Keyboard mapping

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Revision as of 16:42, 26 February 2011 by Boroondas Gupte (talk | contribs) (Note about different filename and format in 2.5+)
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KBwarning.png Warning: Changing the Viewer's initialization files can result in unexpected behavior or loss of functionality in Second Life. Proceed at your own risk; Linden Lab will not support issues that arise as a result of altered program files. Always make a backup copy before making edits.

There are various situations in which you may want to remap the Second Life Viewer's keyboard controls. For example:

  • You're using a non-QWERTY keyboard.
  • You want to change how keys respond in mouselook (first-person view).

You can rebind keyboard controls by editing the keys.ini file:

KBnote.png Note: In Viewer 2.5 and later, the file is called keys.xml and has a different format.
  1. Navigate to your Second Life install directory's app_settings folder.
    • On Windows, Second Life installs to C:\Program Files\SecondLifeViewer2 by default on Windows systems. Or C:\Program Files (x86)\SecondLifeViewer2 if you're on a 64-bit version of Windows.
    • On a Mac, right-click the Second Life application package and choose Show Package Contents. Then, open Contents > Resources > app_settings.
  2. Make a backup copy of keys.ini. so you can restore the original configuration if something goes wrong.
  3. Open keys.ini in a text editor, like Notepad or Textedit.
  4. Read the primer at the beginning of the file; it will help you understand how to make your edits
  5. When you feel comfortable with the format of the file, edit the second and third columns to change key bindings.
    • If you want a binding to be consistent between third-person and first-person views, you need to change the same control for both modes.
  6. Save and close keys.ini.
  7. Restart the Viewer and test your new controls!

See also