User settings

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Tip: This page should be linked to whenever an article references user settings, so steps of how to get there can avoid being repetitively typed out.

About

The SecondLife user settings folder is where, obviously enough, your settings are stored. This folder in turn includes folders such as:

• logs - Diagnostic logs which can help when troubleshooting.
• firstname_lastname - Chat logs, login screens, and other stuff is stored in a folder with your Second Life account name. For example, for a Resident named Abby Avatar, this folder is named abby_avatar.
• browser_profile - Web browser cache and related stuff.
• cache - Viewer cache.
• user_settings - Your preferences. The main file is settings.xml, although if you have multiple Viewers, they may also use this folder to store viewer-specific preferences. For example, if you use Snowglobe, you may see a file named settings_snowgloberelease.xml.
• user_settings/windlight - Where custom sky & water settings are stored. Learn more.

You may want to access these folders for various reasons. For example, clearing the cache can help fix perceived inventory loss, and if you're trying to completely uninstall Second Life, you'll want to delete all these settings. Furthermore, your chat logs can be backed up, and WindLight settings are simply a lot of fun to play with.

Tip: For easier future access to your user settings, make a shortcut of the SecondLife user settings folder and place it somewhere you'll remember, like your desktop.

The user settings folder's location depends on your operating system:

Windows 7 and Vista

Tip: If you have problems finding this folder, try Everything, a handy tool that searches everything on your hard drive by name.

The folder is usually located at C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming. If you install Second Life in a different location, the path is different. In any case, to get to the right place:

1. In Windows Explorer, click the Start Button.
2. In the search field (in Windows 7, it's labeled "Search programs and files" and in Windows Vista, it's labeled "Start Search"), type %appdata% and press Enter ↵.
3. In the window that appears, open the SecondLife folder.

Windows XP

The folder is usually located at C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\SecondLife. If you install Second Life in a different location, the path is different. To get to the right place:

1. In Windows Explorer, click Start button.
2. Click Run.
3. In the Run window, type %appdata% and click OK.

   

4. In the window that appears, open the SecondLife folder.

Mac OS X

The folder is located at ~/Library/Application Support/SecondLife. To get here:

1. In the Mac OS X Finder, choose Go menu > Go to Folder.
2. Enter ~/Library/Application Support/SecondLife and click OK.

   

3. The window refreshes to show the SecondLife folder. Open it.

Linux

The folder is located at ~/.secondlife - it's a hidden folder (the folder name begins with a dot) and it's inside the user home folder. To get here:

1. Open your file manager
2. go to your home folder
3. if needed, enable "Show Hidden Files and Directories" or a similar option in your file manager
4. open the .secondlife folder

Where's the cache?

The cache folder may be in a different place on newer operating systems and Viewer versions.

On Windows 7, try: C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\SecondLife

On Mac OS X, try: ~/Library/Caches/SecondLife

See also

• Crash logs - Found in the logs folder described above.