Difference between revisions of "Using Second Life URLs (SLurls)"
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'''A Second Life [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/URL URL] ([http://SLurl.com SLurl]) is a teleport link to a location in Second Life.''' | '''A Second Life [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/URL URL] ([http://SLurl.com SLurl]) is a teleport link to a location in Second Life.''' | ||
Think of it this way: you can't get to a webpage without knowing its URL (Uniform Resource Locator), commonly called a "hyperlink" or simply "link". Just like your web browser has bookmarks, in Second Life, we have SLurls. Since our virtual world is three-dimensional, SLurls contain a Region name and 3 positioning coordinates ''within'' that region. | Think of it this way: you can't get to a webpage without knowing its URL (Uniform Resource Locator), commonly called a "[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperlink hyperlink]" or simply "link". Just like your web browser has bookmarks, in Second Life, we have SLurls. Since our virtual world is three-dimensional, SLurls contain a Region name and 3 positioning coordinates ''within'' that region. | ||
This video shows you what you need to know in 5 minutes: | This video shows you what you need to know in 5 minutes: | ||
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== How do I use a SLurl? == | == How do I use a SLurl? == | ||
Just like | Just like any web link! It's easy: | ||
# [http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Here Click this example SLurl.] | # [http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Here Click this example SLurl.] | ||
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SLurls and {{xref|landmark|landmarks}} serve the same purpose: addresses of Second Life places. | SLurls and {{xref|landmark|landmarks}} serve the same purpose: addresses of Second Life places. | ||
The difference is that while a SLurl is simply a text link, a {{xref|landmark}} is an inventory {{xref|item}} type which can only be used inside of SL. | The main difference is that while a SLurl is simply a text link, a {{xref|landmark}} is an inventory {{xref|item}} type which can only be used inside of SL. | ||
== How do I convert a landmark to a SLurl (and vice-versa)? == | == How do I convert a landmark to a SLurl (and vice-versa)? == | ||
Revision as of 08:26, 6 January 2011
Quick SLurl FAQ
What is a SLurl™?
A Second Life URL (SLurl) is a teleport link to a location in Second Life.
Think of it this way: you can't get to a webpage without knowing its URL (Uniform Resource Locator), commonly called a "hyperlink" or simply "link". Just like your web browser has bookmarks, in Second Life, we have SLurls. Since our virtual world is three-dimensional, SLurls contain a Region name and 3 positioning coordinates within that region.
This video shows you what you need to know in 5 minutes:
- <videoflash type="youtube">-HeReEWP0I0|640|385</videoflash>
How do I use a SLurl?
Just like any web link! It's easy:
- Click this example SLurl.
- On the page it takes you to, click Visit this location to open it in Second Life.
- Even if you don't have Second Life, there are instructions to join us.
How do I make a SLurl?
- Move your avatar to where you want to create the SLurl.
- Click the place name in the location bar (near the top of the Viewer window) to convert it to a SLurl. It'll look like
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Here/128/128/44. - Right-click and Copy the SLurl while it's selected, or use Ctrl+V.
- Paste the SLurl where you want it.
Alternatively, you can also use the World Map to get SLurls:
- Select World menu > World Map.
- Click Copy SLurl.
- You can also enter another place on the map, then click Copy SLurl to get a remote SLurl.
 |
Tip: Pasting a SLurl into text chat (or an instant message) makes it appear in a abbreviated form that can be clicked on, like any other hyperlink. For example, http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Here/128/128/44 appears as Here (128,128,44). |
What's the difference between a SLurl and a landmark?
SLurls and landmarks serve the same purpose: addresses of Second Life places.
The main difference is that while a SLurl is simply a text link, a landmark is an inventory item type which can only be used inside of SL.
How do I convert a landmark to a SLurl (and vice-versa)?
Converting any landmark to a SLurl is easy.
- Click the Places sidebar tab.
- Right-click a landmark and select Copy SLurl.
The SLurl is now ready to be pasted as described above.
To convert a SLurl to a landmark:
- Click or otherwise use the SLurl to get to its location.
- Select World menu > Landmark This Place.
What's the difference between maps.secondlife.com and slurl.com ?
Both domains are valid for SLurls. These point to the same inworld place:
However, maps.secondlife.com is more context-rich, meaning it's a friendlier introduction for someone who's never used Second Life before. If you're using SLurls on the broader web, we recommend using maps.secondlife.com
Technical SLurl details
The maps.secondlife.com and slurl.com websites are implemented using the Second Life Map API. If you have a website, you can use it as well to embed Second Life maps on your pages, in the same way you can embed Google Maps.
How it works
Use a SLurl to direct people to inworld locations like this:
- Create a SLurl, either within the Viewer (as detailed above) or using SLurlBuilder (which as of January 2011, hasn't changed in years).
- Share the SLurl with a person who you want to tell about something in Second Life.
- They click the SLurl. It's a web link like any other.
- They'll see a http://SLurl.com page and more info, if you provided it.
If the person doesn't have Second Life
The SLurl page (either http://maps.secondlife.com or http://slurl.com) displays a link to join Second Life.
From the signup up page, they can quickly register, download the Second Life Viewer, and log in. When they first log in, they will initially arrive at the destination specified by the SLurl, not the default start location on Welcome Island. A quick tutorial opens upon their initial arrival to help them get started.
If the person has Second Life
If the Second Life Viewer is not already running, it'll start.
- When they log in, they'll be at the location specified by the SLurl.
- If they're already logged in, the Place Profile opens in the Second Life Viewer's sidebar.
- When they click the Teleport button in this window, they'll be instantly teleported to the location specified by the SLurl. Alternatively, they can click Map to display the target location on the World Map, or close the sidebar if they don't want to be teleported.
Expected behavior
On Windows, a SLurl opens the most recently installed Viewer.
There isn't an immediate way to change which Viewer launches SLurls, so if you have the current released Viewer and a Release Candidate, whichever was installed most recently will start. You can change this by reinstalling the Viewer.
Every SLurl page's SLurl title and Teleport Now button link to a "secondlife://" address, which is an URI scheme which opens Second Life. This is different from the familiar "http://" used for webpages.
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Tip: The reason why it's advantageous to post "http://" SLurls instead of direct "secondlife://" addresses in webpages is for the benefit of people who don't have Second Life yet. Giving them the latter doesn't work, since it depends on SL being installed. A SLurl serves as a friendly intro to tell them about Second Life as-needed and where they'll be going. |
Constructing SLurls
The basic format for a SLurl is:
http://SLurl.com/secondlife/<region>/<x>/<y>/<z>?param=value¶m=value...
Where:
<region>is the name of the destination Region<x>and<y>are the east/west and north/south coordinates of the destination;<z>is the vertical (height) coordinate.- The
?and the parameters that follow it are optional and provide additional information to be displayed in the SLurl.com page; see Query string parameters for more information.
Query string parameters
 |
Note: In Linden Lab's official showcasing of SLurls, this has somewhat been deprecated by the Destination Guide. |
You can use the SLurlBuilder to make the following easier.
Supply SLurl query string parameters to set the window title, image, and text. Parameters are just name=value pairs. Just like a standard URL, precede the first parameter pair with a question mark (?), and all subsequent parameter pairs with an ampersand (&).
| Parameter | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| title | Title text to display in the teleport window. | To specify the window title "Come to My Island!" use title=Come%20To%20My%20Island
|
| img | URL of image to display in teleport window. Must be a complete (absolute) URL, and preferably a small image of 256x256 pixels or less. | To display this example image, use img=http://slurl.com/examples/forsale.png |
| msg | Message text to display in the teleport window | To specify the message text "Your text here", use msg=Your%20text%20here |
Shortening SLurls
SLurls with string parameters can get quite long and ugly. This makes them difficult to paste into places like emails, which may have line breaks that mangle the SLurl.
You can use a 3rd-party URL-shortening service to condense a SLurl and make it easier to share. There are dozens of these out there, including:
- bit.ly - Twitter's default, one of the most popular. Has stats-tracking.
- Snurl - No relation to SLurl.
- TinyURL - One of the first.
If you have a webserver with a customizable redirect, you can do something similar.
See also
Some of the below is outdated and kept for historical purposes.
- What's a SLurl? ... and why you should care - 2009-10-08 post from Second Life Tips & Tricks.
- Historical Direct SLurl announcement
- Changing your login location
- Teleport_location_history - Video tutorial.
- Using SLurls for easy travel 2008-02-21 blog post and older video tutorial.
- Template:SLurl - Need to add SLurls to a wiki page here? This will help!
- SLurlblogger - Useful tool by Ordinal Malaprop which "can send notes with SLurls to email, or directly to a blog".