqrt(A)) ''''' -
::> > '''''Face Area (sqrt(A)) ''''' -
::> > '''''Lights ''''' - [[Light]]s
::> > '''''Particles ''''' - [[Particles]]
::> > '''''Composition ''''' -
::> > '''''Glow ''''' - [[Glow]]
::> > '''''Raycasting ''''' -
::> > '''''Sculpt ''''' - [[Sculpted prim]]s
::> > '''''Vectorize Perf Test''''' -

> '''''Render Tests''''' > -

::> > '''''Camera Offset''''' -
::> > '''''Randomize Framerate''''' -
::> > '''''Periodic Slow Frame''''' -
::> > '''''Frame Test''''' -

> '''''Axes''''' - Render coordinate frame at your position

> '''''Hide Selected''''' - Stops rendering of any selected object.

> '''''Tangent Basis''''' - Render normal and binormal (debugging bump mapping)

> '''''Selected Texture Info''''' - When modify rights are granted, this outputs the texture UUIDs placed on a selected object.

> '''''Wireframe''''' - Shows the world in [[wireframe]] mode.

> '''''Object-Object Occlusion''''' - Skips rendering of objects that are out of view.

> '''''Debug GL''''' - Enable strict GL debugging.

> '''''Debug Pipeline''''' - Enable strict pipeline debugging.

> '''''Fast Alpha''''' - Use lossy alpha rendering optimization (opaque/nonexistent small alpha faces).

> '''''Animate Textures''''' - Enable texture animation (debug)

> '''''Disable Textures''''' -

> '''''Run Multiple Threads''''' > - Improves performance by allowing threads to run in the background while rendering. You should enable this option!

> '''''Cheesy Beacon''''' - Changes the default tracking beacon to an animated "pulsing" beacon.

> '''''Attached Lights''''' - Disables [[attach]]ed lightsources when unticked.

> '''''Attached Particles''''' - Disables attached particle sources when unticked.

==== '''World Submenu >''' ====

* '''''> Sim Sun Override''''' -

* '''''> Dump Scripted Camera''''' -

* '''''> Fixed Weather''''' -

* '''''> Dump Region Object Cache''''' -

==== '''UI Submenu >''' ====

* '''''> Rotate Mini-Map''''' - If is checked ("X") the Mini-Map rotates with the movement of your avatar. If uncheck, the north (N) is always up, the compass don't rotate.

* '''''> Use default system color picker''''' -

* '''''> Show search panel in overlay bar''''' -

* '''''> Web Browser Test''''' -

* '''''> Editable UI''''' -

* '''''> Dump SelectMgr''''' -

* '''''> Dump Inventory''''' -

* '''''> Dump Focus Holder''''' -

* '''''> Print Selected Object Info''''' -

* '''''> Print Agent Info''''' -

* '''''> Memory Stats''''' -

* '''''> Double-Click Auto-Pilot''''' - Torley Linden wrote [[User:Torley Linden/Debug Settings|here]]: ''"Some of you may find it useful for navigation. Set it to TRUE, then anywhere you double-click (with the left mouse button) inworld, you'll automatically walk, run, or fly towards. Our autopilot is kind of flakey, so don't be surprised if this doesn't always work and you get an "Autopilot canceled" message. Nevertheless, a fun novelty."''

* '''''> Debug SelectMgr''''' -

* '''''> Debug Clicks''''' -

* '''''> Debug Views''''' -

* '''''> Show Name Tooltips''''' -

* '''''> Debug Mouse Events''''' -

* '''''> Debug Keys''''' -

* '''''> Debug WindowProc''''' -

* '''''> Debug Text Editor Tips''''' -

* '''''> Show Time''''' -

* '''''> Show Render Info''''' -

* '''''> Matrices''''' -

* '''''> Show Color Under Cursor''''' - Show the RGB color values of the pixel the cursor is on. (Note: The fourth number in the sequence shows the opacity values for UI elements, and for post-process effects such as glow. This number will remain at zero unless the cursor is over such an item.)

==== '''XUI Submenu >''' ====

* '''''> Floater Test...''''' -

* '''''> Font Test...''''' -

* '''''> Export Menus to XML...''''' -

* '''''> Edit UI...''''' -

* '''''> Load from XML...''''' -

* '''''> Save to XML...''''' -

* '''''> Show XUI Names''''' -

==== '''Character Submenu >''' ==== (In Viewer

* '''''> Grab Baked Texture >''''' -

:> > ''''' Iris''''' -

:> > ''''' Head''''' -

:> > ''''' Upper Body''''' -

:> > ''''' Lower Body''''' -

:> > ''''' Skirt''''' -

:> > ''''' Hair''''' -

* '''''> Character Tests >''''' (In Viewer '''3.6''' Character Tests have been moved to the Develop Menu)

:> > ''''' Go Away/AFK When Idle''''' - When checked, this item uses an idle timer to set (away) and auto-logout. It is enabled by default. If you do nothing with keyboard or mouse for 5 minutes, your avatar will show (Away) status, and after 30 minutes will be logged out automatically.

:> > ''''' Appearance to XML''''' - Saves your current appearance settings (avatar shape) to C:\Users\(username)\AppData\Roaming\SecondLife\user_settings\new archetype.xml

:> > ''''' Toggle Character Geometry''''' -

:> > ''''' Test Male''''' - Changes the avatar's appearance to a default male avatar.

:> > ''''' Test Female''''' - Changes the avatar's appearance to a default female avatar.

:> > ''''' Toggle PG''''' -

:> > ''''' Allow Select Avatar''''' -

* '''''> Enable Lip Sync (Beta)''''' - Makes your avatar's mouth move in sync with voice chat(?).

* '''''> [[Tap-Tap-Hold To Run]]''''' - When toggled on, pressing the up-arrow key {{Keypress|↑}} twice shortly after another results in running.

* '''''> Force Params to Default''''' -

* '''''> Reload Vertex Shader''''' -

* '''''> Animation Info''''' - Displays currently active animation [[UUID]]s above avatar's heads.

* '''''> Slow Motion Animations''''' -

* '''''> Show Look At''''' - Indicates via crosshairs where agents are focusing their camera(s). It's not distinguishable which crosshair belongs to which agent. See the document about [[Show Look At]].

* '''''> Show Point At''''' - See video tutorial about [[Video Tutorial/See where you're pointing with Show Point At|Show Point At]].

* '''''> Debug Joint Updates''''' -

* '''''> Disable LOD''''' -

* '''''> Debug Character Vis''''' -

* '''''> Show Collision Skeleton''''' -

* '''''> Display Agent Target''''' -

* '''''> Debug Rotation''''' -

* '''''> Dump Attachments''''' -

* '''''> [[Rebaking textures|Rebake Textures]]''''' - Forces your computer to redo and send your avatar skin + clothing again. Sometimes this does not happen correctly the first time, and other users will see your avatar as a persistent cloud (avatar did not load at all), grey (shape loaded but not textures), or parts look wrong (some textures did not load properly).

==== '''Network Submenu >''' ====

* '''''> Enable Message Log''''' -

* '''''> Disable Message Log''''' -

* '''''> Velocity Interpolate Objects''''' -

* '''''> Ping Interpolate Object Positions''''' -

* '''''> Drop a Packet''''' -

==== '''Recorder Submenu >''' ====

* '''''> Full Session Logging''''' -

* '''''> Start Logging''''' -

* '''''> Stop Logging''''' -

* '''''> Log 10 Seconds''''' -

* '''''> Log 30 Seconds''''' -

* '''''> Log 60 Seconds''''' -

* '''''> Start Playback''''' -

* '''''> Stop Playback''''' -

* '''''> Loop Playback''''' -

* '''''> Start Record''''' -

* '''''> Stop Record''''' -

==== '''Remainder of Advanced Menu''' ====

* '''Show Updates''' - Indicates visually which objects were updated recently. See [[I see blue, green, or red triangles coming from objects inworld that I think shouldn't be there.]]

* '''Compress Images'''

* '''Limit Select Distance''' - Limits the distance in which you're allowed to select and edit objects.

* '''Disable Camera Constraints''' - Your camera movement is constrained in a maximum distance to your avatar. Ticking this option will allow you to move the camera further away.

* '''Mouse Smoothing'''

* '''Console Window'''

* '''Output Debug Minidump'''

* '''[[Debug Settings]]''' - Opens the "Debug Settings" floating window. Allows manually setting essentially every Viewer setting. '''Warning:''' randomly playing with these settings can make the viewer program unusable.

* '''View Admin Options''' - Makes the client act as if it has owner permissions on all objects and land. Any action the user does not have permission for will generate an error message. Also toggles visibility of the "Admin" dropdown menu on the top menu bar.

* '''Request Admin Status''' - Also known as "[[God Mode]]". Enables administrative functions. This only works for Linden Staff.

* '''Leave Admin Status''' - Ends Admin Status or "[[God Mode]]".

 

=== Admin Menu ===

[[File:V1.23 Admin Menu.jpg|thumb|300px|left]]

{{KBwarning| This menu is off by default. Nobody who is not a [[Linden]] can use the options in the '''Admin''' menu. The options in the '''Admin''' menu are for viewing purposes only!}}

==== '''Object Submenu >''' ====

* '''''> Take Copy''''' - Allows a Linden to take a copy of an object, regardless of ownership.

* '''''> Force Owner to Me''''' - Allows a Linden to make themselves the owner of any object. However, copy/mod/trans permissions are unaffected.

* '''''> Force Owner Permissive''''' - Allows a Linden to make themselves the owner of any object and also gives them full permissions to copy, modify and transfer that object.

* '''''> Delete''''' - Allows a Linden to delete an object, regardless of ownership.

* '''''> Lock''''' - Unknown at this time (Probably allows a Linden to lock an object so that nobody, even its creator and/or owner, can edit it).

* '''''> Get Asset IDs''''' - Unknown at this time (Probably allows a Linden to get the [[UUID]]s of an object and its associated assets).

==== '''Parcel Submenu >''' ====

* '''''> Owner to Me''''' -

* '''''> Set to Linden Content''''' -

* '''''> Claim Public Land''''' -

==== '''Region Submenu >''' ====

* '''''> Dump Temp Asset Data'''''

* '''God Tools...''' - Opens "God Tools" floating window

* '''Save Region State'''
 

[[Category:Advanced menu]]

User talk:Tourmaline Falken/The Ultimate Multi-Bug Fix

2013-09-06T18:45:57Z

Perrie Juran: Created page with "Wouldn't it make more sense to choose a 'starter' outfit directly from the library for the initial rebuild after doing the character test? Some times people are doing this becau…"

Wouldn't it make more sense to choose a 'starter' outfit directly from the library for the initial rebuild after doing the character test?

Some times people are doing this because they have worn a griefing object and are trying to get rid of it and don't know which object is causing the problems.

If they follow the instruction, "make a default outfit from your current avatar and clothes," they will just wind up wearing the object again when they wear the outfit after doing the character test.

By going to the library for the initial rebuild every thing will be safe to wear.

[[User:Perrie Juran|Perrie Juran]] 11:45, 6 September 2013 (PDT) Perrie Juran

Preferences FAQ

2013-07-03T17:00:26Z

Perrie Juran: /* Chat Color */

{{Help|Viewer=*|OldInfo=*}}

== NOTE: Page is being reworked from old preferences info, to be a FAQ page with extra details, in parallel with the main Guide Page ==

Please see the [[Preferences Window Guide]] for the main discussion of what the settings do. This page gives additional details and recommended settings.

== Tab:General ==

''' Start Location '''

This will attempt to log you in to the specified location (home, last, or your input). If not available it will place you at an infohub somewhat at random.
If you have never set a home location, it is by default the first infohub you landed at after orientation island.

If show start location is checked, you have the option of giving a named location, either a region name by itself, or a location in the form RegionName/X/Y/Z, where X,Y, and Z are coordinates within the region.

''' Away Timeout '''

The default for this is 5 minutes. If you wish to be away for extended time, but not shown as away or logged out after 30 minutes of inactivity, you can uncheck the Advanced Menu > Character > Character Tests > Go Away/AFK When Idle item. This turns off the timers.

'''[REWORK DONE TO HERE]'''

=== Rotate Mini-Map ===
The little mini-map which can be brought up with Shift+Ctrl+M can be set to either rotate with the direction your avatar is facing, or it can be fixed to always point north to up. Checking this option will make it rotate with the direction you are facing. I keep this option checked.

=== Notify when money (L$) spent or received ===
This will create a pop-up window whenever you spend or receive money while you are online. I keep this enabled so I know when I recieve a sale, and to review how much I just spent to make sure I didn't mis-type the amount.

=== Automatically report crashes ===
Sometimes, when Second Life crashes, you will be asked if you want to report the crash, to help the developers debug errors in the system. Enabling this will automatically report crashes without asking you. I keep this enabled.

=== Auto-detect graphics hardware on next startup ===
Checks the capabilities of the graphics accelerator you're using to display Second Life. Adds a little extra time to startup, but it can't hurt to leave it on otherwise, especially if you're swapping out for a better graphics card soon.

=== Use default system color picker ===
Ditches the Second Life client's custom color picker in favor of the system color picker for the OS the client is running on. Leave off by default unless you hate the custom color picker, or have problems with it.

=== Crash Reports ===
A dropdown menu that lets you set how much control you want over the reports that are sent by the client on a crash or the next start up after a crash. If you're really helpful, keep this set to "Always Send"

=== Language ===
Provides the option to produce main parts of the SL Client's UI in another language besides English. Note the following caveats:
*A change to this option requires a restart of the client to enforce.
*As of this writing (21/08/2008), most languages for the UI are in beta. Do not count on a perfect translation of everything.
*This change of language is limited only to the standard UI. Switching the client to display, say, Korean on the UI does not automagically turn Second Life into a land where people type fluent Korean (unless you switch to a primarily Korean sim)
*You require a Unicode font supported by Second Life in order to properly switch over. Office XP users have the advantage of having such a font - Arial MS Unicode - installed by default. While the original variant (Arial Unicode) may also work, this has not been tested.

== Tab:Input & Camera ==

=== Mouse Sensitivity ===
This affects how quickly you rotate while in Mouselook (first person) view. I have mine set to about 15% from the left, which I think is the default.

=== Invert Mouse ===
Checking this will invert your up-down movements, so that if you move the mouse up, your camera tilts down. I have this turned off.

=== Auto Fly ===
There are two modes of movement in Second Life: standing and flying. You can toggle between these two modes by pressing the 'F' key.

While standing, the 'E' key is for jumping, and the 'C' key is for crouching down.
While flying, the 'E' key moves you up, and the 'C' key moves you down.

Enabling this option will make it so that if you hold down the 'E' key while standing, you will enter fly mode and go up, and if you hold down the 'C' key while flying and touch the ground, you will go into standing mode. I have this option enabled.

=== Camera Options ===
This affects how closely the camera tracks you as you fly or walk around. Using a higher value means the camera will feel "looser" in tracking your position. I usually set this to 10.

=== Automatc Edit Camera Movement ===
Checking this will cause your camera to reorient and rotate when you enter Edit mode. I prefer to leave this checked off.

=== Automatic Appearance Camera Movement ===
Checking this will cause your camera to reorient and rotate when you enter Appearance mode. I prefer to leave this checked off.

== Tab:Network ==

=== Maximum Bandwidth ===
This slider lets you specify how fast the world should stream data to you. The number represents thousands of bits per second. I recommend 300 to start, go lower if you get packet loss, go higher if your system can handle it. I tend to stay around 500 -- i've tried going higher but even though my ISP lets me download other things clearly at 3000 kilobits per second, it seems the SL servers start to give me more trouble if I specify it much higher than 500.

=== Disk Cache Size ===
This specifies how much space will be used on your primary drive to store information that SL has downloaded, to help save having to download it again if you pass back through the same area again at a later time.

While usually larger is better, I've noticed a larger cache also degrades my CPU performance because it takes longer to look through a larger cache. I keep this set to 200MB as a compromise between lookup speed and download speed. If you have a slower connection or a faster computer, you may want to set this higher.

Note that every time you install an update to Second Life, your cache files are cleared out and reset.

== Tab:Graphics ==

=== Display Resolution ===
A dropdown menu with several common resolutions to choose from when rendering SL full-screen. This option comes with a 'Run In A Window' checkbox that disables the dropdown if checked and hands over control of the resolution SL runs at to the way the client window is manipulated.

=== Fullscreen Aspect Ratio (width/height) ===
A drop down menu containing several common aspect ratios for computer monitors. This works only if 'Run In A Window' in Display Resolutions is left unchecked. This option also comes with a 'Auto Detect' option that attempts to read the aspect ratio of the monitor on its own - leave this checked unless told otherwise to save on configuration hassles.

=== UI Size ===
A slider allowing the user to set how much larger or smaller than normal (normal being 1.0) the user wants the UI to be rendered. This is accompanied by a checkbox for 'Use resolution independent scale' which tells the client to take the resolution the client is being rendered at into account when determining the resizing of UI elements based on the slider.

=== Draw Distance ===
This setting determines the maximum distance at which an object can be from you and still be rendered by the client. Shorter distances equate to better performance in most cases.

=== Show Avatar In Mouselook ===
When checked, this option will result in you being able to look down and notice your own avatar body while in mouselook. Primarily a matter of realism in one's view, but can also be unchecked when a avatar has attachments that hinder one's view in mouselook.

== Tab: Graphics Detail ==
=== Shaders ===
This option has three independent checkboxes to allow toggling of certain visual features of SL that require hardware shaders to execute. If an option is grayed out, it denotes that your video card does not have the features necessary to enable a certain option.
*Enable Bump-mapping and Shiny: This enables shinyness and bump mapping (Object Bump) on objects set up to use either of these options. Turning this on can have a minor impact on performance. I have this off.
*Enable Ripple water: leaving this option checked causes SL to fake rolling water surfaces. Note that this excludes waves braking onto the shore; this requires custom scripting and texturing outside the scope of this article.
*Avatar Vertex Program: leaving this option checked allows the client to run customised vertex shaders that can animate avatars faster. Leave turned on by default unless you see bizzare issues such as twitchy, odd avatar textures and animation/posing.

=== Avatar Rendering ===
Normal is a very basic view, and should be selected if you want a higher frame rate. I have this selected.
Bump Mapped will introduce a small amount of additional detail by bumpmapping the textures used for the avatar's skin and clothing.
Bump Mapped & Cloth will cause loose clothing and long hair to slightly wave, as if blown by a small breeze. (Do not attempt to consider enabling BM&C together with high avatar detail - this combination has been known to crash clients due to too much extra workload.

=== Lighting Detail ===
Determines whether only the distant light of the sun and moon will be rendered. If set to 'Nearby Local Lights', the active light thrown out by nearby local lights will be rendered as well at the expense of some speed too...
=== Terrain Detail ===
Low is a tradeoff of texture quality on the land for added speed..
High will show high resolution land textures, but can slow down your frame rate slightly. I have this selected.

=== Mesh Sliders ===
The meshes for all objects and avatars are generated client side from scratch. These options specify how much detail and geometry to generate. For added graphics performance, try to nudge these sliders to the left as much as possible till your eyes start crying about too much polygonal jaggedness

*Object mesh shader - for determining how many polygons are used to display prims, trade off between performance and smoothness of prims with curved surfaces.
*Flexible mesh shader - same as above, but for flexible prims (tradeoff between performance and smoothness of flexing)
*Tree mesh shader - tradeoff between performance and realism when rendering 1-prim "Linden" trees.
*Avatar mesh shader - tradeoff between performance and smoothness, evenness of avatar meshes.

== Tab:Adv. Graphics ==

=== Filtering ===
Anisotropic Filtering : trades off performance for smoother antialiased edges when checked on graphics cards that support antialiasing.

=== Gamma ===
A non-zero adjustment of gamma will override the system defaults. Lower gammas make everything darker, while brighter gammas cause things to be rendered more brightly.

=== Nighttime Brightness===
Similar to Gamma, but determines the darkness of less well-lit areas during SL nighttimes. If you disable local lighting in Lighting Details, consider increasing this value slightly to compensate for the lack of lighting.

=== AGP Graphics Acceleration ===
This gives me about a 25% boost in speed to enable, but not everyone can enable it due to driver or hardware incompatabilities. I've also heard some people say that turning this on can slow down their performance. I'd say go to a quiet area, relog, and try it both ways to see if it helps or hurts your frame rate.

=== Video Card Memory ===
More than anything, this setting lets you specify how much texture data should be downloaded and displayed. Setting this lower will cause smaller textures to download, but they will probably appear more blurry. Setting this lower will help make textures load faster, but will compromise appearance quality. Most of the time, I keep this set to the size of my video card's memory for maximum quality.

=== Fog Distance Ratio ===
If you prefer your view to fade off into fog, set this number lower. If you prefer there to be less or no fog (which means you may see the edge of your draw distance clearly), set it higher. I have it set to the maximum at 4.0.

=== Max Particle Count ===
This specifies the maximum number of particles the client will display at once. I usually recommend keeping this at 4096, since using any other value will mean you probably won't see the same effect as the person who created the effect intended. Setting this lower can help with performance, however. Setting this higher has no effect - the client is currently set not to render more than 4096 particles at all times.

If you want to disable particles altogether, you can press the Alt+Shift+Equals key combination to toggle them off/on. This resets every time you log in.

=== Outfit Composite Limit ===
The usual way that avatars are skinned and clothed in SL is, the client is made to do the grunt work of baking the relevant skin and clothing textures together, then uploading the final result to the SL servers for download by other people. Lowering this value may speed up the process by reducing the number of layers considered, but may cause odd effects for certain outfits. If somoene starts laughing or blushing at the fact that you're apparently not wearing something you KNOW you're wearing, consider that you may have pushed this down too much and start bringing it back up until your outfit renders properly.

== Tab:Audio/Video ==

=== Mute Audio ===
Turns off all in-world sound effects. Not recommended unless you are easily annoyed by them =)

=== Mute Audio When Window Minimized/Hidden ===
Turns off in-world sound effects when SL is minimized or hidden.

=== Play Streaming Music When Available ===
Land owners have the ability to specify a shoutcast/icecast type of stream on their parcels, which will play automatically when you enter their land if you have this enabled. This stream is sent directly to you from the shoutcast server and does not pass through Second Life's system.

=== Play Streaming Video When Available ===
Checking this allows you play streaming video when it's available on a parcel. The stream bypasses the Second Life grid and goes directly from the streaming server to the client. This assumes that the video stream is available and that the client has Quicktime installed (as of this writing, there is no support for Quicktime for Linux-using SL Residents)

=== System, Wind, Footsteps, UI Volume ===
These are regular volume sliders that adjust the volume of their respective sound sources. I have mine set to roughly 100%, 50%, 10%, and 50%.

=== $ Change Threshold ===
This will play a sound if you spend or recieve money, if it is greater or equal to the amount you specify here. I have mine set to 50, which I think might be the default.

=== Health Change Threshold ===
Like the $ Change Threshold, this will play a sound if you take more than 10 points of damage in a damage-enabled area.

=== Doppler Effect ===
The higher you set this, the more doppler effect will be applied to objects that are emitting sounds.

=== Distance Factor ===
I think this affects how far sounds propogate, but I'm not entirely sure.

=== Rolloff Factor ===
I think this affects how quickly the sounds fade in volme as a function of distance, but I'm not entirely sure.

=== Default Upload Bitrate ===
When you upload a sound file, this will be the default quality setting (sort of like the quality setting on an MP3). A bigger number means higher quality sound, but also it will mean a longer delay when you first play the sound to people who don't have it cached.

== Tab:Chat ==

=== Chat Font Size ===
This lets you specify the size of the font that appears in the chat overlay area in the bottom left corner of your screen, but does not affect the size of the text in the windows (such as IM and Chat History).

=== Chat Color ===
This lets you specify the colors for the different types of chat text. 'System' is system messages such as errors or special announcements. 'Users' is the regular chat text you see other people typing. 'Objects' is chat text which comes from scripted objects. By default, these are a very light blue, white, and green, respectively.

The color corresponding to the "Owner" label is only used with llOwnerSay() -- and that's only visible to the scripted object's owner.

The "Object" label is for when the script uses any of the common chat forms that are visible to all: llSay(), llShout(), and llWhisper().

The "Object IMs" label is for scripted llInstantMessage() text which is visible only to the targeted recipient. (The Linden viewer seems to use the same color for this as for regular "Object" chat, above.)

The "Direct" label is for llRegionSayTo() text, again visible only to the targeted recipient who much also be present in the same region as the scripted object at the time the function is called.

Thanks to Qie Niangao for the detailed information from http://community.secondlife.com/t5/General-Discussion-Forum/Can-others-see-the-quot-Green-quot-Text-chat-Or-only-you/m-p/2066837#U2066837

The UI does allow you to customize the colors in Preferences. Clicking on a color in preferences will bring up the color picker.

=== Chat Console: Fade Chat After ===
This applies to the chat overlay text which appears in the bottom left corner of your screen. The higher you set this, the longer the chat text will stay on the screen before fading out. If you set this too high in a very chatty area, the chat text may begin to fill the whole screen. Setting this lower will keep this from happening, but gives you less time to read it before it fades out. I've used a setting of 60 seconds for a long time now without ever having to adjust it. Set the opacity slider to determine how dark the chat console is.

Note: You can always open your chat history window with Ctrl+H which shows the text in a scrollable window without fading.

=== Chat uses full screen width ===
Checking this will cause the chat overlay text to wrap at the right screen edge, instead of partway across the screen. I prefer this option turned off.

=== Close chat after hitting return ===
Turning this on will let you use the Enter key to open the chat text entry box and start chatting, and then it will close the chat text entry box after you press Enter again to say your line of text. I definitely prefer this to be checked, as this is the way that most game chats work.

If this is left unchecked, the chat bar will stay open all the time, and you will have to use your mouse to click outside of it in order to to press shortcut keys.

=== Arrow keys move avatar when chatting ===
If this is enabled, then you will not be able to use your arrow keys to move your cursor around and edit the text in your chat text entry box, instead it will cause your avatar to move. This may be preferable if you have "Close chat after hitting return" unchecked, but you will probably want it turned off if you have "Close chat after hitting return" enabled so that you can easily move your cursor to edit your text. I have this off.

=== Show chat bubbles ===
Click this to see avatar's chat in bubbles over their heads. Set the opacity slider to determine how dark the background behind the chat is.

=== Script Errors ===
'Show script Errors and Warnings as regular Chat' and the accompanying color box will cause the client to display script warnings and errors in the chat console in the specified color when this is enabled instead of only popping up a script error icon and dialogs.

== Tab: Communications ==

=== Make my online status visible in Search ===
when checked, allows anyone in the world to see whether you're online or not in Search and Profiles windows. Unchecked, this restricts knowledge of your online status to Lindens and anyone on your friends list.

=== Send IM to E-mail ===
If you enable this, then any Instant Messages that you recieve from people while you are offline will be forwarded to your email address. This can come in handy to keep in contact while offline. As of version 1.4, you can now reply to emails you recieve from this to send an Instant Message back to the person who sent it to you. I have this enabled. You can change your email address in your Account Settings on the Second Life website, and this option will quote what email address your IMs will be forwarded to as well. If your account has a nasty habit of overflowing with IMs and losing IMs in the process, keeping this option may help them get through (though they will be lost on the grid - and any inventory dropping is not covered by this option)

=== Include IM in Chat History ===
If you want the Chat History window (Ctrl+H) to include Instant Messages (like the chat overlay does), then enable this feature. I have this feature off.

=== Show Timestamps in IM ===
When checked, this prepends SLT times to each line of text typed in chat and or IM by you and other people. Useful for showing in logs just how a conversation was paced on a per-minute basis.

=== Log Instant Messages / Log Chat ===
These options log all chat done in a session in normal chat and Group IMs to a specified path.

=== Show end of last IM conversation ===
Only available if either chatlogging option or both are enabled, this appends a "End of Conversation" note to each IM and chat log on normal logout.

=== Busy Mode Response ===
Provides space for a custom automated reply to be sent when a Resident is in Busy Mode. This is sent every time someone attempts to send an IM.

''' Show Online Friend Notifications '''
Many people turn this off since they have so many friends, or if they leave it on, they keep their friends list small. Otherwise you will get constant messages as people log on, off, or crash.

== Tab:Popups ==

When a popup message box appears, you have the option to check a box to not see it again. This tab is where you manage those popup boxes.

=== Popups I have disabled ===
This is a list of the popup message boxes you have chosen not to see again. You can turn the message back on by highlighting the question and clicking the Enable this popup button.

=== Popups I want to see ===
A list of the popup messages currently appearing.

== Contributor ==
* [[User:Kex Godel|Kex Godel]]
* [[User:Patchouli Woollahra|Patchouli Woollahra]]
[[Category:Text from In-world Notecards|Prefences]]
[[Category:Tutorials|Preferences]]

Preferences FAQ

2013-07-03T16:51:29Z

Perrie Juran: This information is added to help clarify the 'source' or 'cause' of the colors.

{{Help|Viewer=*|OldInfo=*}}

== NOTE: Page is being reworked from old preferences info, to be a FAQ page with extra details, in parallel with the main Guide Page ==

Please see the [[Preferences Window Guide]] for the main discussion of what the settings do. This page gives additional details and recommended settings.

== Tab:General ==

''' Start Location '''

This will attempt to log you in to the specified location (home, last, or your input). If not available it will place you at an infohub somewhat at random.
If you have never set a home location, it is by default the first infohub you landed at after orientation island.

If show start location is checked, you have the option of giving a named location, either a region name by itself, or a location in the form RegionName/X/Y/Z, where X,Y, and Z are coordinates within the region.

''' Away Timeout '''

The default for this is 5 minutes. If you wish to be away for extended time, but not shown as away or logged out after 30 minutes of inactivity, you can uncheck the Advanced Menu > Character > Character Tests > Go Away/AFK When Idle item. This turns off the timers.

'''[REWORK DONE TO HERE]'''

=== Rotate Mini-Map ===
The little mini-map which can be brought up with Shift+Ctrl+M can be set to either rotate with the direction your avatar is facing, or it can be fixed to always point north to up. Checking this option will make it rotate with the direction you are facing. I keep this option checked.

=== Notify when money (L$) spent or received ===
This will create a pop-up window whenever you spend or receive money while you are online. I keep this enabled so I know when I recieve a sale, and to review how much I just spent to make sure I didn't mis-type the amount.

=== Automatically report crashes ===
Sometimes, when Second Life crashes, you will be asked if you want to report the crash, to help the developers debug errors in the system. Enabling this will automatically report crashes without asking you. I keep this enabled.

=== Auto-detect graphics hardware on next startup ===
Checks the capabilities of the graphics accelerator you're using to display Second Life. Adds a little extra time to startup, but it can't hurt to leave it on otherwise, especially if you're swapping out for a better graphics card soon.

=== Use default system color picker ===
Ditches the Second Life client's custom color picker in favor of the system color picker for the OS the client is running on. Leave off by default unless you hate the custom color picker, or have problems with it.

=== Crash Reports ===
A dropdown menu that lets you set how much control you want over the reports that are sent by the client on a crash or the next start up after a crash. If you're really helpful, keep this set to "Always Send"

=== Language ===
Provides the option to produce main parts of the SL Client's UI in another language besides English. Note the following caveats:
*A change to this option requires a restart of the client to enforce.
*As of this writing (21/08/2008), most languages for the UI are in beta. Do not count on a perfect translation of everything.
*This change of language is limited only to the standard UI. Switching the client to display, say, Korean on the UI does not automagically turn Second Life into a land where people type fluent Korean (unless you switch to a primarily Korean sim)
*You require a Unicode font supported by Second Life in order to properly switch over. Office XP users have the advantage of having such a font - Arial MS Unicode - installed by default. While the original variant (Arial Unicode) may also work, this has not been tested.

== Tab:Input & Camera ==

=== Mouse Sensitivity ===
This affects how quickly you rotate while in Mouselook (first person) view. I have mine set to about 15% from the left, which I think is the default.

=== Invert Mouse ===
Checking this will invert your up-down movements, so that if you move the mouse up, your camera tilts down. I have this turned off.

=== Auto Fly ===
There are two modes of movement in Second Life: standing and flying. You can toggle between these two modes by pressing the 'F' key.

While standing, the 'E' key is for jumping, and the 'C' key is for crouching down.
While flying, the 'E' key moves you up, and the 'C' key moves you down.

Enabling this option will make it so that if you hold down the 'E' key while standing, you will enter fly mode and go up, and if you hold down the 'C' key while flying and touch the ground, you will go into standing mode. I have this option enabled.

=== Camera Options ===
This affects how closely the camera tracks you as you fly or walk around. Using a higher value means the camera will feel "looser" in tracking your position. I usually set this to 10.

=== Automatc Edit Camera Movement ===
Checking this will cause your camera to reorient and rotate when you enter Edit mode. I prefer to leave this checked off.

=== Automatic Appearance Camera Movement ===
Checking this will cause your camera to reorient and rotate when you enter Appearance mode. I prefer to leave this checked off.

== Tab:Network ==

=== Maximum Bandwidth ===
This slider lets you specify how fast the world should stream data to you. The number represents thousands of bits per second. I recommend 300 to start, go lower if you get packet loss, go higher if your system can handle it. I tend to stay around 500 -- i've tried going higher but even though my ISP lets me download other things clearly at 3000 kilobits per second, it seems the SL servers start to give me more trouble if I specify it much higher than 500.

=== Disk Cache Size ===
This specifies how much space will be used on your primary drive to store information that SL has downloaded, to help save having to download it again if you pass back through the same area again at a later time.

While usually larger is better, I've noticed a larger cache also degrades my CPU performance because it takes longer to look through a larger cache. I keep this set to 200MB as a compromise between lookup speed and download speed. If you have a slower connection or a faster computer, you may want to set this higher.

Note that every time you install an update to Second Life, your cache files are cleared out and reset.

== Tab:Graphics ==

=== Display Resolution ===
A dropdown menu with several common resolutions to choose from when rendering SL full-screen. This option comes with a 'Run In A Window' checkbox that disables the dropdown if checked and hands over control of the resolution SL runs at to the way the client window is manipulated.

=== Fullscreen Aspect Ratio (width/height) ===
A drop down menu containing several common aspect ratios for computer monitors. This works only if 'Run In A Window' in Display Resolutions is left unchecked. This option also comes with a 'Auto Detect' option that attempts to read the aspect ratio of the monitor on its own - leave this checked unless told otherwise to save on configuration hassles.

=== UI Size ===
A slider allowing the user to set how much larger or smaller than normal (normal being 1.0) the user wants the UI to be rendered. This is accompanied by a checkbox for 'Use resolution independent scale' which tells the client to take the resolution the client is being rendered at into account when determining the resizing of UI elements based on the slider.

=== Draw Distance ===
This setting determines the maximum distance at which an object can be from you and still be rendered by the client. Shorter distances equate to better performance in most cases.

=== Show Avatar In Mouselook ===
When checked, this option will result in you being able to look down and notice your own avatar body while in mouselook. Primarily a matter of realism in one's view, but can also be unchecked when a avatar has attachments that hinder one's view in mouselook.

== Tab: Graphics Detail ==
=== Shaders ===
This option has three independent checkboxes to allow toggling of certain visual features of SL that require hardware shaders to execute. If an option is grayed out, it denotes that your video card does not have the features necessary to enable a certain option.
*Enable Bump-mapping and Shiny: This enables shinyness and bump mapping (Object Bump) on objects set up to use either of these options. Turning this on can have a minor impact on performance. I have this off.
*Enable Ripple water: leaving this option checked causes SL to fake rolling water surfaces. Note that this excludes waves braking onto the shore; this requires custom scripting and texturing outside the scope of this article.
*Avatar Vertex Program: leaving this option checked allows the client to run customised vertex shaders that can animate avatars faster. Leave turned on by default unless you see bizzare issues such as twitchy, odd avatar textures and animation/posing.

=== Avatar Rendering ===
Normal is a very basic view, and should be selected if you want a higher frame rate. I have this selected.
Bump Mapped will introduce a small amount of additional detail by bumpmapping the textures used for the avatar's skin and clothing.
Bump Mapped & Cloth will cause loose clothing and long hair to slightly wave, as if blown by a small breeze. (Do not attempt to consider enabling BM&C together with high avatar detail - this combination has been known to crash clients due to too much extra workload.

=== Lighting Detail ===
Determines whether only the distant light of the sun and moon will be rendered. If set to 'Nearby Local Lights', the active light thrown out by nearby local lights will be rendered as well at the expense of some speed too...
=== Terrain Detail ===
Low is a tradeoff of texture quality on the land for added speed..
High will show high resolution land textures, but can slow down your frame rate slightly. I have this selected.

=== Mesh Sliders ===
The meshes for all objects and avatars are generated client side from scratch. These options specify how much detail and geometry to generate. For added graphics performance, try to nudge these sliders to the left as much as possible till your eyes start crying about too much polygonal jaggedness

*Object mesh shader - for determining how many polygons are used to display prims, trade off between performance and smoothness of prims with curved surfaces.
*Flexible mesh shader - same as above, but for flexible prims (tradeoff between performance and smoothness of flexing)
*Tree mesh shader - tradeoff between performance and realism when rendering 1-prim "Linden" trees.
*Avatar mesh shader - tradeoff between performance and smoothness, evenness of avatar meshes.

== Tab:Adv. Graphics ==

=== Filtering ===
Anisotropic Filtering : trades off performance for smoother antialiased edges when checked on graphics cards that support antialiasing.

=== Gamma ===
A non-zero adjustment of gamma will override the system defaults. Lower gammas make everything darker, while brighter gammas cause things to be rendered more brightly.

=== Nighttime Brightness===
Similar to Gamma, but determines the darkness of less well-lit areas during SL nighttimes. If you disable local lighting in Lighting Details, consider increasing this value slightly to compensate for the lack of lighting.

=== AGP Graphics Acceleration ===
This gives me about a 25% boost in speed to enable, but not everyone can enable it due to driver or hardware incompatabilities. I've also heard some people say that turning this on can slow down their performance. I'd say go to a quiet area, relog, and try it both ways to see if it helps or hurts your frame rate.

=== Video Card Memory ===
More than anything, this setting lets you specify how much texture data should be downloaded and displayed. Setting this lower will cause smaller textures to download, but they will probably appear more blurry. Setting this lower will help make textures load faster, but will compromise appearance quality. Most of the time, I keep this set to the size of my video card's memory for maximum quality.

=== Fog Distance Ratio ===
If you prefer your view to fade off into fog, set this number lower. If you prefer there to be less or no fog (which means you may see the edge of your draw distance clearly), set it higher. I have it set to the maximum at 4.0.

=== Max Particle Count ===
This specifies the maximum number of particles the client will display at once. I usually recommend keeping this at 4096, since using any other value will mean you probably won't see the same effect as the person who created the effect intended. Setting this lower can help with performance, however. Setting this higher has no effect - the client is currently set not to render more than 4096 particles at all times.

If you want to disable particles altogether, you can press the Alt+Shift+Equals key combination to toggle them off/on. This resets every time you log in.

=== Outfit Composite Limit ===
The usual way that avatars are skinned and clothed in SL is, the client is made to do the grunt work of baking the relevant skin and clothing textures together, then uploading the final result to the SL servers for download by other people. Lowering this value may speed up the process by reducing the number of layers considered, but may cause odd effects for certain outfits. If somoene starts laughing or blushing at the fact that you're apparently not wearing something you KNOW you're wearing, consider that you may have pushed this down too much and start bringing it back up until your outfit renders properly.

== Tab:Audio/Video ==

=== Mute Audio ===
Turns off all in-world sound effects. Not recommended unless you are easily annoyed by them =)

=== Mute Audio When Window Minimized/Hidden ===
Turns off in-world sound effects when SL is minimized or hidden.

=== Play Streaming Music When Available ===
Land owners have the ability to specify a shoutcast/icecast type of stream on their parcels, which will play automatically when you enter their land if you have this enabled. This stream is sent directly to you from the shoutcast server and does not pass through Second Life's system.

=== Play Streaming Video When Available ===
Checking this allows you play streaming video when it's available on a parcel. The stream bypasses the Second Life grid and goes directly from the streaming server to the client. This assumes that the video stream is available and that the client has Quicktime installed (as of this writing, there is no support for Quicktime for Linux-using SL Residents)

=== System, Wind, Footsteps, UI Volume ===
These are regular volume sliders that adjust the volume of their respective sound sources. I have mine set to roughly 100%, 50%, 10%, and 50%.

=== $ Change Threshold ===
This will play a sound if you spend or recieve money, if it is greater or equal to the amount you specify here. I have mine set to 50, which I think might be the default.

=== Health Change Threshold ===
Like the $ Change Threshold, this will play a sound if you take more than 10 points of damage in a damage-enabled area.

=== Doppler Effect ===
The higher you set this, the more doppler effect will be applied to objects that are emitting sounds.

=== Distance Factor ===
I think this affects how far sounds propogate, but I'm not entirely sure.

=== Rolloff Factor ===
I think this affects how quickly the sounds fade in volme as a function of distance, but I'm not entirely sure.

=== Default Upload Bitrate ===
When you upload a sound file, this will be the default quality setting (sort of like the quality setting on an MP3). A bigger number means higher quality sound, but also it will mean a longer delay when you first play the sound to people who don't have it cached.

== Tab:Chat ==

=== Chat Font Size ===
This lets you specify the size of the font that appears in the chat overlay area in the bottom left corner of your screen, but does not affect the size of the text in the windows (such as IM and Chat History).

=== Chat Color ===
This lets you specify the colors for the different types of chat text. 'System' is system messages such as errors or special announcements. 'Users' is the regular chat text you see other people typing. 'Objects' is chat text which comes from scripted objects. By default, these are a very light blue, white, and green, respectively.

The color corresponding to the "Owner" label is only used with llOwnerSay() -- and that's only visible to the scripted object's owner.

The "Object" label is for when the script uses any of the common chat forms that are visible to all: llSay(), llShout(), and llWhisper().

The "Object IMs" label is for scripted llInstantMessage() text which is visible only to the targeted recipient. (The Linden viewer seems to use the same color for this as for regular "Object" chat, above.)

The "Direct" label is for llRegionSayTo() text, again visible only to the targeted recipient who much also be present in the same region as the scripted object at the time the function is called.

(Thanks to Qie Niangao for the detailed information from http://community.secondlife.com/t5/General-Discussion-Forum/Can-others-see-the-quot-Green-quot-Text-chat-Or-only-you/m-p/2066837#U2066837

=== Chat Console: Fade Chat After ===
This applies to the chat overlay text which appears in the bottom left corner of your screen. The higher you set this, the longer the chat text will stay on the screen before fading out. If you set this too high in a very chatty area, the chat text may begin to fill the whole screen. Setting this lower will keep this from happening, but gives you less time to read it before it fades out. I've used a setting of 60 seconds for a long time now without ever having to adjust it. Set the opacity slider to determine how dark the chat console is.

Note: You can always open your chat history window with Ctrl+H which shows the text in a scrollable window without fading.

=== Chat uses full screen width ===
Checking this will cause the chat overlay text to wrap at the right screen edge, instead of partway across the screen. I prefer this option turned off.

=== Close chat after hitting return ===
Turning this on will let you use the Enter key to open the chat text entry box and start chatting, and then it will close the chat text entry box after you press Enter again to say your line of text. I definitely prefer this to be checked, as this is the way that most game chats work.

If this is left unchecked, the chat bar will stay open all the time, and you will have to use your mouse to click outside of it in order to to press shortcut keys.

=== Arrow keys move avatar when chatting ===
If this is enabled, then you will not be able to use your arrow keys to move your cursor around and edit the text in your chat text entry box, instead it will cause your avatar to move. This may be preferable if you have "Close chat after hitting return" unchecked, but you will probably want it turned off if you have "Close chat after hitting return" enabled so that you can easily move your cursor to edit your text. I have this off.

=== Show chat bubbles ===
Click this to see avatar's chat in bubbles over their heads. Set the opacity slider to determine how dark the background behind the chat is.

=== Script Errors ===
'Show script Errors and Warnings as regular Chat' and the accompanying color box will cause the client to display script warnings and errors in the chat console in the specified color when this is enabled instead of only popping up a script error icon and dialogs.

== Tab: Communications ==

=== Make my online status visible in Search ===
when checked, allows anyone in the world to see whether you're online or not in Search and Profiles windows. Unchecked, this restricts knowledge of your online status to Lindens and anyone on your friends list.

=== Send IM to E-mail ===
If you enable this, then any Instant Messages that you recieve from people while you are offline will be forwarded to your email address. This can come in handy to keep in contact while offline. As of version 1.4, you can now reply to emails you recieve from this to send an Instant Message back to the person who sent it to you. I have this enabled. You can change your email address in your Account Settings on the Second Life website, and this option will quote what email address your IMs will be forwarded to as well. If your account has a nasty habit of overflowing with IMs and losing IMs in the process, keeping this option may help them get through (though they will be lost on the grid - and any inventory dropping is not covered by this option)

=== Include IM in Chat History ===
If you want the Chat History window (Ctrl+H) to include Instant Messages (like the chat overlay does), then enable this feature. I have this feature off.

=== Show Timestamps in IM ===
When checked, this prepends SLT times to each line of text typed in chat and or IM by you and other people. Useful for showing in logs just how a conversation was paced on a per-minute basis.

=== Log Instant Messages / Log Chat ===
These options log all chat done in a session in normal chat and Group IMs to a specified path.

=== Show end of last IM conversation ===
Only available if either chatlogging option or both are enabled, this appends a "End of Conversation" note to each IM and chat log on normal logout.

=== Busy Mode Response ===
Provides space for a custom automated reply to be sent when a Resident is in Busy Mode. This is sent every time someone attempts to send an IM.

''' Show Online Friend Notifications '''
Many people turn this off since they have so many friends, or if they leave it on, they keep their friends list small. Otherwise you will get constant messages as people log on, off, or crash.

== Tab:Popups ==

When a popup message box appears, you have the option to check a box to not see it again. This tab is where you manage those popup boxes.

=== Popups I have disabled ===
This is a list of the popup message boxes you have chosen not to see again. You can turn the message back on by highlighting the question and clicking the Enable this popup button.

=== Popups I want to see ===
A list of the popup messages currently appearing.

== Contributor ==
* [[User:Kex Godel|Kex Godel]]
* [[User:Patchouli Woollahra|Patchouli Woollahra]]
[[Category:Text from In-world Notecards|Prefences]]
[[Category:Tutorials|Preferences]]

Limits

2012-12-07T15:17:12Z

Perrie Juran:

<noinclude>{{KBmaster}}</noinclude>
== Summary ==
{{RightToc}}
The Second Life Viewer and simulators have a division of labor, keeping track of the data that makes Second Life run. The Viewer's job is to:

* Handle locations of objects.
* Get velocities and other physics information, and does simple physics to keep track of what is moving where.

The simulator's job is to:

* Run the physics engine.
* Detect collisions.
* Keep track of where everything is
* Send locations of content to the Viewer along with updates when certain changes occur.

Limits are necessary for all of these components to work together. The list below outlines many of the '''Second Life numerical limits that affect your inworld experience'''. Some of these will likely change over time, so if you spot something incorrect/outdated, please take a moment to update it.

{{KBcaution|1=The scope of this page is focused on Linden Lab's official Viewers, keeping in mind [[Third_Party_Viewer_Directory|3rd-party viewers may differ]]. Cite sources and provide substantiation for limits that aren't provided by Linden Lab. Also, unconfirmed speculation [[Talk:Limits|goes on this discussion page]]. Don't add data without a hard limit, and don't add obscure trivia that doesn't practically affect the general inworld experience.|width=80%}}

== [[Avatar]] ==

* '''Max. # of attachments''' - 38 combined [[HUD]] or body attachments.
** They can be viewed by right-clicking your avatar and choosing '''Take Off''' > '''HUD''' or '''Detach'''.
** With the formal introduction of [[multiple attachments|multiple attachments to a single point]] in Viewer 2.4, you can attach up to 38 total objects, and they can all be attached to a single point.
* '''Max. # of clothing layers per slot''' - 5 (this includes alpha and Tattoo Layers)
* '''Max. unassisted fly height''' - Stable hover at 4096m.
** You can easily acquire a flight attachment to fly high. Also see [[flight limit]] and [[Limits#Navigation|the Navigation section]] below.
* '''Common shoe sizes''' - Most women's shoes are designed for a size 0 (zero) foot. Men's generally scale up to 14.
** You can check this by going to Edit menu > Appearance and clicking on the Shape > Legs tab.

* '''Max. length of avatar name''' - 31 for first name, 31 for last name, 63 in total (including the space).

* '''Max. length of {{LSLGC|Username}}''' - All lower case and a maximum of 63 including the '.'(eg; firstname.lastname)
**Older account user names are a combination of the First and last name in lower case separated by a period(.)(eg; lilmix.pixelmaid)
**Modern user names are a single name(no period)(eg; john1234) - '''Max.''' length is 31 characters
**The {{LSLGC|Legacy Name}}s for modern user names always shows Resident as the last name. So the Max is 40 characters in total for a new avatar's legacy name(including the space and last name 'Resident')
*'''Min. length of [[Display_Names]]''' - At least one script character
*'''Max. length of Display Names''' - 31 characters
**Display Names can include most Unicode script characters, spaces, and some punctuation.

* '''Max. avatar speed''' - 250m/s (with only attachments to assist)
* '''Max. teleport speed'''
** '''Server 1.27.1''' - 10 teleports per 15 seconds
** '''Server 1.27.0''' - 3 teleports per 15 seconds

== [[Animation]] ==

{| class="sortable" width="100%" {{Prettytable}}
|- {{Hl2}}
! '''Category'''
! '''Limit affects'''
! '''Lower limit'''
! '''Upper limit'''
! '''Comment'''
! '''More coverage'''
|-
||[[Animation]]
||Length of animation
| {{no|n/a}}
| {{yes|30.0 seconds}}
| {{no|n/a}}
| {{no|n/a}}
|-
||[[Animation]]
||animation priority
| {{yes|0}}
| {{yes|4, with custom tools 5}}
| {{no|n/a}}
| {{yes|[[Animation_Priority]]}}
|-
||[[Animation]]
||Number of unique joints per animation
| {{no|n/a}}
| {{yes|32}}
| {{no|n/a}}
| {{no|n/a}}
|}

== Building ==

{| class="sortable" width="100%" {{Prettytable}}
|- {{Hl2}}
! '''Category'''
! '''Limit affects'''
! '''Lower limit'''
! '''Upper limit'''
! '''Comment'''
! '''More coverage'''
|-
||'''BUILDING'''
||[[Prim]] dimensions
| {{yes|<0.01, 0.01, 0.01>}}
| {{yes|<64.0, 64.0, 64.0>}}
| {{yes|Used to be <10.0, 10.0, 10.0> prior to Second Life Server version 11.08.17.238770}}
| {{yes|[[llSetScale]] and [[PRIM_SIZE]] and [[Megaprim]]}}
|-
||'''BUILDING'''
||Number of prims in a linkset
| {{no|n/a}}
| {{yes|256 prims}}
| {{yes|Used to be 255 prior to Second Life Server version 1.26}}
| {{no|n/a}}
|-
||'''BUILDING'''
||Linking distance
| {{no|n/a}}
| {{yes}}
| {{no|n/a}}
| {{yes|[[Linkability_Rules]]}}
|-
||'''BUILDING'''
||Physics weight for a physical object
| {{no|n/a}}
| {{yes|32.0}}
||Additional notes:
* If you try to link more, it'll either say "Can't enable physics for objects with more than 32 primitives" or "Object has too many primitives -- its dynamics have been disabled.".
* On server versions 1.38 and below, each sitting avatar counted as 1 prim. From 1.40.2 the limit is only on actual prims.
| {{no|n/a}}
|-
||'''BUILDING'''
||Build or rez height
| {{no|n/a}}
| {{yes|4096.0 meters}}
| {{yes|768.0 meters for Viewers prior to version 1.20}}
| {{no|n/a}}
|-
||'''BUILDING'''
||Prim name length
| {{no|n/a}}
| {{yes|63 bytes UTF-8 [[String|string]]}}
| {{yes|same limit for avatar names, although the character set for avatar names is significantly limited.}}
| {{no|n/a}}
|-
||'''BUILDING'''
||Prim description length
| {{no|n/a}}
| {{yes|127 bytes UTF-8 [[String|string]]}}
| {{no|n/a}}
| {{no|n/a}}
|-
||'''BUILDING'''
||Temporary prims' lifetime
| {{no|n/a}}
| {{yes|up to around 60 seconds}}
| {{yes|depends on when the next garbage collector cycle is.}}
| {{no|n/a}}
|-
||'''BUILDING'''
||Number of temporary prims
| {{no|n/a}}
| {{yes|RegionPrimLimit - NumberOfPrimsInRegion + Minimum(0.5*RegionPrimLimit, 1000)}}
| {{no|n/a}}
| {{no|n/a}}
|-
||'''BUILDING'''
||Length of hovertext
| {{no|n/a}}
| {{yes|a UTF-8 [[String|string]] with 254 bytes or single-byte characters}}
| {{no|n/a}}
| {{yes|[[llSetText]] and [[PRIM_TEXT]]}}
|}

== [[Communication]] ==

{| class="sortable" width="100%" {{Prettytable}}
|- {{Hl2}}
! '''Category'''
! '''Limit affects'''
! '''Lower limit'''
! '''Upper limit'''
! '''Comment'''
! '''More coverage'''
|-
||[[Communication]]
||Whisper distance
| {{no|n/a}}
| {{yes|10 meters}}
| {{yes|<code>/whisper</code> as the first few characters in a message can be used in viewer-2-code based viewers in local chat.}}
| {{no|n/a}}
|-
||[[Communication]]
||Chat distance
| {{no|n/a}}
| {{yes|20 meters}}
| {{yes|text spoken as a "chat" step '''within gestures''' cannot be shouted or whispered.}}
| {{no|n/a}}
|-
||[[Communication]]
||Shout distance
| {{no|n/a}}
| {{yes|100 meters}}
| {{yes|<code>/shout</code> as the first few characters in a message can be used in viewer-2-code based viewers in local chat.}}
| {{no|n/a}}
|-
||[[Communication]]
||Length of a chat message and whether or not it is truncated
| {{yes|1 byte or single-byte character}}
| {{yes|1024 bytes or single-byte characters}}
| {{yes|Limit does not apply to instant messages via [[llInstantMessage]] and communication between IM and email, the limit there is 1180 bytes or single-byte characters. This is true as of 2012-08-13.}}
| {{yes|[[llInstantMessage]]}}
|-
||[[Communication]]
||Number of offline messages
| {{no|n/a}}
| {{yes|Capped at 25 messages.}}
| {{yes|Number of offline messages (involving [[IM|IMs]], inventory offers, group notices, group invitations) received before messages get capped.}}
| {{yes|[[IM]]}}
|-
||[[Communication]]
||Length of a properly delivered email reply to an [[IM]]
| {{no|n/a}}
| {{yes|1023 bytes or single-byte characters}}
| {{no|n/a}}
| {{no|n/a}}
|-
||[[Communication]]
||Time after which a reply to an [[IM]] can be sent via email.
| {{yes|when receiving the IM via email.}}
| {{yes|5 days after receiving the offline IM via email.}}
| {{no|n/a}}
| {{yes|[https://blogs.secondlife.com/community/features/blog/2007/02/06/im-to-e-mail-return-addresses-changing Second Life Blogs]}}
|-
||[[Communication]]
||Time period for which [[IM|IMs]] are stored within Second Life.
| {{no|n/a}}
| {{yes|31 days after receiving the [[IM]]}}
| {{yes|[[User:Torley_Linden|Torley Linden]] confirmed this with [[User:Kelly_Linden|Kelly Linden]]}}
| {{no|n/a}}
|-
||[[Communication]]
||Number of [[IM|IMs]] sent by an object within an hour
| {{no|n/a}}
| {{yes|5000 per hour}}
| {{no|n/a}}
| {{no|n/a}}
|}

== [[Gesture]]s ==

{| class="sortable" width="100%" {{Prettytable}}
|- {{Hl2}}
! '''Category'''
! '''Limit affects'''
! '''Lower limit'''
! '''Upper limit'''
! '''Comment'''
! '''More coverage'''
|-
||[[Gesture]]
||Shortcut key mappings
| {{no|n/a}}
| {{yes|33 unique combinations, since {{K|F2}}–{{K|F12}} can be used with the {{K|Ctrl}} or {{K|Shift}} modifiers.}}
| {{no|n/a}}
| {{yes|[[All_keyboard_shortcut_keys]] and [[Viewer_2_Quick_Start_Guide/Appendix_-_Keyboard_Shortcuts]]}}
|-
||[[Gesture]]
||Chat step length
| {{no|n/a}}
| {{yes|127 bytes or single-byte characters}}
| {{no|n/a}}
| {{no|n/a}}
|-
||[[Gesture]]
||Wait time
| {{no|n/a}}
| {{yes|3600 seconds (which is one hour)}}
| {{no|n/a}}
| {{no|n/a}}
|}

== [[Group]]s ==

* '''Maximum number of groups you can belong to:''' 42
** Roles within groups are sort of like sub-groups. In many cases, you can use them instead of creating new groups.
* '''Minimum number of members in a group:''' 2
** A group with only 1 person for 48 hours will be disbanded (cancelled). Unless the group owns land.
* '''Maximum number of roles allowed in a group:''' 10 (including "Owners" and "Everyone", which cannot be deleted)
* '''Maximum Group Name:''' 35 single-byte characters.
* '''Maximum Group Title:''' 20 single-byte characters.
* '''Maximum Length of a Group Notice:''' 512 single-byte characters.

== [[Inventory]] ==

* '''Maximum number of inventory items that can be sent in a folder:''' 42
** Folders count as items too. This has more to do with packet size limits than cheeky Douglas Adams references.
* '''Maximum notecard line:''' None, but scripts can only read the first 255 bytes.
* '''Maximum notecard size:''' 65,536 bytes
* '''Number of items in the Library:''' 1,248 as of 2010-06-17
* '''Number of items in the Library:''' 2,210 as of 2012-11-04
** Verified by [[How_does_the_Library_work|hiding the Library]] and counting the difference.
* '''Maximum number of inventory items Displayed in an Inventory Folder:''' Approximately 10,000.
** This was discussed during [http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Simulator_User_Group/Transcripts/2011.03.08] "the folder will load up to the limit number of items, and remaining ones won't show up in the viewer. you still own then, they aren't lost, but they will be hidden until the folder size is reduced."

== [[Land]] ==

* '''Maximum [[Land#Parcel|parcel]] size:''' 65,536 meters²
** Covering a whole region, or square on the World Map.
* '''Minimum parcel size:''' 16 meters²
* '''Maximum parcel name length:''' 63 single-byte characters
* '''Maximum parcel description length:''' 255 characters
* '''Region name length:''' Under Linden Concierge policy, minimum of 3 characters, and a maximum of 25 characters (including spaces). See [[Linden Lab Official:Guidelines for Private Region Naming|Guidelines for Private Region Naming]].
** Rare exceptions exist, like [http://slurl.com/secondlife/Q/128/128/24 Q].
* '''Maximum "NO ENTRY" ban line height:''' is for all options 80 meter. Only the option 'Banned Residents' (named) has a 5020 meter ban line high, which is visible up to a high of 800 meter above the terrain mesh.
* '''Maximum prims in a [[Land#Region|region]]:'''
** Full region: 15,000
** [[Land#Homestead|Homestead]]: 3,750
** [[Land#Openspace|Openspace]]: 750
* '''Maximum auto return value''': Besides "0" (which means ''never''), {{HoverText|999,999|Almost 23 months}} minutes is the highest auto return value.
* '''Terraforming limits:'''
** Most mainland can be raised/lowered by 4 meters (+/-).
** Some mainland cannot be terraformed, including: Bay City Regions, Blumfield, Boardman, Brown, De Haro, Nautilus City Regions, Nova Albion Regions, Shermerville Regions, and West Haven.
** A few, very old mainland Regions like Da Boom have a terraform range of 40 meters (+/-).
** Estate (private island) terraformability is settable to a maximum of 100 meters (+/-) by the estate owner or managers.
* '''Maximum water height:''' 100 meters using inworld controls (mainland limit), 255 meters by using a *.raw file upload.
** Region water height is usually 20 meters, and adjacent regions should have the same water height, or else they will look discontinuous.
* '''Maximum terrain height:''' 255 meters using inworld controls (mainland limit), 510 meters by using a *.raw file upload.
* '''Miscellaneous estate limits:''' You can have a maximum of 10 estate managers, 500 allowed Residents, 63 allowed groups, and 500 banned Residents.
** See World menu > Region/Estate > Estate tab.
* '''Mainland maximum number of agents'''
** Full region: 100 (Historically set to 40 by LL but this does vary. Some meeting areas have this set to 60 and higher.)
*** Recent server performance improvements make regions with 60 agents in them perform quite well.
** [[Land#Homestead|Homestead]]: 20
** [[Land#Openspace|Openspace]]: 10
* '''Island maximum number of agents:'''
** Full region: 100
** [[Land#Homestead|Homestead]]: 20
** [[Land#Openspace|Openspace]]: 10
* '''Freeze Time:''' Land owners can [[freeze]] other Residents for up to 30 seconds. Members of land owning groups can also be granted this ability.
* '''Minimum parcel that can be listed in Places or All search:''' 144 meters² 
* '''Minimum parcel that can be listed in Events:''' 512 meters²
* '''Maximum altitude for event listings:''' 768 meters ({{JIRA|WEB-814}})
* '''Maximum heights that objects can be seen on the [[World Map]]:''' 400.005m
* '''[[Classic clouds]] layer:''' Approximately 150-225 meters, although the edges of particles can appear to exceed that.

== [[Mesh]] ==

{| class="sortable" width="100%" {{Prettytable}}
|- {{Hl2}}
! '''Category'''
! '''Limit affects'''
! '''Lower limit'''
! '''Upper limit'''
! '''Comment'''
! '''More coverage'''
|-
||[[Mesh]]
||Number of vertices
| {{no|n/a}}
| {{yes|65536 vertices per LOD for each [[mesh]]}}
| {{no|n/a}}
| {{no|n/a}}
|-
||[[Mesh]]
||COLLADA file size
| {{no|n/a}}
| {{yes|Maximum mesh asset size after compression is 8 MB, roughly equivalent to a 256 MB Raw COLLADA file.}}
| {{no|n/a}}
| {{no|n/a}}
|-
||[[Mesh]]
||Bone influence weights per vertex
| {{no|n/a}}
| {{yes|4}}
| {{no|n/a}}
| {{no|n/a}}
|-
||[[Mesh]]
||Number of materials per mesh
| {{no|n/a}}
| {{yes|8}}
| {{no|n/a}}
| {{no|n/a}}
|-
||[[Mesh]]
||Number of materials per face
| {{no|n/a}}
| {{yes|1}}
| {{no|n/a}}
| {{no|n/a}}
|-
||[[Mesh]]
||Physics weight for a vehicle
| {{no|n/a}}
| {{yes|32.0}}
| {{no|n/a}}
| {{no|n/a}}
|}

== Misc. ==

*'''[https://secondlife.com/currency/describe-limits.php Billing and Trading Limits]''' - Includes [https://secondlife.com/whatis/economy-market.php LindeX] currency exchange limits.
*'''Contacts in Communication > Friends tab ''' - A maximum of 20 simultaneous contacts can be selected to change permissions, remove, or invite for a conference chat.

== Navigation ==

[[File:Max Alt.jpg|thumb|right|435px|'''Height counter error above 2147483647 meters''']]
* '''Absolute height limit:''' [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2147483647#2147483647_in_computing 2147483647] = 231 − 1 meters, which causes the altitude counter to roll over. Altitudes well below this cause graphics errors probably due to limited floating point number precision.
* '''Highest z-value of an [[SLurl]], that will still teleport you to a positive altitude:''' 2147483583
** This is lower than the ''Absolute height limit'' above probably because of precision issues. Any value higher than 2147483583 would be rounded up to something beyond 2147483647 and thus cause an [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arithmetic_overflow overflow], while 2147483583 will still be rounded down to 2147483520 (see below).
* '''Highest altitude you can teleport to with an SLurl:''' 2147483520 meters

== [[Profile]] ==

Each 7-bit ASCII character is encoded in one byte. International characters might need more bytes. When pasting text instead of typing, you can get in one byte more into each of the below.

* '''2nd Life tab's About field''' - 510 bytes
* '''Picks tab''' - 10 picks with 1022 bytes each
* '''1st Life tab's Info field''' - 253 bytes
* '''Classified tab''' - 100 listings with x bytes each
* '''My Notes''' - 1022 bytes

== Performance ==

* '''Healthy Viewer FPS''' - Generally, FPS above 15 is good. The higher it gets, the smoother. You can check via Help menu > Lag Meter, or for more advanced usage, see View menu > Statistics Bar.
* '''Avatar Rendering Cost scores''' - [[Avatar Rendering Cost|Learn all about it!]]

== [[Scripting]] ==

* '''Height at which scripts reactivate on a no-script parcel''' - 50 m above terrain mesh. Scripted objects that take controls continue to remain active when you fly down or enter a no-script parcel.
* '''Maximum height where scripts can run''' - none, as long as the object remains rezzed or attached.
* '''Maximum script source code size''' - 65536 single byte characters.
* For specific scripting limits, lookup calls in the '''[[LSL Portal]]'''.

== [[Sound]] ==

{| class="sortable" width="100%" {{Prettytable}}
|- {{Hl2}}
! '''Category'''
! '''Limit affects'''
! '''Lower limit'''
! '''Upper limit'''
! '''Comment'''
! '''More coverage'''
|-
||[[Sound]]
||Soung length
| {{no|n/a}}
| {{yes|10.0 seconds}}
| {{yes|You're advised to cut longer sounds into 9.9-second-pieces.}}
| {{no|n/a}}
|}

== [[Textures]] ==
* '''[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspect_ratio Aspect ratios]''' of profile, place, etc. pictures — all of these were measured at UI size (Edit menu > Preferences > General tab > UI Size) = 1.000:

=== 1.x Series Viewers ===

(official Viewer up to 1.23.5, most [[Alternate viewers|Third Party Viewers]])
* '''Search > All for "Classifieds", "People", and "Places"''' - 4:3 (256×192 pi×els)
* '''Search > Places and Classified tabs''' - ~7:5 (398×282 pixels)
* '''Search > Land tab''' - ~7:5 (358×252 pixels)
* '''Profile > 2nd Life tab''' - ~4:3 (178×133 pixels)
* '''Profile > Picks tab''' - 16:9 (288×162 pixels)
* '''Profile > 1st Life tab''' - 1:1 (133×133 pixels)
* '''Profile > Classifieds tab''' - ~3:2 (206×137 pixels)
* '''Profile > Web tab''' - 1:1 (400×400 pixels)
** A scrollbar uses 15 pixels on the right-hand side.
* '''About Land > Options tab''' - ~3:2 (178×117 pixels)
* '''Group Information > General tab's "Group Insignia"''' - 1:1 (126×126 pixels)
** Some of these textures are shared (for example, Search > All place pages, Search > Places, and About Land > Options use the same image), so you should pick a well-balanced ratio and size.
** [[Texture_aspect_ratios|Learn how to get correct texture aspect ratios when editing images.]]

=== 2.x Series Viewers ===

* '''Search > Classifieds thumbnail''' - 4:3 (60×45 pixels)
* '''Search > Classifieds expanded''' - ~4:3 (252×188 pixels)
* '''Search > Classifieds expanded > Details''' - 17:7 (272×112 pixels)
* '''Search > People''' - 4:3 (188×141 pixels)
* '''Search > Destination Guide thumbnail''' - ~4:3 (45×34 pixels)
* '''Search > Destination Guide expanded''' - 5:3 (250×150 pixels)
* '''Profile > 2nd Life tab''' - ~1:1 (100×99 pixels)
* '''Profile > Picks thumbnail''' - 8:5 (88×55 pixels)
* '''Profile > Pick expanded''' - ~5:3 (285×172 pixels)
* '''About Land > Options tab''' - ~20:13 (193×125 pixels)
* '''Places > More information''' - ~11:7 (272×173 pixels)

=== All Viewers ===

* '''Maximum texture size''' - 1024×1024 pixels
** All Second Life textures are constrained to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_of_2 powers of 2] (e.g., 128, 256, 512).
** Some textures inworld have a resolution as high as 2048×2048; this is due to a previous limit that was higher.
** We strongly recommend you use as small textures as possible because larger ones consume more memory and take substantially longer to load.
** Where large textures are being forced by import to only 512×512, lower your ...> Preferences >...> UI Size under 1.0, to increase import size to the max 1024×1024.

[[Category:Creation]] [[Category:Tutorials]] [[Category:Lists]]

=== Notes ===
In general 1 byte is enough to contain one character.