Viewer Skins/Starlight
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Important! |
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Use caution when installing these skins, as modifications to your installed software files are not officially supported by Second Life support |
| By: | Hitomi Tiponi |
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| Viewer Version: | 2.0 - 2.7 |
| Information: | Starlight 2.0.1 - 2.7.0527 |
| Source: | Various |
| Image: |
About
This skin is designed to give more choice, and hopefully improve the usability and promote usage of Second Life Viewer 2 - all Full and Beta versions of Viewer 2 have a StarLight version to work with them, including Viewer 2.6.
StarLight consists of a number of previously published viewer tweaks - produced by various residents (see credits in the downloaded 'Read Me' file) together with a continual addition of new ones. In addition there is a slight reskinning to give the interface a lighter feel, several colour variants (called 'Themes') and a sidebar-free variant (called 'StarDust'). It should hopefully benefit those people who have no wish to edit the XML code themselves, yet wish to benefit from a number of tweaks made by other residents, without using a third-party viewer.
The major changes that StarLight makes are listed here.
Over 7,500 downloads so far!
NEW! World Map can now cover entire floater - makes it more usable
Downloads
It is VERY important that you always use the version of StarLight for the appropriate viewer release. Always use the appropriate version from the table below of all supported versions.
ALWAYS DOWNLOAD THE CORRECT VERSION OF STARLIGHT IF YOU SWITCH VERSIONS OF THE VIEWER
StarLight is normally updated here within a few hours of Linden Labs issuing a new version of the Viewer (and sometimes before it is officially released)
| StarLight Release (click to download) | Alternative Download (use only if main site unavailable) | Designed for Viewer 2 Release | Date Added | New Features / Notes |
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| StarLight 2.7.0552 | Viewer 2.7.4* (2.7.4.235167) | July 12th 2011 | ||
| StarLight 2.7.0552 | Viewer Beta 2.7.5 (2.7.5.233981) | June 30th 2011 | World map resize is improved |
* Main Viewer downloaded from the Linden Lab web-site is in bold - to see which version you have look in "Help->About Second Life" in your Viewer
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Beta Versions of StarLight
Occasionally new releases of Starlight are added here to test or see the reactions to new features.
| StarLight Beta Release (click to download) | Designed for Viewer 2 Release | Date Added | New Features / Notes |
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| None available |
StarLight for Viewer 2-based TPVs
Versions of StarLight are also available for:
- Catznip - versions of all StarLight themes integrated with the Viewer
- Kirstens S21 - versions of four StarLight themes are available from the Kirsten Viewer forums.
- Firestorm - currently being developed and amended for the Firestorm development team
Discussions, information, support and questions
To discuss StarLight and get news of changes/versions/bugs etc. please visit the Viewer xml and Skinning Forum.
StarLight is assembled by Hitomi Tiponi - she may be contacted through the aforementioned forum or in-world.
Major Changes to the Standard Skin
- Sidebar reduced in size and does not slide the chiclets/buttons along the bottom-bar
- Choice of five colour schemes - Orange, Teal or Nostalgia Blue (giving a feel of the 1.* interface) plus two light-on-dark 'silver' skins
- 'StarDust' skin - for a version without the sidebar
- Comprehensive Shadows and Local Lights settings in "Graphics"
- Revised Preferences panels - with LOTS of extra options to control graphics, chat and many, many other features
- Camera control made smaller than the standard version (similar to the Kirstens Viewer approach but smaller)
- Ability to slide across the World Map to fill it's floater, also with ability to shrink the floater more than at present NEW!
- Most buttons have icons rather than labels, with a semi-transparent bottom-bar
- "About Land", "Preferences" and "Sky Editor" buttons added to Navigation Bar
- Draw Distance slider added to Navigation Bar (between 32 and 992 metres)
- Several options added to the menu ('Marketplace', 'Grid Status', 'My Uploads', 'My Useful Features')
- "Inventory" Button added to bottom bar
- Better formatting of tabbed IM window (tabs larger and no icons in them)
- Undocked windows are resizable to a smaller size than Viewer 2 allows
- Special linking and scripting options in build menu
- Ability to create 100% transparent prims
- Tweaks to the skinning and usability (more transparent panels, resizing columns, increasing glow, realigning text etc.)
Installation Instructions
INSTRUCTIONS FOR WINDOWS AND LINUX USERS
- Log out of Second Life Viewer 2, if you are using it.
- Go to the directory you use for Viewer 2.
- Copy across the 'skins' and 'app_settings' folders to the Viewer 2 directory at the same level as the existing folders, making sure you accept any overwriting of existing files (this should just be 'panel_login.xml').
- NOTE: This will NOT delete the existing 'skins' folder - it is essential that the only change to the existing 'skins' folder is the change to one file as well as the addition of the new StarLight skins.
- To uninstall rename the 'panel_login_backup.xml' file to 'panel_login.xml' in the /skins/default/xui/en sub-folder.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR MAC USERS
- Find the Second Life Viewer 2 application in you Applications folder.
- Right click on the Second Life Viewer 2 application icon. You will get a menu.
- Choose "Show Package Contents" from that menu.
- Open the "Resources" folder and scroll down until you see the "skins" and "app_settings" sub-folders of StarLight.
- Make sure you are not actually running Second Life Viewer 2 as you do this.
- Copy the files from the folders in StarLight into the Second Life Viewer 2 application folder - this will add in the new skin elements and will overwrite one file - 'panel_login.xml'.
- To uninstall rename the 'panel_login_backup.xml' file to 'panel_login.xml' in the /skins/default/xui/en sub-folder
Recent Changes
Changes to 2.6.5 from 2.6.4
- New 'StarDust' skin version with no sidebar
- Fixed bug affecting setting of letter keys to control movement, and remembering the snapshot button's position
Changes to 2.6.4 from 2.6.2
- Fixed bug with editing wearables
- Fully compatible with new Avatar Physics
Changes to 2.6.2 from 2.6.1
- Simpler skin and theme selection
- Slightly revised installation instructions
Changes to 2.6.1 from 2.5.3
- Different coloured StarLight themes are now selectable from the login screen
- New installation instructions
Changes to 2.5.3 from 2.5.1
- Bottombar changed to use icons and use semi-transparent look in all skins
- Preferences button on Navigation Bar (from Kirstens)
- Additional options (and reorganisation) to allow linking or script handling from within 'Object' menu (thanks to samm florian)
- Bug fixes to name tag display and reverting camera and minimap transparency
Changes to 2.5.1 from 2.4.3
- Reorganisation of preferences options - 'Graphics', 'Chat' and 'Viewer' now have sub-panels
- Slight reorganisation of Move floater to make it smaller and fix bug in earlier versions with graphics not aligning fully
- Slider to alter viewer text size
- Provide options to not show library in Inventory, vary timing of tooltips, global illumination and others
Changes to 2.4.3 from 2.4.2
- "Admin" menu re-enabled
- Slight changes to workings of floater opacity
Changes to 2.4.2 from 2.3.1
- Two new colour schemes with a 'dark on light' approach - Silver Blue, and Silver Pink
- Numerous alterations to the 'Preferences' panels to give an alternative to the LL reorganised panels
- Numeric values added in various 'Graphics' preferences settings
- Option provided to select colour name tags for friends and avatars with matching or mismatching name tags
- Detached side-panels are also adjusted by new floater opacity controls - and local chat remains opaque
- Item in menu now points to 'Marketplace' instead of 'Xstreet'
Changes to 2.3.1 from 2.2.3
- Added ability to add a Calling Card when clicking on an avatar (thanks to Kitty Barnett)
- Enable forcing on of antialiasing in computers with GPUs that LInden Lab do not think supports it
- When available will colour the tags of Friends blue/green and avatars with a different display name light orange
Changes to 2.2.3 from 2.2.2
- Further additions to the preferences panels
- Ability to build 100% transparent prims
Changes to 2.2.2 from 2.2.1
- Smaller undocked panels and minimap permitted
- Draw distance slider has maximum increased to 992
- Minor formatting changes
Changes to 2.2.1 from 2.1.8
- Now available in 3 colour schemes
- 'Sky Editor' accessible from navigation bar