Introduction to Firestorm class material based on the 4.5.1 release
This class is intended to give you an overview of the Firestorm viewer, as well as show you how to customize it to suit you.
If you have not installed Firestorm previously just download and install it. However, if you have tried one of the previous releases, please do a clean install to avoid possible issues. When the next release comes out also do a clean install please. http://wiki.phoenixviewer.com/fs_clean_reinstall has instructions on how to do a proper clean install.
Firestorm installs to its own directories so you can install it without affecting other viewers.
This class is meant to help you start to get familiar with the Firestorm layout. We'll cover:
* Top Bar
* Toolbars
* Chiclets
* Using the Wiki
We have a large and growing body of documentation at http://wiki.phoenixviewer.com/doku.php?id=start to help you out as well as our support group secondlife:///app/group/3a1be8d4-01f3-bc1a-2703-442f0cc8f2dd/about where you can ask questions.
****Top Bar
The Top Bar has up to four lines.
The Top row shows the Viewer name, your name and the release version number, and it is not visible in Full screen mode.
**Menu Bar
2nd row is the Menu bar, which is also not optional. This has Avatar, Communicate, World, Build, Content, Help (displayed by default), Advanced and Develop (display is optional) menus, as well as draw distance on the Starlight skins.
Also: L$ balance, BUY L$, and the time.
The music note will start and stop music, the camera button will play or pause media and the volume icon opens a volume controller if you hover over it.
You can choose to show or hide the music media and volume icons, in Preferences > User Interface General.
Right-click anywhere on the menu bar and you can enable and disable the following:
Show Navigation Bar
Show Favorites Bar
Show Search Bar Note that this requires the Navigation bar active.
Show Location in Top Menu Will add the location in the menu bar. On skins with the draw distance slider in the menu bar this may be an issue.
**Navigation Bar
3rd row, if enabled, is the Navigation Bar
On Starlight skins, the Navigation Bar and Favorites Bar are combined.
The arrows on the left end allow you to go back and forth between your current and previous location.
The Home icon will allow you to TP home
Land Shows you About Land
Sky opens the Advanced Sky Editor
Location bar icon (gives more info), name of the location, location rating, damage/health level, the star (add to LMs), Search bar, Arrow (gives typed location History)
Right-clicking on the Navigation Bar opens a popup that will display the following options.
Show Coordinates
Parcel Properties
Add to Landmarks
Cut
Copy
Paste
Delete
Select All
**Favorites Bar
4th row if the Navigation bar is enabled, 3rd if its not, is the Favorites bar. This allows quick access to landmarks that you define as favorites.
Drag a LM to the bar, or add it in your "Favorites" folder in your inventory to add it to the Favorites.
We'll cover one of the menus while we're here. For more detailed explanations we do have classes that deals with just the menus. Please see the class schedule for details.
Alternatively you could always just go to our wiki :)
We like to point out that all menus, and sub-menus will detach and stay open if you click on the double lines at the top of the menu.
So, click on the Help menu to open it, then click on the double lines you see at the top of that drop down menu, and voila.. it's detached and will not close as soon as you click on an option.
This makes it much simpler to remember and uncheck anything you happen to click on either by mistake or to see what it does. While we're here, let's look at what's in the Help menu.
**Help Menu
Enable Viewer UI Hints > Enables the hints that are available in the user interface (UI)
Firestorm Wiki (F1) > Prompts you to open the Firestorm Wiki page where you can find documentation on various parts of Firestorm
Troubleshooting > opens the troubleshooting page on our Wiki where you can find suggestions for issues you may experience.
Join Firestorm Support Group: Opens a window listing in-world support groups you can join, to get help.
Check Grid Status > Prompts you to open the Grid Status web page
Report Abuse > Opens the Abuse Report window
Report Bug > Opens http://wiki.phoenixviewer.com/doku.php?id=file_a_jira where you can read how to file a bug report
Bumps Pushes & Hits opens a window that shows who or what has hit you. Does not work on damabe enabled land.
Enable Sysinfo Button > Enables a button in IM windows that lets you send your Sysinfo
About Firestorm > This opens the About Firestorm window, which shows the sysinfo as well as the credits and licensing information. Team members have the ability to "ping" you for the sysinfo.
You will get a request to send it, please do, as the information can help solve your problems.
****Toolbars
Firestorm uses Linden Lab's FUI. This allows you much more choice of what buttons you see, and where you place them. You can place them on the bottom , left or right sides of the screen.
First an important note. Your choice of viewer skin will make a difference in how the toolbar looks as the Vintage skin has been heavily modified to look very much like the original Phoenix viewer skin.
To choose buttons, right-click on any button in one of the bars, or go to the Avatar menu, and click on Toolbar Buttons. Then select the buttons you want.
Simply drag the buttons from that window to where you want them, or back to the window to remove them.
You can drag these buttons within the toolbar to place them in the order you want them, and you can drag from one toolbar to another.
You also get the option of how they align as well as the option of different sizes and labeling when you Rclick on a toolbar.
The Chat bar is resizable, except on the Latency and Vintage skins. Hover your mouse at the right end of the chatbar, it will change to a double-ended arrow. Then click and move left or right to resize.
It can also be made to autohide, saving you space for buttons and chiclets in the bottom bar when not in use and extending the full length of the screen when it is in use. More info on that in our Preferences 101 class.
Chiclets can now show top or bottom right depending on your settings.they will show in the same place as you have group notices set to show.
You can also now hide the chiclets other than the main conversations and notifications icons.
**Conversation Icons
When a conversation is active, the person or group's icon will show in the top or bottom right hand side depending on your settings. If there are unread messages there will be a chat bubble on that person or groups chiclet. Unless chiclets are "hidden" of course.
**Box (Gift) Icons
Located between the IM icons and the conversations Icon. When someone/something gives you something it will show up there along with a dialog. Click it to Accept, Discard, or Block (Mute).
**Chat Bubble (conversations)
A small chat bubble will appear to show how many unread messages that you have. Click on the chat bubble icon and next to each group tab, the number of unread conversations will be shown for that group.
**Envelope (notification) icon
Shows the number of notifications that you have. Clicking on the icon brings up the list of notifications with a small blurb about the notification.
Clicking on the notification will give you a popup with more detail, and if there is an attachment you can accept the attachment from there just by clicking on the attachment itself.
**Toasts
They are the little fading bubbles of text that pop up on the bottom or top right. They can be group notices, IMs and such, depending on your personal settings.
****The Wiki
In case you missed it, we have a wiki. Our wiki has loads of info about the viewer, including images, and can help you troubleshoot problems, too. We will go over how to find what you're looking for.
***In The Viewer
You can reach the wiki from the viewer in two ways.
Menus: First, as we previously covered, you can go to Help > Firestorm Wiki. Hitting F1 on most keyboards will get you there as well.
Question Marks: Second, in many places in the viewer, you will see question marks in the upper right corner. Clicking the question marks will open a Help Browser with the associated wiki page.
***On the Web
The start page for the wiki is http://wiki.phoenixviewer.com/ . We'll go over the basic categories of pages you can get to from there as well as some search tips for finding what you need.
There is a link to Phoenix documentation, but Firestorm is the focus of this page.
Since the wiki is ever-changing and may be updated even while the class is in progress, we'll talk about basic categories of links and highlights rather than trying to hit every link.
** Firestorm Documentation
Some Firestorm documentation has been translated into a number of different languages, and links to the language start pages are here.
Downloads: Takes you to all downloads currently available. Don't forget to clean install ANY version you get there.
Firestorm Release Notes: The links on this page give you a list of changes in each new version of the viewer. New features and known issues are included.
Preferences Moved After Mesh Beta: Some preferences were refactored several versions ago, and this reference is for those who still need to find where certain settings were moved.
Getting Help: There are a few links in this section that help you locate support groups and team member inworld or how to file tickets on the JIRA.
The Troubleshooting Guide is a clearly-laid out table of contents for pages with fixes for common issues. It can be a valuable page to browse through just to see what is listed. You might want to bookmark this!
Hot LL JIRA Issues helps you find Linden bug reports that affect Firestorm users. How to File a JIRA explains how to file one on our issue tracker -- or a support request or feature request.
This section also links to our class schedule and to office hour info.
**Firestorm User Guide
This is where you can find reference pages, many of them illustrated, for nearly every piece of the user interface. Many are the pages that pop up if you use the question marks in the UI.
The first few links under Basic Functions give you an overview of the viewer; one of them might look very familiar to people attending this very class!
Then there is a list of specific UI components, some of which we cover in other classes (Inventory, Contact Sets), and others of which we don't yet (Profiles, Parcel & Region Management).
There are links for both Preferences and Quick Preferences, a list of Keyboard Shortcuts, and some very important tip pages: one on all the DOs and DON'Ts of cache and one on backing up settings.
There is also an explanation of the Abuse Report floater.
The Advanced Functions section includes links to info on some of Firestorm's more sophisticated features, some of them specific to Firestorm (like the AO and Bridge), others not (Windlight, Building, Physics).
You can also find a link to lists of Debug Settings (sorry, there isn't much description of them there) and a very informative page on lag. This is a good one to go back and read through later.
**Tutorials and Other Info
Some of our developers have created tutorial videos to help you with specific features or with the viewer on the whole.
Currently, you can find a video on Contact Sets by LordGregGreg Back and three videos on the Client AO by Zi Ree.
In addition, Jessica Lyon has also produced a pair of videos on customizing the 4.0.1 release of Firestorm, one focusing on the toolbar buttons and the other on replicating the old sidebar behavior.
Although they are no longer current, there are also a few older tutorial videos created for previous versions of Firestorm.
If you would like to try your hand at making a new skin theme, there is a written tutorial at "Colour Scheme Tutorial," though it was written pre-FUI.
Finally, there are links for developers and links to the viewer's credits, licensing, and privacy policy.
***Searching the Wiki
We'll cover the search tools in the wiki, but if you have browsed and have an idea of what's already there, particularly on the main pages, you can more quickly find what you need later.
For example, we already went through the start page, and you probably have a better idea of where to find answers to certain questions than you did an hour ago, just by taking a close look at the links.
Try doing the same with the Troubleshooting Guide ( http://wiki.phoenixviewer.com/firestorm_troubleshooting ). Go down the list, pick an item, have a peek. Do the same tomorrow. You get the idea. ;)
**Search Bar
The Search Bar is in the upper right corner of every page. Think in terms of keywords here: "shadows," "bridge," "ao," etc. Some search tips:
When you type a word in, stop before you hit the Enter key. A floating window opens with a list of pages that contain that exact word in the title. If you see one that might be useful, click on it.
If not, then hit Enter and you'll be taken to the search results. At the top are listed the pages with the word in the title, if there are any.
Below that will be pages listed in order of search term frequency. The top hits will include some text from the page with the search terms shown in context.
Titles with a two-letter combo at the end, such as "nl" or "de" or "es" are translated pages in another language (e.g., Dutch, German, Spanish). If you don't speak that language, you can ignore those results.
- Combining search terms within quotation marks will bring up results containing the full phrase. E.g., "client ao" will only bring up pages where the two words appear together in that order.
- Combining search terms without quotation marks will bring up results containing both/all words anywhere on the page.
- Combining search terms without quotation marks but with the word "or" will bring up results with either search term.
**Viewing Pages
When you find the page you need, read the info in any large color blocks there are. Skim the section headings to become familiar with what is there.
Example: http://wiki.phoenixviewer.com/derender - This is a Phoenix page, but the warning box holds a very important cautionary note.
Look for sections specific to your operating system (Windows, Mac, Linux) but don't expect there to be sections for them on every page. Any section or page that is not OS-specific may apply to everyone.
Example: http://wiki.phoenixviewer.com/fs_voice - This page has some Windows and Linux-specific fixes, but the first sections apply to everyone, including Mac users.
On troubleshooting pages, there may be a sequence of suggested fixes. Try these one at a time and pay close attention to the wording. Don't skip steps even if you think you've done them already.
Example: http://wiki.phoenixviewer.com/fs_camera - The fixes here are ordered from easiest to most cumbersome. Easy steps are first, debug in the middle, and complete settings reset last.
And that's the wiki. Once you're used to searching and finding, you'll see why we love our wiki. We hope that it helps you learn how to make Firestorm work for you, too!
Wednesday, April 30, 2014
FIRESTORM AO NOTES
Firestorm Client AO class material.
The Firestorm viewer has a built-in AO (Animation Overrider). This makes the use of scripted AOs unnecessary, which in turn reduces the amount of scripts you wear, and so server-side lag.
Without an AO, the avatar will use basic default Linden-defined animations.
The Firestorm client AO replaces the usual scripted AO by duplicating its functions, without the script overhead.
First a brief explanation of the terms as they are used here.
AO: Animation Override or Animation Overrider. Generally, a scripted attachment worn as a HUD, containing animations and notecards which, along with the scripts, animate the avatar while it is in certain states, such as standing, walking, flying, etc.
Animation Set: The collection of animations which, taken together, make up any given AO.
Animation Group: One or more animations which serve to replace a single animation state. Examples of animation groups include stands, sits, walks, etc. All of the animation groups, together, make up an animation set.
The AO is activated by clicking on the right side of the button labeled AO; it will show a check mark when enabled.. To disable it simply click on the checkmark. You can also type "cao on" and "cao off" in local chat.
If you are using the Vintage skin the AO is activated by clicking on the AO button on the right side of the bottom toolbar.
Clicking the AO button opens the AO window. On the Vintage skin click the arrow on the right side of the AO button.
The mini AO window gives quick and easy access to a few basic functions, such as moving from one stand animation to another, toggling sit overrides and loading a new set of animations.
This small window has a wrench icon; clicking that opens the AO window to its largest size, allowing full control of the AO.
Basic functions of the AO can be accomplished via the mini AO view
Currently loaded animation set: Referring to the image above, the currently loaded set is named TPWtest.
By clicking the small down arrow, you can easily select another set (if others are available, of course).
The wrench icon expands the mini window to full size for greater control; more about the wrench icon shortly..
The two arrows switch to the previous and next animation in the current group, respectively.
The “Sit” checkbox indicates whether the AO should override sit animations that are part of scripted furniture.
If this is enabled, the AO will try to force the use of whatever sit animation you have in the animation set; if disabled, then the animation in the furniture will be used.
Note: Animation priority will always have precedence; if the animation in the furniture has higher priority than the one in your animation set, it will be used regardless of how you have this checkbox set.
Animation priority is set at upload and cannot be changed afterward, not even by the creator - unless the creator uploads again and sets a different priority.
For greater control over the AO, click the Wrench icon; this will open the AO window to maximum size.
The Current animation set is shown in the top drop-down. Clicking the down arrow beside it allows for the selection of an alternate animation set (if you have others available, of course).
The check mark to the right of the animation set name will activate the animation set. Click this if you have picked a new one.
Default: check this if you wish to make the current animation set the default when you start Firestorm.
Override sits: Does the same thing as the Sits checkbox described above.
Be Smart: If this is enabled, the AO will try to determine whether the furniture being sat on has an animation; if it determines that it does, it will disable the sit in the AO, so the one in the furniture will be used instead.
Disable Stands in Mouselook: If this is checked, the AO will disable stand animations when mouselook is entered. This is useful for combat situations, for example.
+ Button: Click this button to manually define a new animation set.
Trash: To delete the current animation set, click this button.
Animation Group: With this drop down you can select an animation group, such as Standing, Walking, Running, etc. Having selected one, you can then change the order in which animations are played, by using ….
Up/Down Arrows: moves the currently selected animation up or down in the list, thus changing the order in which the animations are played in the animation group.
Trash: Clicking this will delete the currently selected animation from the animation group. This will NOT delete the animation itself, but just the reference to it, from the group.
Cycle: Enabling this will cause a different animation to be played, from the selected group, at each “cycle time” interval.
Randomize order: Enabling this causes the animations in the selected group to be played in random order.
Cycle time: Indicates how long an animation should play before the next one begins.
Reload: Forces the AO to reload the configuration of the current animation set.
Left/Right Arrows: Skips to the previous/next animation in the current animation group. These are the same arrows seen in the mini AO view, described previously.
Down Arrow: The arrow in the bottom right corner collapses the full AO window into the mini view, which was already described.
Preparing to load the AO
If you own a scripted AO, the type worn as a HUD attachment, you can get the animations and notecard to transfer to the client AO quite easily. You can use one of two methods to do so.
method 1
Follow these steps if you are in a location where you can build; it requires the ability to rez out.
This is the method you need to use if the animations in the AO are no copy.
Rez a cube on the ground.
If you are wearing the scripted AO, detach it.
Cam in to the cube you made, then drag the AO onto it. HUDs are normally very small when rezzed in-world, and can be hard to see if you are not cammed in.
Right click the AO you rezzed out and select Open. A window opens which will list the contents of the AO; once this has fully populated, click Copy to Inventory.
This will result in the creation of a folder in your inventory, containing everything in the AO: scripts, animations and notecards.
If the AO is copyable, you can now delete it; otherwise, take it back into your inventory. Then delete the cube.
Locate the folder that was created in the step above. This folder can be dragged to another folder where it is out of the way but still available, like the Animations folder, for example.
Please do NOT put them on the Firestorm #AO folder in your inventory.
Method 2
You can follow these steps if you are unable to rez the AO out in-world, for whatever reason.
Locate the Animations folder in your inventory - it is at the top. Right Click the folder name, and select New Folder.
Type in a name for the folder - for example, give it the name of the AO you are transferring.
Make sure the AO HUD is worn; right click it and select Edit.
Click on the Content tab.
Once the AO contents are all displayed, select all items: click on the top one, then use the scroller to scroll to the bottom, press and hold Shift, and click on the last item.
Drag all the items into the folder you created in your inventory.
Close the edit window.
Loading the AO
There are two methods for loading the AO. You can either use a notecard that is in the ZHAO II format, or do it manually. The manual method requires no notecard, just animations.
Multiple AOs can be loaded, and you can switch from one to another simply by selecting the set within the Firestorm AO.
Using the notecard method
The notecard must be in standard ZHAO II format. Most AO creators support this format so you should not run into issues.
However, it must be noted that some major vendors have extended the ZHAO II format, and thus their AO notecard will need to be edited before it can be used in the Firestorm AO. Similarly, older AOs which use the old ZHAO format will have to be converted.
Unlike Phoenix, the animations and notecard do not need to be placed in a special predefined folder. However, they do need to be together in the same place.
Please do NOT put them on the Firestorm #AO folder in your inventory.
Once imported, the Firestorm client AO creates a new special folder: #Firestorm → #AO. This folder is protected - meaning it cannot be deleted, nor items removed from it under normal circumstances.
Therefore, avoid dragging items into it. Should you do so by mistake, please refer to http://wiki.phoenixviewer.com/doku.php?id=fs_ao_folder to see how to fix this.
Inside that are several more folders, containing links to the original animations.
So do not delete the original animations used or the AO will “break”.
As noted above, the Firestorm AO supports notecards in the standard ZHAO II format. Your copy of the class notes contains an example of what such a notecard looks like here.
Notice how the animation state is in brackets, followed by each name of the animation separated with a pipe character “|”. Lines should not be longer than 255 characters.
In the sample NC, the animations in the Standing group have been broken up into several lines so they are shorter and easier to read.
It is best to delete any/all lines containing comments, before loading into the client AO. Comment lines usually start with a # character.
Locate the notecard which defines the AO that you got by one of the two methods described previously.
Open the Firestorm AO to maximum, then drag the AO notecard onto the Firestorm AO window.
The notecard is parsed and if all goes well, you have finished transferring the AO.
Select options to apply, like whether this will be the default animation set, whether to override sits, etc.
****Creating an AO Manually
There is no need to have a prepared AO with a notecard to create an AO in Firestorm; you can “roll your own” if you have animations to use.
You can use the animations from a scripted AO, just use one of the above methods for getting them out of your present AO.
Method 3
You should have the AO window at maximum size.
Click the + button near the top right corner to create a new animation set. You will be prompted to supply a name for it.
A new, blank animation set is created; make sure it is showing in the list of animation sets. You can now begin to fill. It starts with the Standing group selected.
In your inventory, select the animation(s) to be used as stands. Drag them from your inventory onto the AO window. (Note that it is faster to drag them all in at once rather than one by one.) The AO processes, then you can continue.
Once you have dropped all the stands in, you can switch to another animation group, like Walking. Again, select and drag the animations from your inventory onto the AO.
Repeat this for all groups for which you have animations.
Select options to apply, like whether this will be the default animation set, whether to override sits, etc.
****AO-Related Options
There is one option related to the Firestorm AO in preferences.
Turn avatar around when walking backward: in Preferences → Move and View → Firestorm. If enabled, when you press the down arrow to walk backward, your avatar will turn to face the camera. If disabled, then your avatar will walk backward.
The Firestorm client AO information is stored in your inventory and thus usable from any computer you log in on, just like a regular HUD based AO.
We have a video of our Firestorm AO class available for you to watch anytime at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQtS7AVdLms&feature=plcp
The following Firestorm AO videos are available for you to watch. Even though they are based on the old version we strongly suggest watching them as they do show how to load the AO.
Import to AO part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1RXd_29AXo
Customize your AO part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Owl-Dv3dg8c
Options in AO part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBcVsTE8Zu0
The Firestorm viewer has a built-in AO (Animation Overrider). This makes the use of scripted AOs unnecessary, which in turn reduces the amount of scripts you wear, and so server-side lag.
Without an AO, the avatar will use basic default Linden-defined animations.
The Firestorm client AO replaces the usual scripted AO by duplicating its functions, without the script overhead.
First a brief explanation of the terms as they are used here.
AO: Animation Override or Animation Overrider. Generally, a scripted attachment worn as a HUD, containing animations and notecards which, along with the scripts, animate the avatar while it is in certain states, such as standing, walking, flying, etc.
Animation Set: The collection of animations which, taken together, make up any given AO.
Animation Group: One or more animations which serve to replace a single animation state. Examples of animation groups include stands, sits, walks, etc. All of the animation groups, together, make up an animation set.
The AO is activated by clicking on the right side of the button labeled AO; it will show a check mark when enabled.. To disable it simply click on the checkmark. You can also type "cao on" and "cao off" in local chat.
If you are using the Vintage skin the AO is activated by clicking on the AO button on the right side of the bottom toolbar.
Clicking the AO button opens the AO window. On the Vintage skin click the arrow on the right side of the AO button.
The mini AO window gives quick and easy access to a few basic functions, such as moving from one stand animation to another, toggling sit overrides and loading a new set of animations.
This small window has a wrench icon; clicking that opens the AO window to its largest size, allowing full control of the AO.
Basic functions of the AO can be accomplished via the mini AO view
Currently loaded animation set: Referring to the image above, the currently loaded set is named TPWtest.
By clicking the small down arrow, you can easily select another set (if others are available, of course).
The wrench icon expands the mini window to full size for greater control; more about the wrench icon shortly..
The two arrows switch to the previous and next animation in the current group, respectively.
The “Sit” checkbox indicates whether the AO should override sit animations that are part of scripted furniture.
If this is enabled, the AO will try to force the use of whatever sit animation you have in the animation set; if disabled, then the animation in the furniture will be used.
Note: Animation priority will always have precedence; if the animation in the furniture has higher priority than the one in your animation set, it will be used regardless of how you have this checkbox set.
Animation priority is set at upload and cannot be changed afterward, not even by the creator - unless the creator uploads again and sets a different priority.
For greater control over the AO, click the Wrench icon; this will open the AO window to maximum size.
The Current animation set is shown in the top drop-down. Clicking the down arrow beside it allows for the selection of an alternate animation set (if you have others available, of course).
The check mark to the right of the animation set name will activate the animation set. Click this if you have picked a new one.
Default: check this if you wish to make the current animation set the default when you start Firestorm.
Override sits: Does the same thing as the Sits checkbox described above.
Be Smart: If this is enabled, the AO will try to determine whether the furniture being sat on has an animation; if it determines that it does, it will disable the sit in the AO, so the one in the furniture will be used instead.
Disable Stands in Mouselook: If this is checked, the AO will disable stand animations when mouselook is entered. This is useful for combat situations, for example.
+ Button: Click this button to manually define a new animation set.
Trash: To delete the current animation set, click this button.
Animation Group: With this drop down you can select an animation group, such as Standing, Walking, Running, etc. Having selected one, you can then change the order in which animations are played, by using ….
Up/Down Arrows: moves the currently selected animation up or down in the list, thus changing the order in which the animations are played in the animation group.
Trash: Clicking this will delete the currently selected animation from the animation group. This will NOT delete the animation itself, but just the reference to it, from the group.
Cycle: Enabling this will cause a different animation to be played, from the selected group, at each “cycle time” interval.
Randomize order: Enabling this causes the animations in the selected group to be played in random order.
Cycle time: Indicates how long an animation should play before the next one begins.
Reload: Forces the AO to reload the configuration of the current animation set.
Left/Right Arrows: Skips to the previous/next animation in the current animation group. These are the same arrows seen in the mini AO view, described previously.
Down Arrow: The arrow in the bottom right corner collapses the full AO window into the mini view, which was already described.
Preparing to load the AO
If you own a scripted AO, the type worn as a HUD attachment, you can get the animations and notecard to transfer to the client AO quite easily. You can use one of two methods to do so.
method 1
Follow these steps if you are in a location where you can build; it requires the ability to rez out.
This is the method you need to use if the animations in the AO are no copy.
Rez a cube on the ground.
If you are wearing the scripted AO, detach it.
Cam in to the cube you made, then drag the AO onto it. HUDs are normally very small when rezzed in-world, and can be hard to see if you are not cammed in.
Right click the AO you rezzed out and select Open. A window opens which will list the contents of the AO; once this has fully populated, click Copy to Inventory.
This will result in the creation of a folder in your inventory, containing everything in the AO: scripts, animations and notecards.
If the AO is copyable, you can now delete it; otherwise, take it back into your inventory. Then delete the cube.
Locate the folder that was created in the step above. This folder can be dragged to another folder where it is out of the way but still available, like the Animations folder, for example.
Please do NOT put them on the Firestorm #AO folder in your inventory.
Method 2
You can follow these steps if you are unable to rez the AO out in-world, for whatever reason.
Locate the Animations folder in your inventory - it is at the top. Right Click the folder name, and select New Folder.
Type in a name for the folder - for example, give it the name of the AO you are transferring.
Make sure the AO HUD is worn; right click it and select Edit.
Click on the Content tab.
Once the AO contents are all displayed, select all items: click on the top one, then use the scroller to scroll to the bottom, press and hold Shift, and click on the last item.
Drag all the items into the folder you created in your inventory.
Close the edit window.
Loading the AO
There are two methods for loading the AO. You can either use a notecard that is in the ZHAO II format, or do it manually. The manual method requires no notecard, just animations.
Multiple AOs can be loaded, and you can switch from one to another simply by selecting the set within the Firestorm AO.
Using the notecard method
The notecard must be in standard ZHAO II format. Most AO creators support this format so you should not run into issues.
However, it must be noted that some major vendors have extended the ZHAO II format, and thus their AO notecard will need to be edited before it can be used in the Firestorm AO. Similarly, older AOs which use the old ZHAO format will have to be converted.
Unlike Phoenix, the animations and notecard do not need to be placed in a special predefined folder. However, they do need to be together in the same place.
Please do NOT put them on the Firestorm #AO folder in your inventory.
Once imported, the Firestorm client AO creates a new special folder: #Firestorm → #AO. This folder is protected - meaning it cannot be deleted, nor items removed from it under normal circumstances.
Therefore, avoid dragging items into it. Should you do so by mistake, please refer to http://wiki.phoenixviewer.com/doku.php?id=fs_ao_folder to see how to fix this.
Inside that are several more folders, containing links to the original animations.
So do not delete the original animations used or the AO will “break”.
As noted above, the Firestorm AO supports notecards in the standard ZHAO II format. Your copy of the class notes contains an example of what such a notecard looks like here.
Notice how the animation state is in brackets, followed by each name of the animation separated with a pipe character “|”. Lines should not be longer than 255 characters.
In the sample NC, the animations in the Standing group have been broken up into several lines so they are shorter and easier to read.
It is best to delete any/all lines containing comments, before loading into the client AO. Comment lines usually start with a # character.
Locate the notecard which defines the AO that you got by one of the two methods described previously.
Open the Firestorm AO to maximum, then drag the AO notecard onto the Firestorm AO window.
The notecard is parsed and if all goes well, you have finished transferring the AO.
Select options to apply, like whether this will be the default animation set, whether to override sits, etc.
****Creating an AO Manually
There is no need to have a prepared AO with a notecard to create an AO in Firestorm; you can “roll your own” if you have animations to use.
You can use the animations from a scripted AO, just use one of the above methods for getting them out of your present AO.
Method 3
You should have the AO window at maximum size.
Click the + button near the top right corner to create a new animation set. You will be prompted to supply a name for it.
A new, blank animation set is created; make sure it is showing in the list of animation sets. You can now begin to fill. It starts with the Standing group selected.
In your inventory, select the animation(s) to be used as stands. Drag them from your inventory onto the AO window. (Note that it is faster to drag them all in at once rather than one by one.) The AO processes, then you can continue.
Once you have dropped all the stands in, you can switch to another animation group, like Walking. Again, select and drag the animations from your inventory onto the AO.
Repeat this for all groups for which you have animations.
Select options to apply, like whether this will be the default animation set, whether to override sits, etc.
****AO-Related Options
There is one option related to the Firestorm AO in preferences.
Turn avatar around when walking backward: in Preferences → Move and View → Firestorm. If enabled, when you press the down arrow to walk backward, your avatar will turn to face the camera. If disabled, then your avatar will walk backward.
The Firestorm client AO information is stored in your inventory and thus usable from any computer you log in on, just like a regular HUD based AO.
We have a video of our Firestorm AO class available for you to watch anytime at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQtS7AVdLms&feature=plcp
The following Firestorm AO videos are available for you to watch. Even though they are based on the old version we strongly suggest watching them as they do show how to load the AO.
Import to AO part 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1RXd_29AXo
Customize your AO part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Owl-Dv3dg8c
Options in AO part 3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBcVsTE8Zu0
BASIC TROUBLE SHOOTING
Basic Troubleshooting class material.
We will cover some of the basic methods and resources available to help you start to figure out where your problems might originate.This class is based on Firestorm but can apply to all viewers.
****Basic Troubleshooting*****
We all have the occasional problem with our viewer and need to get them "fixed" so we can get back to using our viewer, not fussing with it. This usually requires some amount of troubleshooting.
Troubleshooting is not always simple. In fact, most times it's a slow process as you eliminate one possibility after another until you find the root of the problem.
Sure, you could contact us in the Phoenix/Firestorm Viewer Support group for help, but then you have to deal with chat lag in there. Plus we'll start by asking you to do most of this stuff anyway!
So here are a number of things that you can do to start working on the problem on your own. If nothing else, you can determine what the problem is not.
****Show your work
If you make a change, especially if you're troubleshooting or just tinkering, write down what changes you've made. This is important if you're making a change to debug settings; if you don't remember what you changed, how do you change it back?
By clearing your settings. So save yourself some headache and jot down the changes you make, so you can put them back if you need to.
****RELOG, REBOOT, RESET
First thing to try in almost every case is a relog. It can clear most every temporary glitch, and most glitches are temporary.
If the problem is related to your location, teleport to a different one.
We have some space at Hippo Hollow you can use when you need a reliable location: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Hippo%20Hollow/57/185/51
Or to find an empty water sim, open up your World Map (the bottom bar icon, or Ctrl-M, or World menu > World Map), type in Moses, Sulu, or another of your choice and click Find (or just press Enter), then click Teleport.
Even simpler, if you have the Navigation bar enabled, type in the region name and you will teleport right away
After you teleported, wait a minute or three. Give the systems time to complete the teleport and settle into the new sim. If after, say, three minutes the problem persists, then relog there.
If you still have the problem at this point, reboot the entire computer and try again. Some temporary glitches are held there, too.
If that didn't help, another thing that sometimes needs a reset is your router/modem. This is especially true when your packet loss is high (more on that later).
When you reset your router/modem, remove power completely. Unplug it, and leave it unplugged for several minutes.
I know that seems like a long time to some of us, but it's necessary so that your ISP will reset their side of your connection.
So, unplug it, then get up, go grab yourself a drink, or play fetch with your heffalump, or grab the mail, or read the funnies. Then come back to your router or modem and turn it back on. You may as well reboot the PC, too.
So relog, reboot, reset. Let this be your mantra.
****CACHE: TO CLEAR OR NOT TO CLEAR
I'm sure you've all heard someone mention four seemingly magical words to you when you had a problem. You know what I'm talking about: "clear cache and relog." I think at one time or another we've all said it.
I'm going to give you four new magic words of advice:
Don't clear your cache !!!!
Or to be more accurate: Be picky about why and when you clear your cache. Clearing cache doesn't fix everything. In fact, it doesn't fix nearly as many problems as you might think.
And doing it when it's unnecessary has its drawbacks, including slower initial rez times and excess bandwidth being pulled, which contributes to sim lag.
In a nutshell, "clear your cache" is something we'll recommend ONLY if the problem appears to be texture- or inventory-related. A full cache is almost always better than an empty one.
And if you're comfortable working in your filesystem, you can clear just those parts of the cache you need to clear: inventory cache for inventory problems and texture cache for texture problems.
You can find your cache folder by going to Preferences and then the Network & Cache tab.
Click the "Open" button alongside the path to your cache files location. In there you'll see some files ending with .inv.gz -- these are your inventory cache files -- and you'll see the texture cache folder.
You may see other files while the viewer is open: .dsf files are the sound cache. They're cleared when you log off.
So those are the DOs of cache-clearing. Here are some DON'Ts.
DON'T clear cache as a matter of routine maintenance. If there isn't something actually wrong with your cache, then this does nothing beneficial.
What that does is tax the sim while all your textures and inventory are re-fetched from the server.
DON'T clear it for problems unrelated to the cache. It won't help for:
- teleport problems
- upload problems
- movement or communication problems
- most kinds of lag
- most kinds of crashes
- a vast majority of bake fails
What problems does clearing your cache solve? It can help solve inventory problems and it can help solve texture problems.
There are some exceptions (e.g., crashes related to textures), but in many cases, other causes are more likely, and clearing cache doesn't have to be the first measure.
Let's discuss how to find out more information about particular issues you might be having.
****THINGS TO LOOK FOR
Here we're going to talk about how to use certain tools that can inform you of what's going on in your viewer and your computer.
***IN THE VIEWER
Cumulative packet loss shows a percentage of data that is lost, or failing to be delivered. It's in Help menu > About Firestorm, on the bottom line of the first section. It looks like: "Packets Lost: 760/302154 (0.3%)."
Data is constantly being sent from the viewer to the server and vice versa. This data is sent in chunks called Packets.
Each packet is checked to make sure it's complete and correct. If it isn't, a replacement is requested. Re-sending data adds to overall network delays.
High packet loss is a very good indicator that you are having network issues.
What is high packet loss? Well, in an ideal world, one packet lost is too much. But in reality, we like to see numbers under 1% if you've been online for a long time, under 5% if you've very recently logged in.
Resetting your router, wiring up if you're wireless or lowering your bandwidth setting can all help reduce packet loss.
The Statistics Bar (Ctrl-Shift-1) is another good troubleshooting tool. It has tons of information about your inworld environment; the only trick is knowing what to look for. Let's look at a few:
In the Basic section:
FPS > Frames per second. The higher the number here, the better, although most people will not notice any real difference over 20. A movie at the theater is 24 FPS, your TV is 25 or 30.
Rendering quality is the primary influence on FPS. Lower settings will almost always correspond to higher performance speed.
Packet Loss > This shows the realtime packet loss. Lower is better, and infrequent spikes may be expected. If it stays high for a long period of time you will experience lower performance.
For some things, looking at realtime packet loss will be useful, like watching for lag when you do something or go somewhere; for checking your overall network performance, cumulative packet loss is more useful.
Ping Sim > The lower the number, the better. This is the time it takes for information to travel between you and the server.
NOTE: your RL location can make a difference here, but your overall network quality anywhere along the line from your computer to the SL server can cause high ping times.
What is a high ping time? Typically over 250ms is outside the "good" range, 400ms is starting to get too high. And keep in mind: 250ms is a quarter of a second. Several lifetimes to a packet of data.
Here;s a tip: If you're experiencing wildly high ping times, ask others nearby if they are as well. If no one is nearby, ask a friend, or ask folks from the group to come by.
If you all see high ping times, tis a server issue.
In the "Simulator" section:
Time Dilation > This is a ratio of simulator script time compared to real time. Simply put, it's how much script execution could be done in a single frame of time.
A reading of 1 means all scripts in the queue do everything they needed to do in that one frame; a reading of .5 means it takes two frames to do the same script work.
Sim FPS > The simulator frame rate. This should now always be the same as the physics frame rate -- 45.0 when things are running well.
Physics FPS > The frame rate at which the physics engine is running. This should normally be at or near 45.0.
Pending Downloads > This is the number of downloads from the asset server to the simulator that are pending. If this is greater than 1 you may see delays in viewing notecards or scripts, and in rezzing objects.
Pending Uploads > This is the number of uploads from the simulator to the asset server that are pending. If this is greater than zero there may be performance issues when attempting to teleport.
There is one more thing that you can look at way down near the bottom in the Time section.
Spare Time, if this is sitting at 0 then the sim is either at or past the limit of what it can actually handle.
More information on the statistics bar is available at http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Statistics_Bar_Guide
***WHERE TO LOOK ON YOUR COMPUTER
The Windows Task Manager, Mac Activity Monitor or Linux System Monitor, among others, can show you what processes are active on your computer as well as how much memory is being used.
There are several applications available that can help you with troubleshooting as well, but you will need varying degrees of technical knowledge to use them.
I'm going to mention Windows programs, but there are equivalent programs for Mac and Linux. Look in your First Aid kit for the Basic Troubleshooting Useful Links notecard.
Net Limiter can be used to monitor your computer's bandwidth and what is using it.
LogViewer Pro can show you viewer logs in a more-readable format. It doesn't interpret the logs, just makes them pretty
Wireshark can help you diagnose network issues at a painfully detailed level.
These are just examples. There are lots of different tools available out there.
Another good thing to keep in mind about hard-to-diagnose problems: even if the viewer is the only thing being troublesome, that doesn't mean it's the source of the trouble.
For instance, we've had several users with issues whom we could not help, despite our best efforts. Each of these folks ended up completely reformatting their hard drives and starting off with a fresh install of their OS.
After that, most of them found that the viewer ran just fine.
Coincidence?
Well, consider that MOST people with infected PCs don't know they're infected, and an infected PC will have issues.
It's estimated that 32% of the computers with AV protection are infected. (from http://www.net-security.org/malware_news.php?id=1224 ). This is old data, but not invalid.
****ANTIVIRUSES AND FIREWALLS
Even though they do good work, antiviruses and firewalls can end up being responsible for certain issues, most commonly concerning voice, media and Search.
We have had many reports of issues like SLPlugin being flagged as "suspicious" and/or being misidentified as a virus. Antiviruses may quarantine or even delete files.
And Firewalls have been known to block SLVoice from running.
In both cases you can manually add the affected files as exceptions. How to do that depends on the particular Antivirus and firewall you're use using.
If you're not sure how to go about this, check your program's documentation. Search engines are your friends.
Also worth mentioning is that your antivirus may not only stop some things from working but can also affect your performance.
One of our users discovered that his antivirus program was scanning DLL program events as they occurred, which severely affected his framerate.
By adding the Firestorm, SLPlugin and SLVoice executables to his AVs exclusion list for that scan, his framerate returned to normal.
Fortunately, this person knew enough to be able to figure out the source of the problem, and was brave enough to fiddle with settings. It takes some doing to dig in deep. Don't be afraid to fumble around. Just remember to document your work.
****IS IT JUST ME?
How do you know whether the problems you're having are your viewer, your network or the servers? Well, we've touched on some tools and tips for checking the viewer and the network, now let's look at ways to check the servers.
***SECOND LIFE GRID STATUS
It often helps to check the Second Life Grid Status page to see if what's happening to you is affecting the rest of the grid.
You can go to the Help menu -> Check grid status, or open http://status.secondlifegrid.net/ in your web browser.
Of course, you might have noticed the issue before the status page is updated, so it doesn't hurt to check back.
You can also use the SL-RSS HUD that will check frequently and pop up an alert if something changes on the page. It's free on Marketplace.
***TRACKING "KNOWN" ISSUES
If an issue has affected a number of people, then chances are it's either been documented on our wiki or our JIRA or on Linden Lab's jira.
This can be true regardless of the source of the problem, so troubleshooting should include searching for previous reports.
**WIKI
So you've heard we have a wiki, right?
The Phoenix/Firestorm wiki is updated constantly and provides loads of documentation on issues and their fixes, or workarounds, as they arise.
On Firestorm the F1 key on most keyboards will take you straight to the wiki main page.
Here are some important wiki links:
Firestorm main: http://wiki.phoenixviewer.com/doku.php?id=start
Firestorm troubleshooting: http://wiki.phoenixviewer.com/doku.php?id=firestorm_troubleshooting
Phoenix main: http://wiki.phoenixviewer.com/doku.php?id=phoenix_viewer_documentation
Phoenix troubleshooting: http://wiki.phoenixviewer.com/doku.php?id=troubleshooting_and_quick_fixes
Use these links if you want to browse the list of available pages. This is useful if you have a problem but you aren't sure what it's called.
In the top right of every page is a Search bar. Use this to find pages based off clues or symptoms. Details matter, type in cloud and you might find lots of unhelpful pages, but type in ruthed and you would see pages about bake failure.
The more time you spend poking around, the more familiar you'll become with it. So browse it when you don't need it, skim a page or two a day, and in no time you'll be abe to find what you are looking for.
And here's a secret: even if you don't absorb all the info when you first read it, and who does, it might ring a bell when you have a problem.
You'll be able to say, "That sounds familiar! I think that was on the wiki!" and you'll have a better sense of where to find it.
As for when you do have a problem and you're searching the wiki for help, when you find the relevant pages there might be several suggested solutions.
Be sure to read each one carefully; sometimes there might be small differences in what is recommended compared to what you've tried. And these small differences can mean a lot!
For instance, did you know there's a big difference between "Replace" and "Wear" when you're trying to de-ruth yourself? Or between a crash-to-desktop and a forced logout? It's on the wiki.
**JIRA
Both Linden Lab and Phoenix/Firestorm use a web-based issue tracker called the JIRA for reporting and working on bugs and other matters. LL calls theirs a bug tracker because they try to keep support issues in a different system.
The JIRA can seem intimidating and hard to navigate if you're not accustomed to it, especially LL's because of its size. It's frickin' ginormous.
But if you take a deep breath and just dive in, you may find a wealth of helpful info.
Phoenix/Firestorm JIRA: http://jira.phoenixviewer.com/
Linden Lab JIRA: http://jira.secondlife.com/
Like the wiki, but even more so, spending time looking around can go a long way in helping you get used to it. And when you're used to it, you can more easily find things.
Also like the wiki there's a search field at the top right. Put your search terms there and all the jira issues mentioning those terms will be listed. You can also get more search options by going to Issues menu> Search for Issues.
When your search results come up, they're sorted by relevance, at least what the program thinks is relvance. Clicking on the column headers like "Key," "Created," or "Updated", helps you find the most recent issues.
In each issue, or ticket if you will, look for helpful information in:
- Summary, which is te title of the issue
- Description, which is a basic rundown of the issue. In some cases, it might include steps to reproduce a bug.
- Comments, which may include responses from team members and/or other people with the same issue. Solutions or workarounds may be provided here. Add your own, if you have a solution, or more information about the problem.
Note that support jiras can only be viewed by the person creating it and the Phoenix/Firestorm team members. This is necessary to protect our users' privacy.
Also note: If you've never accessed the JIRA, you'll need to create an account. Please used your SL name, not your RL name. We can't use your RL information.
**WIKI + JIRA
We even have a wiki pages that can help you find currently relevant JIRAs:
http://wiki.phoenixviewer.com/doku.php?id=hot_ll_jira_issues
This page is updated regularly with lists of currently common issues and direct links to their JIRAs.
Well, that's it. I hope it wasn't too painful. Hopefully you now feel better equipped to tackle issues that come up, or at least get more information, so that you can quickly return to enjoying your SL!
We will cover some of the basic methods and resources available to help you start to figure out where your problems might originate.This class is based on Firestorm but can apply to all viewers.
****Basic Troubleshooting*****
We all have the occasional problem with our viewer and need to get them "fixed" so we can get back to using our viewer, not fussing with it. This usually requires some amount of troubleshooting.
Troubleshooting is not always simple. In fact, most times it's a slow process as you eliminate one possibility after another until you find the root of the problem.
Sure, you could contact us in the Phoenix/Firestorm Viewer Support group for help, but then you have to deal with chat lag in there. Plus we'll start by asking you to do most of this stuff anyway!
So here are a number of things that you can do to start working on the problem on your own. If nothing else, you can determine what the problem is not.
****Show your work
If you make a change, especially if you're troubleshooting or just tinkering, write down what changes you've made. This is important if you're making a change to debug settings; if you don't remember what you changed, how do you change it back?
By clearing your settings. So save yourself some headache and jot down the changes you make, so you can put them back if you need to.
****RELOG, REBOOT, RESET
First thing to try in almost every case is a relog. It can clear most every temporary glitch, and most glitches are temporary.
If the problem is related to your location, teleport to a different one.
We have some space at Hippo Hollow you can use when you need a reliable location: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Hippo%20Hollow/57/185/51
Or to find an empty water sim, open up your World Map (the bottom bar icon, or Ctrl-M, or World menu > World Map), type in Moses, Sulu, or another of your choice and click Find (or just press Enter), then click Teleport.
Even simpler, if you have the Navigation bar enabled, type in the region name and you will teleport right away
After you teleported, wait a minute or three. Give the systems time to complete the teleport and settle into the new sim. If after, say, three minutes the problem persists, then relog there.
If you still have the problem at this point, reboot the entire computer and try again. Some temporary glitches are held there, too.
If that didn't help, another thing that sometimes needs a reset is your router/modem. This is especially true when your packet loss is high (more on that later).
When you reset your router/modem, remove power completely. Unplug it, and leave it unplugged for several minutes.
I know that seems like a long time to some of us, but it's necessary so that your ISP will reset their side of your connection.
So, unplug it, then get up, go grab yourself a drink, or play fetch with your heffalump, or grab the mail, or read the funnies. Then come back to your router or modem and turn it back on. You may as well reboot the PC, too.
So relog, reboot, reset. Let this be your mantra.
****CACHE: TO CLEAR OR NOT TO CLEAR
I'm sure you've all heard someone mention four seemingly magical words to you when you had a problem. You know what I'm talking about: "clear cache and relog." I think at one time or another we've all said it.
I'm going to give you four new magic words of advice:
Don't clear your cache !!!!
Or to be more accurate: Be picky about why and when you clear your cache. Clearing cache doesn't fix everything. In fact, it doesn't fix nearly as many problems as you might think.
And doing it when it's unnecessary has its drawbacks, including slower initial rez times and excess bandwidth being pulled, which contributes to sim lag.
In a nutshell, "clear your cache" is something we'll recommend ONLY if the problem appears to be texture- or inventory-related. A full cache is almost always better than an empty one.
And if you're comfortable working in your filesystem, you can clear just those parts of the cache you need to clear: inventory cache for inventory problems and texture cache for texture problems.
You can find your cache folder by going to Preferences and then the Network & Cache tab.
Click the "Open" button alongside the path to your cache files location. In there you'll see some files ending with .inv.gz -- these are your inventory cache files -- and you'll see the texture cache folder.
You may see other files while the viewer is open: .dsf files are the sound cache. They're cleared when you log off.
So those are the DOs of cache-clearing. Here are some DON'Ts.
DON'T clear cache as a matter of routine maintenance. If there isn't something actually wrong with your cache, then this does nothing beneficial.
What that does is tax the sim while all your textures and inventory are re-fetched from the server.
DON'T clear it for problems unrelated to the cache. It won't help for:
- teleport problems
- upload problems
- movement or communication problems
- most kinds of lag
- most kinds of crashes
- a vast majority of bake fails
What problems does clearing your cache solve? It can help solve inventory problems and it can help solve texture problems.
There are some exceptions (e.g., crashes related to textures), but in many cases, other causes are more likely, and clearing cache doesn't have to be the first measure.
Let's discuss how to find out more information about particular issues you might be having.
****THINGS TO LOOK FOR
Here we're going to talk about how to use certain tools that can inform you of what's going on in your viewer and your computer.
***IN THE VIEWER
Cumulative packet loss shows a percentage of data that is lost, or failing to be delivered. It's in Help menu > About Firestorm, on the bottom line of the first section. It looks like: "Packets Lost: 760/302154 (0.3%)."
Data is constantly being sent from the viewer to the server and vice versa. This data is sent in chunks called Packets.
Each packet is checked to make sure it's complete and correct. If it isn't, a replacement is requested. Re-sending data adds to overall network delays.
High packet loss is a very good indicator that you are having network issues.
What is high packet loss? Well, in an ideal world, one packet lost is too much. But in reality, we like to see numbers under 1% if you've been online for a long time, under 5% if you've very recently logged in.
Resetting your router, wiring up if you're wireless or lowering your bandwidth setting can all help reduce packet loss.
The Statistics Bar (Ctrl-Shift-1) is another good troubleshooting tool. It has tons of information about your inworld environment; the only trick is knowing what to look for. Let's look at a few:
In the Basic section:
FPS > Frames per second. The higher the number here, the better, although most people will not notice any real difference over 20. A movie at the theater is 24 FPS, your TV is 25 or 30.
Rendering quality is the primary influence on FPS. Lower settings will almost always correspond to higher performance speed.
Packet Loss > This shows the realtime packet loss. Lower is better, and infrequent spikes may be expected. If it stays high for a long period of time you will experience lower performance.
For some things, looking at realtime packet loss will be useful, like watching for lag when you do something or go somewhere; for checking your overall network performance, cumulative packet loss is more useful.
Ping Sim > The lower the number, the better. This is the time it takes for information to travel between you and the server.
NOTE: your RL location can make a difference here, but your overall network quality anywhere along the line from your computer to the SL server can cause high ping times.
What is a high ping time? Typically over 250ms is outside the "good" range, 400ms is starting to get too high. And keep in mind: 250ms is a quarter of a second. Several lifetimes to a packet of data.
Here;s a tip: If you're experiencing wildly high ping times, ask others nearby if they are as well. If no one is nearby, ask a friend, or ask folks from the group to come by.
If you all see high ping times, tis a server issue.
In the "Simulator" section:
Time Dilation > This is a ratio of simulator script time compared to real time. Simply put, it's how much script execution could be done in a single frame of time.
A reading of 1 means all scripts in the queue do everything they needed to do in that one frame; a reading of .5 means it takes two frames to do the same script work.
Sim FPS > The simulator frame rate. This should now always be the same as the physics frame rate -- 45.0 when things are running well.
Physics FPS > The frame rate at which the physics engine is running. This should normally be at or near 45.0.
Pending Downloads > This is the number of downloads from the asset server to the simulator that are pending. If this is greater than 1 you may see delays in viewing notecards or scripts, and in rezzing objects.
Pending Uploads > This is the number of uploads from the simulator to the asset server that are pending. If this is greater than zero there may be performance issues when attempting to teleport.
There is one more thing that you can look at way down near the bottom in the Time section.
Spare Time, if this is sitting at 0 then the sim is either at or past the limit of what it can actually handle.
More information on the statistics bar is available at http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Statistics_Bar_Guide
***WHERE TO LOOK ON YOUR COMPUTER
The Windows Task Manager, Mac Activity Monitor or Linux System Monitor, among others, can show you what processes are active on your computer as well as how much memory is being used.
There are several applications available that can help you with troubleshooting as well, but you will need varying degrees of technical knowledge to use them.
I'm going to mention Windows programs, but there are equivalent programs for Mac and Linux. Look in your First Aid kit for the Basic Troubleshooting Useful Links notecard.
Net Limiter can be used to monitor your computer's bandwidth and what is using it.
LogViewer Pro can show you viewer logs in a more-readable format. It doesn't interpret the logs, just makes them pretty
Wireshark can help you diagnose network issues at a painfully detailed level.
These are just examples. There are lots of different tools available out there.
Another good thing to keep in mind about hard-to-diagnose problems: even if the viewer is the only thing being troublesome, that doesn't mean it's the source of the trouble.
For instance, we've had several users with issues whom we could not help, despite our best efforts. Each of these folks ended up completely reformatting their hard drives and starting off with a fresh install of their OS.
After that, most of them found that the viewer ran just fine.
Coincidence?
Well, consider that MOST people with infected PCs don't know they're infected, and an infected PC will have issues.
It's estimated that 32% of the computers with AV protection are infected. (from http://www.net-security.org/malware_news.php?id=1224 ). This is old data, but not invalid.
****ANTIVIRUSES AND FIREWALLS
Even though they do good work, antiviruses and firewalls can end up being responsible for certain issues, most commonly concerning voice, media and Search.
We have had many reports of issues like SLPlugin being flagged as "suspicious" and/or being misidentified as a virus. Antiviruses may quarantine or even delete files.
And Firewalls have been known to block SLVoice from running.
In both cases you can manually add the affected files as exceptions. How to do that depends on the particular Antivirus and firewall you're use using.
If you're not sure how to go about this, check your program's documentation. Search engines are your friends.
Also worth mentioning is that your antivirus may not only stop some things from working but can also affect your performance.
One of our users discovered that his antivirus program was scanning DLL program events as they occurred, which severely affected his framerate.
By adding the Firestorm, SLPlugin and SLVoice executables to his AVs exclusion list for that scan, his framerate returned to normal.
Fortunately, this person knew enough to be able to figure out the source of the problem, and was brave enough to fiddle with settings. It takes some doing to dig in deep. Don't be afraid to fumble around. Just remember to document your work.
****IS IT JUST ME?
How do you know whether the problems you're having are your viewer, your network or the servers? Well, we've touched on some tools and tips for checking the viewer and the network, now let's look at ways to check the servers.
***SECOND LIFE GRID STATUS
It often helps to check the Second Life Grid Status page to see if what's happening to you is affecting the rest of the grid.
You can go to the Help menu -> Check grid status, or open http://status.secondlifegrid.net/ in your web browser.
Of course, you might have noticed the issue before the status page is updated, so it doesn't hurt to check back.
You can also use the SL-RSS HUD that will check frequently and pop up an alert if something changes on the page. It's free on Marketplace.
***TRACKING "KNOWN" ISSUES
If an issue has affected a number of people, then chances are it's either been documented on our wiki or our JIRA or on Linden Lab's jira.
This can be true regardless of the source of the problem, so troubleshooting should include searching for previous reports.
**WIKI
So you've heard we have a wiki, right?
The Phoenix/Firestorm wiki is updated constantly and provides loads of documentation on issues and their fixes, or workarounds, as they arise.
On Firestorm the F1 key on most keyboards will take you straight to the wiki main page.
Here are some important wiki links:
Firestorm main: http://wiki.phoenixviewer.com/doku.php?id=start
Firestorm troubleshooting: http://wiki.phoenixviewer.com/doku.php?id=firestorm_troubleshooting
Phoenix main: http://wiki.phoenixviewer.com/doku.php?id=phoenix_viewer_documentation
Phoenix troubleshooting: http://wiki.phoenixviewer.com/doku.php?id=troubleshooting_and_quick_fixes
Use these links if you want to browse the list of available pages. This is useful if you have a problem but you aren't sure what it's called.
In the top right of every page is a Search bar. Use this to find pages based off clues or symptoms. Details matter, type in cloud and you might find lots of unhelpful pages, but type in ruthed and you would see pages about bake failure.
The more time you spend poking around, the more familiar you'll become with it. So browse it when you don't need it, skim a page or two a day, and in no time you'll be abe to find what you are looking for.
And here's a secret: even if you don't absorb all the info when you first read it, and who does, it might ring a bell when you have a problem.
You'll be able to say, "That sounds familiar! I think that was on the wiki!" and you'll have a better sense of where to find it.
As for when you do have a problem and you're searching the wiki for help, when you find the relevant pages there might be several suggested solutions.
Be sure to read each one carefully; sometimes there might be small differences in what is recommended compared to what you've tried. And these small differences can mean a lot!
For instance, did you know there's a big difference between "Replace" and "Wear" when you're trying to de-ruth yourself? Or between a crash-to-desktop and a forced logout? It's on the wiki.
**JIRA
Both Linden Lab and Phoenix/Firestorm use a web-based issue tracker called the JIRA for reporting and working on bugs and other matters. LL calls theirs a bug tracker because they try to keep support issues in a different system.
The JIRA can seem intimidating and hard to navigate if you're not accustomed to it, especially LL's because of its size. It's frickin' ginormous.
But if you take a deep breath and just dive in, you may find a wealth of helpful info.
Phoenix/Firestorm JIRA: http://jira.phoenixviewer.com/
Linden Lab JIRA: http://jira.secondlife.com/
Like the wiki, but even more so, spending time looking around can go a long way in helping you get used to it. And when you're used to it, you can more easily find things.
Also like the wiki there's a search field at the top right. Put your search terms there and all the jira issues mentioning those terms will be listed. You can also get more search options by going to Issues menu> Search for Issues.
When your search results come up, they're sorted by relevance, at least what the program thinks is relvance. Clicking on the column headers like "Key," "Created," or "Updated", helps you find the most recent issues.
In each issue, or ticket if you will, look for helpful information in:
- Summary, which is te title of the issue
- Description, which is a basic rundown of the issue. In some cases, it might include steps to reproduce a bug.
- Comments, which may include responses from team members and/or other people with the same issue. Solutions or workarounds may be provided here. Add your own, if you have a solution, or more information about the problem.
Note that support jiras can only be viewed by the person creating it and the Phoenix/Firestorm team members. This is necessary to protect our users' privacy.
Also note: If you've never accessed the JIRA, you'll need to create an account. Please used your SL name, not your RL name. We can't use your RL information.
**WIKI + JIRA
We even have a wiki pages that can help you find currently relevant JIRAs:
http://wiki.phoenixviewer.com/doku.php?id=hot_ll_jira_issues
This page is updated regularly with lists of currently common issues and direct links to their JIRAs.
Well, that's it. I hope it wasn't too painful. Hopefully you now feel better equipped to tackle issues that come up, or at least get more information, so that you can quickly return to enjoying your SL!
CONTACT SETS FOR FIRESTORM 4.6.1
Firestorm Contact Sets
Material based on 4.6.1
Firestorm provides a way to organize your friends - and other people - into sets or categories, using your own criteria. Thus you can create sets of friends, colleagues, business contacts, and so on.
Such sets can be color-coded, and those colors can then be applied to chat, mini map, and so on.
Avatars can belong to one or more sets - or none at all.
Contact Sets allow you to add new contacts to your list, even if they are not on your friends list.
Adding contacts this way does not grant any rights or abilities that you would not already have. Anyone added this way who is not on your friends list will not be treated as a friend.
Adding people this way is merely a convenience for listing and easily accessing names and for having them stand out with the use of color.
The Contact Sets window is accessed from the top menu bar, Comm > Contact Sets, by pressing Ctrl-Alt-Shift-C, or by opening your Conversations window, Contacts tab, Contact Sets sub-tab.
There is a Contact Sets button.available for the Toolbar and it is also available as a tab in the People panel.
The Contact Sets Window Overview
Note that we will have a "hands on" section in the class to help you set up a "set" a little later in the class.
Set dropdown: Shows the name of the currently selected contact set, if any.
Gear/sprocket Icon: This will only be accessible when a set is selected. Clicking it will open a window with the options for that set.
Contact Set Settings
Set Color: Clicking this brings up a color picker, from which you can select a color to assign to the set. This color will be used, optionally in other parts of the viewer like IMs, and so on.
Show notifications: This check-box will show online/offline notifications for members of the set.
Note that this is is in addition to the global settings in Preferences > Notifications tab > Notifications sub tab > Tell me: Show when my friends log in or out: As toasts / In nearby chat and console / In nearby chat only.
If any of those are enabled, you will still get notifications for all friends; if disabled, then the settings here take precedence. You will choose whether to view the notifications as toast and/or chat in the settings below.
Global Settings:
Default color for friends not in a set: This setting is not presently functional
Online notifications:
- Show Online Notices for ALL friends as toasts (uncheck to only show for certain Sets): Corresponds to Preferences > Notifications tab > Notifications sub tab > Tell me... When my friends log in or out
- Show Online Notices for ALL friends in nearby chat (uncheck to only show for certain Sets): Corresponds to Preferences > Notifications tab > Notifications sub tab > Tell me... Log to nearby chat and console/Only in nearby chat
Note that these are the same settings as in preferences. Changing it here also changes it in preferences.
- Show Online Notices for certain Sets as toast
- Show Online Notices for certain Sets in nearby chat
These two will specify how you want to see notifications for this Set.
Custom colors:
Color a friend's mini map icon based on their Contact Set: If enabled, this will use the color of the set the person belongs to for their mini map icon.
Color a friend's name tag based on their Contact Set: If enabled, this will use the color of the set the person belongs to for their on-screen name tag.
Color a friend's radar list entry based on their Contact Set: If enabled, this will use the color of the set the person belongs to for the radar view.
Color a friend's chat based on their Contact Set: If enabled, this will use the color of the set the person belongs to for their local chat and IMs.
If someone is assigned to more than one set, then the color of the smallest (ie most unique) set is used in the affected functions.
+ Icon: Click this to create a new set of contacts. A window will open, simply type the set name in then click “Create”.
Trash can Icon: Clicking this will delete the currently selected set. You cannot restore a deleted set, you would have to make it all over again.
Add button: Clicking this with a set selected will open a resident chooser that you can use to add people to that set.
This window has three tabs
Search allows you to search by name.
Friends is your friends list.
Near Me will show all avatars within a range of up to 130m.
The List
If you select a name on the list the other buttons to the right will become active.
Remove: Will remove that contact from the Set.
Profile: Opens that contacts profile.
IM: Opens an IM to that contact
Teleport: Offers a teleport to that contact
Set Alias: Allows you to set a "nickname" for that contact, visible only to you. This replaces their display name, only in your view.
Rem Alias: I you removed a contact's display name (see below) or given them an Alias (as described above), this option restores it.
Rem DN: Selecting this will “remove” the contact's display name - for you only. In other words, this affects what you see, not the contact's actual display name. Nor will anyone else notice the change.
If you right-click on any name, you get a menu with several options.
View Profile: Opens the contact's profile.
IM: Opens an IM window for the contact.
Offer Teleport: Offers a teleport to the selected contact.
Request Teleport: Requests a teleport from the selected contact.
View chat transcripts: This is presently not functional.
Add Friend: If you right click on a name that is not on your friends list this option will show, allowing you to offer friendship.
Add to Set: Opens a window where you can select a Set to add the contact to.
Remove Friend: will remove that contact from your friends list.
Invite to group: Opens a window where you can select a group to invite the contact to.
Map: If your friend gave you map rights, this item will be enabled. If clicked, it will open the world map and show the person's current location.
Share: If you click this entry, an IM window opens; you can then drag and drop inventory items into it, to give them to the other person.
Pay: Opens a window, which you can use to pay the other person L$.
Block/Unblock: This mutes the other person, completely blocking them from contacting you. You will not see anything they type in local chat, nor get any IMs they might send, and all inventory offers made will be automatically declined.
How to Define a New Set
Click on the + icon at the top, then type in the name of the set and click Create in the window that opens.
Select the set from the dropdown list.
Now, go through your list of contacts and check each of those whom you wish to add to the new set.
Note that you need to hold down CTRL while selecting multiple people for the same set.
Then right-click any of those selected, and from the menu, select “Add to Set”, this opens a window where you can select a Set to add the contacts to.
Using a Set
Once you have one or more sets created and contacts assigned to them, you can put them to use. Select a set from the drop-down at the top then select the members of the set
At this point if you right-click on one of the selected names, you get the options to
Add Friends
Add to set
Remove Friends
IM
Call
Share
Pay
Offer Teleport
Using the contact sets features just described does not allow you to get around built-in SL limitations.
Therefore, no matter how large a set, you cannot send a mass TP or conference call to more than 20 people at a time, and they must be on your friends list.
Applying Sets
Now that you have at least one Contact Set and a general idea of what they do, let's go back over some of the features.
If you want to view online/offline notifications for only members of certain Sets, then:
1) In the Contact Sets Settings floater, have both of the "Show Online Notices for ALL friends" settings disabled;
2) Just below those, have one or both of the "Show Online Notices for certain Sets" settings enabled; and
3) Make sure that Show Notifications is checked
You can also click the Set Color box to choose or change the color for that set.
This color is used to color-code these contacts in different parts of the UI. If you want, check the boxes in the Settings floater for:
> mini map icon
> name tag
> radar list entry
> chat
Because the colors might go better against some backgrounds than against others, and viewer skins use varying palettes, be prepared to adjust as needed.
You can also use contact sets to send conference calls or mass teleports to a select group of contacts rather than in an all-or-nothing manner. To do this:
1) Choose the Set in the drop-down menu.
2) Select the members of the set.
3) Right-click on one of the selected names and choose "IM" or "Offer Teleport"
Note again that the maximum number of avatars who can receive a conference call or tp from you simultaneously is 20.
It is possible to assign friends to more than one set. Simply right-click on their name and add to as many sets as apply.
Contacts use the color of the smallest set (the one with the fewest members).
One final important note:
Your contact sets are stored locally on your computer as an xml file. Be sure to back them up before doing a clean install of any future release.
Material based on 4.6.1
Firestorm provides a way to organize your friends - and other people - into sets or categories, using your own criteria. Thus you can create sets of friends, colleagues, business contacts, and so on.
Such sets can be color-coded, and those colors can then be applied to chat, mini map, and so on.
Avatars can belong to one or more sets - or none at all.
Contact Sets allow you to add new contacts to your list, even if they are not on your friends list.
Adding contacts this way does not grant any rights or abilities that you would not already have. Anyone added this way who is not on your friends list will not be treated as a friend.
Adding people this way is merely a convenience for listing and easily accessing names and for having them stand out with the use of color.
The Contact Sets window is accessed from the top menu bar, Comm > Contact Sets, by pressing Ctrl-Alt-Shift-C, or by opening your Conversations window, Contacts tab, Contact Sets sub-tab.
There is a Contact Sets button.available for the Toolbar and it is also available as a tab in the People panel.
The Contact Sets Window Overview
Note that we will have a "hands on" section in the class to help you set up a "set" a little later in the class.
Set dropdown: Shows the name of the currently selected contact set, if any.
Gear/sprocket Icon: This will only be accessible when a set is selected. Clicking it will open a window with the options for that set.
Contact Set Settings
Set Color: Clicking this brings up a color picker, from which you can select a color to assign to the set. This color will be used, optionally in other parts of the viewer like IMs, and so on.
Show notifications: This check-box will show online/offline notifications for members of the set.
Note that this is is in addition to the global settings in Preferences > Notifications tab > Notifications sub tab > Tell me: Show when my friends log in or out: As toasts / In nearby chat and console / In nearby chat only.
If any of those are enabled, you will still get notifications for all friends; if disabled, then the settings here take precedence. You will choose whether to view the notifications as toast and/or chat in the settings below.
Global Settings:
Default color for friends not in a set: This setting is not presently functional
Online notifications:
- Show Online Notices for ALL friends as toasts (uncheck to only show for certain Sets): Corresponds to Preferences > Notifications tab > Notifications sub tab > Tell me... When my friends log in or out
- Show Online Notices for ALL friends in nearby chat (uncheck to only show for certain Sets): Corresponds to Preferences > Notifications tab > Notifications sub tab > Tell me... Log to nearby chat and console/Only in nearby chat
Note that these are the same settings as in preferences. Changing it here also changes it in preferences.
- Show Online Notices for certain Sets as toast
- Show Online Notices for certain Sets in nearby chat
These two will specify how you want to see notifications for this Set.
Custom colors:
Color a friend's mini map icon based on their Contact Set: If enabled, this will use the color of the set the person belongs to for their mini map icon.
Color a friend's name tag based on their Contact Set: If enabled, this will use the color of the set the person belongs to for their on-screen name tag.
Color a friend's radar list entry based on their Contact Set: If enabled, this will use the color of the set the person belongs to for the radar view.
Color a friend's chat based on their Contact Set: If enabled, this will use the color of the set the person belongs to for their local chat and IMs.
If someone is assigned to more than one set, then the color of the smallest (ie most unique) set is used in the affected functions.
+ Icon: Click this to create a new set of contacts. A window will open, simply type the set name in then click “Create”.
Trash can Icon: Clicking this will delete the currently selected set. You cannot restore a deleted set, you would have to make it all over again.
Add button: Clicking this with a set selected will open a resident chooser that you can use to add people to that set.
This window has three tabs
Search allows you to search by name.
Friends is your friends list.
Near Me will show all avatars within a range of up to 130m.
The List
If you select a name on the list the other buttons to the right will become active.
Remove: Will remove that contact from the Set.
Profile: Opens that contacts profile.
IM: Opens an IM to that contact
Teleport: Offers a teleport to that contact
Set Alias: Allows you to set a "nickname" for that contact, visible only to you. This replaces their display name, only in your view.
Rem Alias: I you removed a contact's display name (see below) or given them an Alias (as described above), this option restores it.
Rem DN: Selecting this will “remove” the contact's display name - for you only. In other words, this affects what you see, not the contact's actual display name. Nor will anyone else notice the change.
If you right-click on any name, you get a menu with several options.
View Profile: Opens the contact's profile.
IM: Opens an IM window for the contact.
Offer Teleport: Offers a teleport to the selected contact.
Request Teleport: Requests a teleport from the selected contact.
View chat transcripts: This is presently not functional.
Add Friend: If you right click on a name that is not on your friends list this option will show, allowing you to offer friendship.
Add to Set: Opens a window where you can select a Set to add the contact to.
Remove Friend: will remove that contact from your friends list.
Invite to group: Opens a window where you can select a group to invite the contact to.
Map: If your friend gave you map rights, this item will be enabled. If clicked, it will open the world map and show the person's current location.
Share: If you click this entry, an IM window opens; you can then drag and drop inventory items into it, to give them to the other person.
Pay: Opens a window, which you can use to pay the other person L$.
Block/Unblock: This mutes the other person, completely blocking them from contacting you. You will not see anything they type in local chat, nor get any IMs they might send, and all inventory offers made will be automatically declined.
How to Define a New Set
Click on the + icon at the top, then type in the name of the set and click Create in the window that opens.
Select the set from the dropdown list.
Now, go through your list of contacts and check each of those whom you wish to add to the new set.
Note that you need to hold down CTRL while selecting multiple people for the same set.
Then right-click any of those selected, and from the menu, select “Add to Set”, this opens a window where you can select a Set to add the contacts to.
Using a Set
Once you have one or more sets created and contacts assigned to them, you can put them to use. Select a set from the drop-down at the top then select the members of the set
At this point if you right-click on one of the selected names, you get the options to
Add Friends
Add to set
Remove Friends
IM
Call
Share
Pay
Offer Teleport
Using the contact sets features just described does not allow you to get around built-in SL limitations.
Therefore, no matter how large a set, you cannot send a mass TP or conference call to more than 20 people at a time, and they must be on your friends list.
Applying Sets
Now that you have at least one Contact Set and a general idea of what they do, let's go back over some of the features.
If you want to view online/offline notifications for only members of certain Sets, then:
1) In the Contact Sets Settings floater, have both of the "Show Online Notices for ALL friends" settings disabled;
2) Just below those, have one or both of the "Show Online Notices for certain Sets" settings enabled; and
3) Make sure that Show Notifications is checked
You can also click the Set Color box to choose or change the color for that set.
This color is used to color-code these contacts in different parts of the UI. If you want, check the boxes in the Settings floater for:
> mini map icon
> name tag
> radar list entry
> chat
Because the colors might go better against some backgrounds than against others, and viewer skins use varying palettes, be prepared to adjust as needed.
You can also use contact sets to send conference calls or mass teleports to a select group of contacts rather than in an all-or-nothing manner. To do this:
1) Choose the Set in the drop-down menu.
2) Select the members of the set.
3) Right-click on one of the selected names and choose "IM" or "Offer Teleport"
Note again that the maximum number of avatars who can receive a conference call or tp from you simultaneously is 20.
It is possible to assign friends to more than one set. Simply right-click on their name and add to as many sets as apply.
Contacts use the color of the smallest set (the one with the fewest members).
One final important note:
Your contact sets are stored locally on your computer as an xml file. Be sure to back them up before doing a clean install of any future release.
FIRESTORM MENUS 1 FOR 4.6.1
Menus1
Firestorm Menus 1 Class based on our 4.6.1 release.
We like to point out that all menus and submenus will detach and stay open if you click on the double lines at the top of the menu.
This makes it much simpler to check or uncheck options, as well as remember and uncheck anything you happen to click on either by mistake or to see what it does.
****Avatar Menu
Account > Will prompt you to open your Second Life dashboard in a web browser.
Merchant Outbox... > opens the Merchant Outbox window, for direct delivery sales.
Buy L$ > Opens the floater to let you buy L$
Preferences (Ctrl-P) > Opens your Preferences window
Toolbar Buttons > Opens the Toolbar Buttons floater where you can choose what buttons you see as well as where they appear.
Profile > Opens your profile
Picks > This will open picks in your profile.
Post to Facebook >opens a floater that allows you to post to Facebook
Appearance > Opens the Appearance floater at My Outfits (will be greyed out if you are a cloud)
Snapshot (Ctrl-Shift-S) > Opens the Snapshot floater
Inventory (Ctrl-I) > Opens your Inventory. Hitting Ctrl-I on your keyboard opens a first inventory window; to open a second one, use Ctrl-Shift-I.
Move Controls > Toggles the Movement Controls floater
Movement > Opens the Movement submenu where you can set:
-Sit down (Alt-Shift-S) > Will sit your avatar down
-Fly (Home) > This toggles Fly on
-Stop Flying (Home) > This toggles Fly off
-Always Run (Ctrl-R) > Toggles Run
-Force Ground Sit (Ctrl-Alt-S) > This forces your avatar into a ground sit regardless of where your avatar is.
-Move Lock (Ctrl Alt P) > Toggles the built in move lock on or off
-Quickjump > when enabled it disables the squat before you jump as well as the default stagger when you land if you have no landing anim set.
Camera Controls > Toggles the Camera Controls floater
Avatar Health > Opens the Avatar Health sub menu:
-Stop avatar animations > Use to stop animations acting on your avatar
-Stop avatar animations and revoke permissions > Stops animations and revokes permissions as well
-Undeform Avatar > Attempts to undeform your avatar, to recover its normal shape after deformation by the use of oversized avatars or griefer objects.
-Force appearance update (Rebake) > Rebakes your avatar's textures
-Reset Default Male Avatar (Character Test Male) > Forces your avatar to the default male
-Reset Default Female Avatar (Character Test Female) > Forces your avatar to the default female
-Show Render Weight for Avatars (replacement for Avatar Rendering Cost) > Shows Avatar draw weight. Note the calculation is different from the old ARC scores.
-Lag meter > Opens the lag meter
-Recreate LSL Bridge > Creates a fresh copy of the LSL bridge
Tip Tracker > Shows a list of L$ transactions.. This only keeps track while it is open or minimised, closing the floater resets it. See http://wiki.phoenixviewer.com/doku.php?id=fs_tip_tracker for more information.
Pose Stand > Opens the built in pose stand window
Upload > Opens the Upload sub menu, which allows you to choose what to upload:
-Image (L$10)
-Sound (L$10)
-Animation (L$10)
-Mesh Model...
-Bulk (L$10 per file)
-Set Default Upload Permissions > Opens a window where you can set default permissions for your uploads
-Import Linkset > Opens the Import window, to upload a previous exported object.
Show HUD attachments (Alt Shift H) will show or hide your HUDs
Exit Firestorm (Ctrl-Q) > Closes Firestorm
**** Comm (Communicate) Menu
Online Status > Opens the Online Status sub menu where you can enable:
-Away
-Unavailable
-Autorespond
-Autorespond to non friends
-Automatically reject teleport offers
Friends (Ctrl-Shift-F) > Opens the Friends tab in the Conversations window
Contacts (Ctrl-Alt-Shift-F) > Will open your Contacts list in the Conversations window
Contact Sets (Ctrl-Alt-Shift-C) > Will open the Contact Sets window. See http://wiki.phoenixviewer.com/doku.php?id=fs_contact_sets for more information, or come to the Contact Sets class.
Groups (Ctrl-Shift-G) > Opens the Groups tab in the conversations window
Chat (Ctrl-H) > Opens the nearby chat tab in the Communicate window
People > will open the People panel
Conversations (Ctrl-T) > Opens the Conversations (Communicate) window
Gestures (Ctrl-G) > Opens the Gestures window
Voice morphing > Opens the Voice morphing sub menu
Conversation Log,,, > Opens a list of people you have had text chat with
Nearby Voice > Opens the Nearby Voice window (aka Active Speakers list)
Block List will open your Blocked (mute) list
****World Menu
Resync Animations: finds all the animations currently playing and resets them
Nearby Avatars (Ctrl-Shift-A) > Opens the Nearby tab in the People window.
Radar > Opens/closes the standalone Radar window.
Teleport History > will open the teleport history
Places > opens the places panel
Mini-Map (Ctrl-Shift-M) > Opens the Mini-Map
World Map (Ctrl-M) > Opens the World Map
Landmark This Place > Creates a landmark at your location
Location Profile > Opens the Places profile window
Parcel Details > Opens the About Land window
Region Details > Opens the Region/Estate window
Buy This Land > Opens the Buy Land window (If land you are on is not buy-able, it will be greyed out)
Show Owned Land > Opens the Owned Land window
Show More > Opens the Show More sub menu, where you can choose to show:
-Ban Lines
-Beacons (Ctrl-Alt-Shift-N)
-Property Lines (Ctrl-Alt-Shift-P)
-Land Owners
-Coordinates
-Parcel Permissions
-Advanced Menu (Ctrl-Alt-Shift-D)
Teleport Home (Ctrl-Shift-H) > Teleports you home
Set Home to Here > Sets your Home location to the point you are at if you have the rights to do so.
Sun Position > Opens the Sun Position sub menu, where you can set the sun position to:
-Sunrise (Ctrl-Shift-E)
-Midday (Ctrl-Shift-Y)
-Sunset (Ctrl-Shift-N)
-Midnight (Ctrl-Shift-X)
-Estate Time
Environment Editor > Opens the Environment Editor sub menu:
-Environment Settings
-Water Presets
-Sky Presets
-Day Presets
More info http://community.secondlife.com/t5/English-Knowledge-Base/Region-environment-settings/ta-p/999713
Photo and Video opens the sub menu where you can show/hide
-Phototools Ctrl Alt P
-Cameratools Ctrl Shift C
There are Toolbar buttons available for these as well
Area Search > Opens Area Search window.
Sound Explorer > Opens the sound explorer
Asset Blacklist > Opens the asset blacklist
****Build Menu
Build > Opens the Build/Edit window
Select Build Tool > Opens the Build Tool sub menu where you can select:
Focus Tool (Ctrl-1)
Move Tool (Ctrl-2)
Edit Tool (Ctrl-3)
Create Tool (Ctrl-4)
Land Tool (Ctrl-5)
Link (Ctrl-L) > Will link multiple prims
Unlink (Ctrl-Shift-L) > Will unlink prims in a linkset
Edit Linked Parts > Allows you to edit individual prims in a linkset
Select Linked Parts > Opens the Select Linked Parts sub menu where you can choose
Select Next Part (Ctrl-.)
Select Previous Part (Ctrl-,)
Include Next Part (Ctrl-Shift-.)
Include Previous Part (Ctrl-Shift-,)
Focus on Selection (H) > Will focus your camera on an object you have selected
Zoom to Selection (Shift-H) > Will zoom your camera on an object you have selected
Object > Opens the Object sub menu that allows you to:
Take
Take Copy
Duplicate
Edit Particles
Save Back to Inventory
Save Back to Object Contents
Return Object
Save as > Opens a sub menu where you can find:
Backup: Opens the Backup window, allowing you to save the object to your hard drive.
Collada: Opens the Collada Export window, which you can use to export the object as mesh.
Scripts > Opens the Scripts sub menu where you can:
Show Script Warnings/Errors
Script Info (counter)
Recompile Scripts (Mono)
Recompile Scripts (LSL)
Reset Scripts
Set Scripts to Running
Set Scripts to Not Running
Remove Scripts from Selection
Pathfinding: Options concerning Pathfinding.
Linksets: Opens the Pathfinding Linksets window.
Characters: Opens the Pathfinding characters window.
View / Test: Opens the Pathfinding console.
Rebake Region : Rebakes the region NavMesh, if there are pending changes - assuming you have rights to do so and Pathfinding is enabled for the region; will by greyed out otherwise. This can also be done by clicking the Pathfinding icon in the top menu bar.
Options > Opens the Options sub menu where you can:
Show Advanced Permissions
Select Only My Obects
Select Only Movable Objects
Select By Surrounding
Include group owned objects
Show Selection Outlines
Show Hidden Selection
Show Light Radius for Selection
Show Selection Beam
Snap to Grid (G)
Snap Object XY to Grid (Shift-X)
Use Selection for Grid (Shift-G)
Grid Options (Ctrl-Shift-B)
Upload > Opens the Upload sub menu, which allows you to choose what to upload:
Image (L$10)
Sound (L$10)
Animation (L$10)
Mesh Model...
Bulk (L$10 per file)
Set Default Upload Permissions > Opens a window where you can set default permissions for your uploads
Import Linkset > Opens the Import window, to upload a previous exported object.
Undo (Ctrl-Z) > Will undo the last changes made in the Edit/Build window
Redo (Ctrl-Y) > Will redo the last changes made with the Undo command
****Content Menu
Search (Ctrl-F) > Opens the Search window
SL Marketplace > Prompts you to open the Marketplace web page
L$ Market Data > Prompts you to open the L$ Market Data web page
Script Library > Prompts you to open the Script Library web page
The remaining links will prompt you to open the appropriate link in your web browser.
Firestorm Blog
Firestorm Flickr
Firestorm YouTube
Firestorm Twitter
Firestorm Plurk
****Help Menu
Enable Viewer UI Hints > Enables the hints that are available in the user interface (UI)
Firestorm Wiki (F1) > Prompts you to open the Firestorm Wiki page where you can find documentation on various parts of Firestorm
Troubleshooting > opens the troubleshooting page on our Wiki where you can find suggestions for issues you may experience.
Join Firestorm Support Group: Opens a window listing in-world support groups you can join, to get help.
Check Grid Status > Prompts you to open the Grid Status web page
Report Abuse > Opens the Abuse Report window
Report Bug > Opens http://wiki.phoenixviewer.com/doku.php?id=file_a_jira where you can read how to file a bug report
Bumps Pushes & Hits opens a window that shows who or what has hit you. Does not work on damage enabled land.
Enable Sysinfo Button > Enables a button in IM windows that lets you send your Sysinfo
About Firestorm > This opens the About Firestorm window, which shows your sysinfo as well as credits and licensing information. Team members have the ability to "ping" you for the sysinfo in an IM.
Only a team member that your viewer recognizes can trigger this request.
If you get that request please do choose Yes, as the information may help us help you solve your problems.
Firestorm Menus 1 Class based on our 4.6.1 release.
We like to point out that all menus and submenus will detach and stay open if you click on the double lines at the top of the menu.
This makes it much simpler to check or uncheck options, as well as remember and uncheck anything you happen to click on either by mistake or to see what it does.
****Avatar Menu
Account > Will prompt you to open your Second Life dashboard in a web browser.
Merchant Outbox... > opens the Merchant Outbox window, for direct delivery sales.
Buy L$ > Opens the floater to let you buy L$
Preferences (Ctrl-P) > Opens your Preferences window
Toolbar Buttons > Opens the Toolbar Buttons floater where you can choose what buttons you see as well as where they appear.
Profile > Opens your profile
Picks > This will open picks in your profile.
Post to Facebook >opens a floater that allows you to post to Facebook
Appearance > Opens the Appearance floater at My Outfits (will be greyed out if you are a cloud)
Snapshot (Ctrl-Shift-S) > Opens the Snapshot floater
Inventory (Ctrl-I) > Opens your Inventory. Hitting Ctrl-I on your keyboard opens a first inventory window; to open a second one, use Ctrl-Shift-I.
Move Controls > Toggles the Movement Controls floater
Movement > Opens the Movement submenu where you can set:
-Sit down (Alt-Shift-S) > Will sit your avatar down
-Fly (Home) > This toggles Fly on
-Stop Flying (Home) > This toggles Fly off
-Always Run (Ctrl-R) > Toggles Run
-Force Ground Sit (Ctrl-Alt-S) > This forces your avatar into a ground sit regardless of where your avatar is.
-Move Lock (Ctrl Alt P) > Toggles the built in move lock on or off
-Quickjump > when enabled it disables the squat before you jump as well as the default stagger when you land if you have no landing anim set.
Camera Controls > Toggles the Camera Controls floater
Avatar Health > Opens the Avatar Health sub menu:
-Stop avatar animations > Use to stop animations acting on your avatar
-Stop avatar animations and revoke permissions > Stops animations and revokes permissions as well
-Undeform Avatar > Attempts to undeform your avatar, to recover its normal shape after deformation by the use of oversized avatars or griefer objects.
-Force appearance update (Rebake) > Rebakes your avatar's textures
-Reset Default Male Avatar (Character Test Male) > Forces your avatar to the default male
-Reset Default Female Avatar (Character Test Female) > Forces your avatar to the default female
-Show Render Weight for Avatars (replacement for Avatar Rendering Cost) > Shows Avatar draw weight. Note the calculation is different from the old ARC scores.
-Lag meter > Opens the lag meter
-Recreate LSL Bridge > Creates a fresh copy of the LSL bridge
Tip Tracker > Shows a list of L$ transactions.. This only keeps track while it is open or minimised, closing the floater resets it. See http://wiki.phoenixviewer.com/doku.php?id=fs_tip_tracker for more information.
Pose Stand > Opens the built in pose stand window
Upload > Opens the Upload sub menu, which allows you to choose what to upload:
-Image (L$10)
-Sound (L$10)
-Animation (L$10)
-Mesh Model...
-Bulk (L$10 per file)
-Set Default Upload Permissions > Opens a window where you can set default permissions for your uploads
-Import Linkset > Opens the Import window, to upload a previous exported object.
Show HUD attachments (Alt Shift H) will show or hide your HUDs
Exit Firestorm (Ctrl-Q) > Closes Firestorm
**** Comm (Communicate) Menu
Online Status > Opens the Online Status sub menu where you can enable:
-Away
-Unavailable
-Autorespond
-Autorespond to non friends
-Automatically reject teleport offers
Friends (Ctrl-Shift-F) > Opens the Friends tab in the Conversations window
Contacts (Ctrl-Alt-Shift-F) > Will open your Contacts list in the Conversations window
Contact Sets (Ctrl-Alt-Shift-C) > Will open the Contact Sets window. See http://wiki.phoenixviewer.com/doku.php?id=fs_contact_sets for more information, or come to the Contact Sets class.
Groups (Ctrl-Shift-G) > Opens the Groups tab in the conversations window
Chat (Ctrl-H) > Opens the nearby chat tab in the Communicate window
People > will open the People panel
Conversations (Ctrl-T) > Opens the Conversations (Communicate) window
Gestures (Ctrl-G) > Opens the Gestures window
Voice morphing > Opens the Voice morphing sub menu
Conversation Log,,, > Opens a list of people you have had text chat with
Nearby Voice > Opens the Nearby Voice window (aka Active Speakers list)
Block List will open your Blocked (mute) list
****World Menu
Resync Animations: finds all the animations currently playing and resets them
Nearby Avatars (Ctrl-Shift-A) > Opens the Nearby tab in the People window.
Radar > Opens/closes the standalone Radar window.
Teleport History > will open the teleport history
Places > opens the places panel
Mini-Map (Ctrl-Shift-M) > Opens the Mini-Map
World Map (Ctrl-M) > Opens the World Map
Landmark This Place > Creates a landmark at your location
Location Profile > Opens the Places profile window
Parcel Details > Opens the About Land window
Region Details > Opens the Region/Estate window
Buy This Land > Opens the Buy Land window (If land you are on is not buy-able, it will be greyed out)
Show Owned Land > Opens the Owned Land window
Show More > Opens the Show More sub menu, where you can choose to show:
-Ban Lines
-Beacons (Ctrl-Alt-Shift-N)
-Property Lines (Ctrl-Alt-Shift-P)
-Land Owners
-Coordinates
-Parcel Permissions
-Advanced Menu (Ctrl-Alt-Shift-D)
Teleport Home (Ctrl-Shift-H) > Teleports you home
Set Home to Here > Sets your Home location to the point you are at if you have the rights to do so.
Sun Position > Opens the Sun Position sub menu, where you can set the sun position to:
-Sunrise (Ctrl-Shift-E)
-Midday (Ctrl-Shift-Y)
-Sunset (Ctrl-Shift-N)
-Midnight (Ctrl-Shift-X)
-Estate Time
Environment Editor > Opens the Environment Editor sub menu:
-Environment Settings
-Water Presets
-Sky Presets
-Day Presets
More info http://community.secondlife.com/t5/English-Knowledge-Base/Region-environment-settings/ta-p/999713
Photo and Video opens the sub menu where you can show/hide
-Phototools Ctrl Alt P
-Cameratools Ctrl Shift C
There are Toolbar buttons available for these as well
Area Search > Opens Area Search window.
Sound Explorer > Opens the sound explorer
Asset Blacklist > Opens the asset blacklist
****Build Menu
Build > Opens the Build/Edit window
Select Build Tool > Opens the Build Tool sub menu where you can select:
Focus Tool (Ctrl-1)
Move Tool (Ctrl-2)
Edit Tool (Ctrl-3)
Create Tool (Ctrl-4)
Land Tool (Ctrl-5)
Link (Ctrl-L) > Will link multiple prims
Unlink (Ctrl-Shift-L) > Will unlink prims in a linkset
Edit Linked Parts > Allows you to edit individual prims in a linkset
Select Linked Parts > Opens the Select Linked Parts sub menu where you can choose
Select Next Part (Ctrl-.)
Select Previous Part (Ctrl-,)
Include Next Part (Ctrl-Shift-.)
Include Previous Part (Ctrl-Shift-,)
Focus on Selection (H) > Will focus your camera on an object you have selected
Zoom to Selection (Shift-H) > Will zoom your camera on an object you have selected
Object > Opens the Object sub menu that allows you to:
Take
Take Copy
Duplicate
Edit Particles
Save Back to Inventory
Save Back to Object Contents
Return Object
Save as > Opens a sub menu where you can find:
Backup: Opens the Backup window, allowing you to save the object to your hard drive.
Collada: Opens the Collada Export window, which you can use to export the object as mesh.
Scripts > Opens the Scripts sub menu where you can:
Show Script Warnings/Errors
Script Info (counter)
Recompile Scripts (Mono)
Recompile Scripts (LSL)
Reset Scripts
Set Scripts to Running
Set Scripts to Not Running
Remove Scripts from Selection
Pathfinding: Options concerning Pathfinding.
Linksets: Opens the Pathfinding Linksets window.
Characters: Opens the Pathfinding characters window.
View / Test: Opens the Pathfinding console.
Rebake Region : Rebakes the region NavMesh, if there are pending changes - assuming you have rights to do so and Pathfinding is enabled for the region; will by greyed out otherwise. This can also be done by clicking the Pathfinding icon in the top menu bar.
Options > Opens the Options sub menu where you can:
Show Advanced Permissions
Select Only My Obects
Select Only Movable Objects
Select By Surrounding
Include group owned objects
Show Selection Outlines
Show Hidden Selection
Show Light Radius for Selection
Show Selection Beam
Snap to Grid (G)
Snap Object XY to Grid (Shift-X)
Use Selection for Grid (Shift-G)
Grid Options (Ctrl-Shift-B)
Upload > Opens the Upload sub menu, which allows you to choose what to upload:
Image (L$10)
Sound (L$10)
Animation (L$10)
Mesh Model...
Bulk (L$10 per file)
Set Default Upload Permissions > Opens a window where you can set default permissions for your uploads
Import Linkset > Opens the Import window, to upload a previous exported object.
Undo (Ctrl-Z) > Will undo the last changes made in the Edit/Build window
Redo (Ctrl-Y) > Will redo the last changes made with the Undo command
****Content Menu
Search (Ctrl-F) > Opens the Search window
SL Marketplace > Prompts you to open the Marketplace web page
L$ Market Data > Prompts you to open the L$ Market Data web page
Script Library > Prompts you to open the Script Library web page
The remaining links will prompt you to open the appropriate link in your web browser.
Firestorm Blog
Firestorm Flickr
Firestorm YouTube
Firestorm Twitter
Firestorm Plurk
****Help Menu
Enable Viewer UI Hints > Enables the hints that are available in the user interface (UI)
Firestorm Wiki (F1) > Prompts you to open the Firestorm Wiki page where you can find documentation on various parts of Firestorm
Troubleshooting > opens the troubleshooting page on our Wiki where you can find suggestions for issues you may experience.
Join Firestorm Support Group: Opens a window listing in-world support groups you can join, to get help.
Check Grid Status > Prompts you to open the Grid Status web page
Report Abuse > Opens the Abuse Report window
Report Bug > Opens http://wiki.phoenixviewer.com/doku.php?id=file_a_jira where you can read how to file a bug report
Bumps Pushes & Hits opens a window that shows who or what has hit you. Does not work on damage enabled land.
Enable Sysinfo Button > Enables a button in IM windows that lets you send your Sysinfo
About Firestorm > This opens the About Firestorm window, which shows your sysinfo as well as credits and licensing information. Team members have the ability to "ping" you for the sysinfo in an IM.
Only a team member that your viewer recognizes can trigger this request.
If you get that request please do choose Yes, as the information may help us help you solve your problems.
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