Viewer parameters
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For versions of Second Life prior 1.20 see: Pre 1.20 Client parameters
Using Viewer parameters
There are many ways of passing command line parameters to the Viewer.
Command line
On all platforms, you may specify parameters directly on the command line running the Viewer from a shell. For example:
SecondLife.exe --channel "Test 123" --settings settings_workspace.xml --set InstallLanguage en
Windows shortcut
On Windows, you can also specify command line parameters as follows:
- Create a shortcut to the SecondLife.exe executable.
- Edit the shortcut properties
- Add any of the above parameters in the first editable text field.
- The parameters go at the end of the line, after the closing quotation mark, if any.
Linux
On Linux, specify command line parameters as follows:
- Edit the gridargs.dat file in the Second Life folder with a text editor.
- Add any of the above parameters to the file, separated either by a space or a newline.
- Save the file.
The next time Second Life is launched, it will use the specified options.
Mac OS X Parameter File
On Mac OS X, specify command line parameters as follows:
- Create a file called Second Life.app/Contents/Resources/arguments.txt
- List the parameters to use, one per line.
The next time Second Life is launched, it will use the specified options.
Mac OS X AppleScripts
An alternative (and often easier) way to launch Second Life with command line parameters is to use an AppleScript.
Follow these steps:
- In
/Applications/AppleScriptopen Script Editor. - Open a new document and paste the following text into it:
do shell script "\"/Applications/Second Life.app/Contents/MacOS/Second Life\" -grid Aditi"
The script includes an example parameter that will cause the Viewer to log in to the beta grid; change the parameters as desired.
- Once you're happy with the parameters, click "Compile"
- Choose File > Save As
- Save the script as an Application, and select "Run Only" (may be "Execute" on OS X.4 Tiger). If you want to tweak the script then you can save it as not run-only, and/or save a copy as "Script".
Double-click the application you've compiled to launch the Viewer with the specified parameters.
NOTE: If the Viewer launches then immediately quits, open it normally since there is likely an update available: download it and your script will work again. There is a JIRA issue for this.
Visual Studio
In Visual Studio, the command line paramaters are in the Debug Options pane of the newview project preferences. Ensure newview is your startup project, and launch the compiled viewer from within the debugger for these options to take effect.
XCode
In XCode, first select "newview" under the "Executables" group in XCode. Then open the "Get Info" dialog and click the "Arguments" tab. Add any of the above options to the "Arguments to be passed on launch" pane.
Parameter reference
NOTE: A parameter refers to a directive provided on the command-line following a double-dash (--).
An argument is a value provided for a parameter. For example in --port 13001, "port" is the parameter
and "13001" is the argument.
| Parameter | Argument (if any) | Description | Overridden Setting |
|---|---|---|---|
| --autologin | None | Login in as last saved user. | AutoLogin |
| --channel <name> | Channel name | Specify version channel name. (For Testing) | VersionChannelName |
| --console <show> | ? | Show a debugging console (Windows only) | ShowConsoleWindow |
| --cooperative <ms to yield> | Milliseconds to yield per frame | Yield specified time to host on each frame. | YieldTime |
| --crashonstartup | None | Crashes on startup. For debugging. | N/A |
| --debugviews | None | Enable UI view debugging information. | DebugViews |
| --drop <percentage> | Percentage to drop (0 - 100) | Specify a percentage of packets to drop. | PacketDropPercentage |
| --god | None | Login in god mode if you are authorized. | ConnectAsGod |
| --grid <grid choice> | Grid name or IP | Specify the grid to connect to. Can be an IP address. | GridChoice |
| --help | None | Show a message box with available options listed. | N/A |
| --helperuri <URI> | URI | Helper web cgi prefix to use ??? | HelperURI |
| --ignorepixeldepth | None | Ignore pixel depth settings. | IgnorePixelDepth |
| --inbw <bits> | Bits per second | Specify input bandwidth limit. | InBandwidth |
| --loginpage <URL> | URL of page | Login authentication page to use. | |
| --loginuri <URI> | URI | Login server to connect to. | LoginURI |
| --log | None | Log network messages. | LogMessages |
| --logfile <filename> | File name | Specify a file name for log output. | UserLogFile |
| --login <firstname> <lastname> <password> | Account first name, last name, and password with which to log in. | Specify login values. | UserLoginInfo |
| --multiple | None | Allow multiple viewers running concurrently. | AllowMultipleViewers |
| --noaudio | None | Disable sound from the client. | NoAudio |
| --noinvlib | None | Do not request inventory library. | NoInventoryLibrary |
| --no-verify-ssl-cert | None | Disable SSL certificate verification. | NoVerifySSLCert |
| --nopreload | None | Disable precaching of sound and bitmaps used by the client. | NoPreload |
| --noprobe | None | Disable hardware checking at startup. | NoHardwareProbe |
| --noquicktime | None | Disable use of quicktime by the client. | NoQuickTime |
| --nosound | None | Disable sound from the client. | NoAudio |
| --novoice | None | Disable voice chat. | DisableVoice |
| --outbw <bits> | Bits per second | Specify output bandwidth limit. | OutBandwidth |
| --purge | None | Force the client to clear cached downloads during startup. | PurgeCacheOnNextStartup |
| --port <n> | Port number | Set the TCP port for the client; useful to run multiple instances of SL on the same local home network. Values that may work: 13000 and 13001 (Valid numbers are 13000 to 13050) | ViewerPort |
| --qa | None | Enable UI features for used for testing. | QAMode |
| --quitafter <secs> | Number of seconds to wait before quitting | Have the client quit after the specified duration. | QuitAfterSeconds |
| --rotate | None | Force the avatar to rotate to the right. (For Testing) | RotateRight |
| --safe | None | Reset preferences and run in safe mode. | SafeMode
|
| --set <parameter> <value> | First argument is the name of setting; second is the value to assign to it. | Specify the value of the named setting. | Maps to <setting> arg. |
| --settings <filename> | Local file name | Specify the name of the user settings file. | UserSettingsFile |
| --skin <folder> | Folder name | Specify the skin folder to use. (eg. korean, spanish) | SkinFolder |
| --url <SLURL> | SLURL | Specify the starting region and position (for example, secondlife://Ahern/128/128).
This must be the last parameter on the command line. |
SecondLifeURL |
Specifying new command line parameters
To add a new command line parameter, use the configuration file app_settings/cmd_line.xml to map a command line paramter to a user setting. A parameter can have the following options:
- desc - A description of the paramter.
- short - a single character to map to the paramter.
- count - the number of tokens to follow a option.
- compose - true if the option can be specified multiple times.
- positional - true if the option can be specified without --name.
- last_option - true if the option should be the last option.
- map-to - specify a user setting to map the option to.
The file uses LLSD syntax. Use the existing options as reference.