Different ways to do the same thing
There are often "different ways to do the same thing" in Second Life, or in other words, various paths to one goal. For example, a newcomer may prefer using the mouse to clicking menu options, but when you know there are keyboard shortcuts — which "power users" generally prefer — you can graduate to those. Here are some quick examples and check out the "See also" links to more info at the bottom.
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Tip: The below shows PC shortcuts, but you can easily "translate" to Mac shortcuts. See "PC and Mac shortcut key differences". |
Menus
Many menu items, especially broadly useful ones, have keyboard shortcuts listed next to them. These shortcuts differ depending on your operating system (Windows, Mac, Linux).
Keyboard shortcuts that are single letters (for example, G for Build > Options > Snap to Grid) only work if inworld (as opposed to the chat bar) has focus. Simply click inworld to give it focus.
Sidebar
Most of the sidebar stuff can be accessed through the top bar and context menu:
- Most of the sidebar tabs' menu equivalents are in the Me menu. For example, Me > My Profile does the same thing as clicking the My Profile sidebar tab.
- Right-click your avatar to show some of the same sidebar tab options.
Movement controls
In the Viewer's user interface, there's the Move controls. All of these have keyboard equivalents, which is the more common usage. Advanced users can remap keys.
| "Special" keys | "Letter" keys (when chat bar doesn't have focus) | |
|---|---|---|
| Move forward | ↑ | W |
| Move backward | ↓ | S |
| Turn left (strafe left in mouselook) | ← | A |
| Turn right (strafe left in mouselook) | → | D |
| Jump | tap Page Up | tap E |
| Fly up | hold Page Up | hold E |
| Fly down (or crouch, when on the ground) | hold Page Down | hold C |
If you want the arrow keys to always move your avatar (in other words, the arrow keys won't move the I-beam cursor when it's in the chat bar and certain other places):
- Choose Me menu > Preferences.
- Click the Advanced tab.
- Check Arrow keys always move me.
- Click OK.
Camera controls
In the Viewer's user interface, there's the Camera controls. Like Move, all camera controls have keyboard equivalents. These shortcuts are more complicated than movement controls because they require pressing several keys (and/or the left mouse button) simultaneously, so there's a healthy proportion of Residents using one way or the other — or both.
| "Special keys" keyboard shortcut | "Letter keys" keyboard shortcut | Mouse-inclusive equivalent | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Change focus point (and center it in the Viewer window) | n/a | n/a | Alt + left-click |
| Zoom in | Alt+↑ | Alt+W | Alt + hold left mouse button and drag up |
| Zoom out | Alt+↓ | Alt+S | Alt + hold left mouse button and drag down |
| Orbit up | Alt+Ctr+↑ | Alt+Ctrl+W | Alt+Ctrl + hold left mouse button and drag up |
| Orbit down | Alt+Ctrl+↓ | Alt+Ctrl+S | Alt+Ctrl + hold left mouse button and drag down |
| Orbit left | Alt+Ctrl+← | Alt+Ctrl+W | Alt+Ctrl + hold left mouse button and drag left |
| Orbit right | Alt+Ctrl+→ | Alt+Ctrlk+S | Alt+Ctrl + hold left mouse button and drag right |
| Pan up | Alt+Ctrl+Shift ⇧+↑ | Alt+Ctrl+Shift ⇧+W | Alt+Ctrl+Shift ⇧ + hold left mouse button and drag down |
| Pan down | Alt+Ctrl+Shift ⇧+↓ | Alt+Ctrl+Shift ⇧+S | Alt+Ctrl+Shift ⇧ + hold left mouse button and drag up |
| Pan left | Alt+Ctrl+Shift ⇧+← | Alt+Ctrl+Shift ⇧+A | Alt+Ctrl+Shift ⇧ + hold left mouse button and drag right |
| Pan right | Alt+Ctrl+Shift ⇧+→ | Alt+Ctrl+Shift ⇧+D | Alt+Ctrl+Shift ⇧ + + hold left mouse button and drag left |
See also
These pages have more info about the above. Note some of it is outdated from Viewer 1.23 and needs to be updated for Viewer 2, so if you're feeling like making contributions, go ahead!
- Shortcut keys, which relates to:
- Remap keys
- Camera