Quick Guide to Second Life (SL)

Introduction to Second Life Viewer 2.0

Before Downloading Second Life:

Before downloading Second Life, make sure that your computer is ready to run the program by following these few steps.

1.Check the Speed of Your Internet Connection

High speed Internet access is required to use Second Life. To check the speed of your current Internetconnection, go to run the speed check. Second Life recommends that your Internet connection has an upload speed greater than 1.0 Mb/sec.

Slower Internetspeeds will lead to a number of problems in Second Life including:

  1. Slow Rezzing -- the SL term for “appearing.” If the Internet connection is slow, graphics will take a long time to appear or “rez.” If your connection is optimal, the rezzing will be essentially instantaneous.
  2. Lag -- If you press one of the arrow keys and it takes a second or two for your Avatar to respond, or if your Avatar continues to walk after you have stopped pushing an arrow key, you are experiencing lag. Lag occurs because of a slow Internet connection, insufficient RAM (Random Access Memory), or an inadequate graphics card.

Troubleshooting a Slow Internet Connection:

  1. Connect your computer to the Internet using an Ethernetcable: An Ethernet cable is the cord that physically connects your computer to the Internet jack on the wall or modem. Ethernet cable Internet connections are faster than wireless computer connections. If SL is too slow using wireless, connect your computer to the Internet using the Ethernet cable.
  2. Clean up your computer: The site has tools to clean up your computer and make it operate faster. Using these tools may help speed up your Internet connection.
  3. Call your Internetprovider: If you are still unable to use Second Life easily, you may have to upgrade the speed of your Internet access through your Internet provider.
  4. Buy more RAM for your computer: Computers need at least one GB of RAM to run Second Life smoothly. To check the RAM on your computer:
  1. Click on the windows icon or “start” button on bottom left handside of the screen.
  2. Select “Control Panel.”
  3. Click on the “System” icon or “general icon. The next window should indicate how much RAM is installed on your computer. If it is less than 1 GB, you may have to purchase additional RAM.
  1. Set up your microphone and speakers: To use all of the features in Second Life, you need to be able to hear what other people are saying and other people need to be able to hear what you are saying. To do this, you need a microphone and earphones.

Before logging into Second Life, make sure that you have earphones and a microphone that work properly.Although your computer probably has both a microphone and a speaker installed internally, it is best if you have a device made specifically for these purposes. Without earphones and a microphone you will get annoying feedback, other Avatars will not be able to hear you, you will not be able to hear other Avatars, and your Second Life experience will be greatly diminished.

We recommend that you use a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) headset. This is a headset that plugs into your computer and has both a microphone and earphones.

To set up the headset: VoIP headsets haveeither two plugs (one for the microphone and one for the earphones), or they have a single USB (Universal Serial Bus) connector. The connectors on the two-plug variety are usually color-coded: green for the speaker connector and pink or orange for the microphone connector.

  1. If your headset connectors are color-coded, match them to the like colors of the receiving sockets on your computer. If your connectors aren't color-coded, look for the microphone and speaker symbols on the connectors themselves and match them to the like symbols on your computer.
  2. If your headset has a USB connector, simply connect it to any available USB port. On some Windows systems, you will need to have the USB headset plugged in when you start your computer so that the operating system recognizes the VoIP headset.

Once you have plugged in your headset, check to see if it is working before you log into Second Life. You can see if the sound is working on your headset by playing a music video or sound clip with your headset on.

To check if your microphone is working:

  1. Click the start button or windows icon on the lower left hand side of the screen.
  2. Select Control Panel.
  3. From the Control Panel screen select the sound icon.
  4. A new window will pop up. Hit the “recording tab” at the top of the screen.
  5. A big green check should be next to your working microphone. When you talk into your microphone, some green lines should appear to the right of the microphone icon.

Troubleshooting your microphone and speakers: Once you have plugged in your headset, your computer should detect and use that device by default. However, if your headset does not appear to be working, try restarting your computer. If that doesn’t work, than you will have to change your device settings by going into your computers Control Panel.

How to change the device settings on your computer running Windows XP or earlier:

  1. Open the Windows Control Panel.
  2. Open Sounds and Audio Devices. In Windows Vista, this is called Audio Devices and Sound Themes, and it is found under Hardware and Sound.
  3. Look in the Volume tab to make sure that the Mute checkbox is not selected and that the device volume is set where you want it.
  4. In the Audio tab, select the primary input and output audio devices from the dropdown list.

How to change the device settings on a computer running Windows 7:

  1. Open the Windows Control Panel.
  2. Click on the “sound” icon and a new window will appear. From the “Playback tab” you can select your sound device. From the recording tab you can select your microphone.To select the microphone or speaker you want to use simple click on it. A green checkmark will appear next to the device you have selected. To adjust the setting, including the volume on your speakers or your microphone click the properties tab.

On a Mac computer:

  1. Go to Apple menu > System Preferences and click Sound.
  2. For Output, select the desired device to hear the audio and make any necessary changes to volume.
  3. For Input, select the desired device to speak into and adjust the volume.

Running Second Life on Your Computer

  1. Download the Second Life Viewer located at:
  1. The viewer is compatible with both PC and MAC computers.
  2. After downloading and installing the Second Life Viewer, an icon should appear on your desktop.
  1. Double click on the Second Life icon installed on your desktop.
  2. Change your headset and device settings in the Second Life viewerbefore logging into Second Life:
  3. From the menu at the top of the screen open “me” > preferences.
  4. Click the sound and Media Tab.
  5. Click the “Input/output devices” button.
  6. Click each drop down to change it from default to another device.
  1. Log into Second Life with your user name and password.

How to Move Your Avatar in Second Life:

Walking, Running and Flying:

Your Avatar has the ability to walk, run and fly.

  1. Arrow keys on the keyboard will move you forward (up arrow) and backward (down arrow) and rotate you right (right arrow) and left (left arrow).
  2. The W, S, A and D keys on your keyboard will move your Avatar the same way that the arrow keys do. “W” will move you forward, “S” will move you backward, “D” will rotate you right, and “A” will rotate you left.
  3. You can also move by using the arrow keys visible when you click on the “walk/run/fly” button at the bottom of the screen.
  4. From the “walk/run/fly”window, you can choose how you would like to move. By default you are walking, but you can also run and fly.
  1. The left-most button allows you to walk at a normal pace.
  2. The middle button allows you to run when you move.
  3. The right-most button allows you to fly. “PageUp” key on the keyboard will raise you higher off the ground. “PageDn” key will lower you. Click the “Stop Flying” button to walk as before.

How to Sit:

  1. Right-click onany location (on the ground, on a log, on a chair or couch) and choose “Sit Here” from the menu. Your Avatar will automatically assume a sitting position as long as there is a place/room to sit.
  2. Click on “Stand” at the bottom of the screen to make your Avatar stand up.
  3. If you see either a pink (for ladies) or a blue (for men) or a gray (for anyone) ball, it is called a “pose ball.” If you right-click on it, and select “sit” from the menu that appears, it will animate your Avatar. It may position you in a simple sitting position or it may make you dance, dive off a diving board, etc. To stop sitting/dancing/diving click on “Stand” at the bottom of the screen and the animation will end.

Teleporting:

Teleporting allows yourAvatar to travel across the Second Life world in a blink of an eye. It is also a great way to get groups of Avatars together.You can accept teleports from other Avatars, or you can offer other Avatars the option of teleporting to you. You can also teleport to different locations in SL.

  1. To teleport to a location: On the left hand side of your SL screen you will see an icon that looks like a globe. Clicking this icon will open your “places” box. By default the “my landmarks” tab will be selected. Select the landmark to which you would like to teleport and hit the teleport button at the bottom of the screen.

Note:If you are a new Second Life user, you might not have any landmarks. Adding landmarks is discussed below.

  1. To offer a teleport to another Avatar: Click the “people icon” at the bottom of the screen. Select the Avatar you would like to teleport to your location and select teleport. If they accept your teleport, they will be immediately teleported to you location.
  2. To accept a teleport: When another Avatar offers you a teleport, you will be asked whether or not you would like to accept the offer. If you click “accept” you will teleported to that Avatar's location.

How to Set Your Home Location

Second Life gives you the ability to set a “Home” location. To set a home location, travel to the Second Life location that you want to make your SL home, click on the “World” button at the top of the screen and select “Set Home to Here."

As you explore Second Life, you can quickly and easily teleport home by:

  1. Clicking the house shaped icon to the left of the browser bar in the second life viewer.
  2. Pushing ctrl+shift+h simultaneously on your keyboard.
  3. Clicking the “world tab” at the top of the screen and selecting “teleport home.”

How to Landmark a Location in Second Life:

Any time you are someplace in SL that you enjoy and would like to visit again,“landmark” the location so you can easily teleport back to it later. When you Landmark that location, it will be saved in your “my landmarks.”

To landmark a location:

  1. From the location you wish to landmark, select the tab marked “world” at the top of the screen.
  2. Select “Landmark this Place” and the landmark will be added to your list of “my landmarks."
  3. To view your landmarks, click on the globe icon on the left hand side of the screen. This is the fourth button from the bottom of the page on the ribbon of icons on the left of the screen. If you double-click on any of the landmarks listed, a separate window appears that gives you the opportunity to teleport to that location.

Adding Friends in Second Life:

You can expand your Second Life community by adding friends. Other Avatars can friend you, or you can friend other Avatars.

  1. To add a friend, right click on their Avatar and select “add a friend.” They willreceive a notice asking them to confirm your friendship.
  2. To accept friendship,simply accept the other Avatar’s friend request. When someone offers you friendship, a notice will appear and you can use it to either accept or reject their friendship.
  3. You can view your “My Friends” list in three ways:
  4. Clicking on the communicate button at the top of the page and selecting “Friends.”
  5. Right-clicking on your Avatar and choosing “My Friends.”
  6. Clicking on the “people” icon at the bottom of the screen and clicking on the “My Friends” tab at the top of the screen.
  7. Friends who are online are listed at the top of the “My Friends” list. From the My Friends window you can initiatea private conversation by text or voice. You can also offer your friends a “teleport” so they can easily travel to your current location.

How to Communicate in Second Life:

Communicating Using Text Based Chat:

  1. Nearby Text Chat:You can share text with everyone in your vicinity using nearby chat.
  2. Click on the chat button located on the toolbar at the bottom of the screen. A new window will popup titled “nearby chat.”
  3. Type your text in the nearby chat box and then hit “enter.”
  4. The text that you typed will float above the nearby chat box for everybody to see. It will display your name and the text you have typed. If others type in their text box, their names will appear along with their text message for everyone in the vicinity to read.
  5. Private Text Conversations: You can also have private text conversations between just you and another person.
  6. Click on the “Communicate” button at the top of the page and choose Friends.” The people box, will appear.
  7. A list of “Friends” will appear on the right of the screen.
  8. Select the friend with whom you would like to text chat and click the “IM” button on the bottom of the screen. If your friend accepts your IM request, then you will enter a private chat with that friend.

CommunicatingUsing Voice:

Hopefully, you were able to confirm that your headset was working before logging into Second Life. If your headset was not working, you will not be able to communicate using voice in Second Life.

Nearby Voice: Click on the “speak” button located on the toolbar at the bottom of the SL viewer and start talking. If your mic is working correctly, green waves will appear above your head when you are talking. When using nearby voice, everybody in your immediate area can hear you.

  1. Private Chat Conversation: You can have a private chat conversation between you and one other Avatar, by:
  2. Opening your friends list,
  3. Selecting the friend with whom you want to voice chat, and
  4. Clicking the call button on the bottom of the screen. If your friend accepts your request, then you will enter a private voice chat.

Trouble Shooting Sound in Second Life:

If your voice appears to be working, but others are complaining that they can’t hear you. It may be that:

  1. You are too far from your microphone.
  2. Your microphone isn't working properly.You may need a new microphone.
  3. Your microphone settings are incorrect or have changed for some reason. Try logging out of SL, checking your device settings and logging back in.

It's always a good idea to test the playing and recording of sounds in other programs to verify if it is a problem with your computer system, rather than risk being isolated from Second Life.

How to Adjust Your Camera View in SL:

The default view has the camera behind you so that you can watch your Avatar when you move. This is the most popular and easiest to use when moving around SL. As described below, you may change this view but always return to this default view by clicking the “Esc” key on your keyboard.

You can change your camera view by clicking on the “camera controls” button on the bottom of the screen.

From the “camera controls” window:

The right-most button at the bottom of the pop-up box, represented by a video camera icon has two unique viewing options.

  1. The “mouse look view” lets you see the world exactly as your Avatar would see it. It is as if you are looking through your Avatar’s eyes.
  2. The object viewallows you to zoom in onan object. It can be very useful when trying to read a sign or slide presentation. To zoom in on an object:
  3. Click on the“object view” button and your pointer will turn into a + sign and a pointer.
  4. Click and hold on the objectthat you want to zoom in on. Use the up arrow key on the key board to zoom in on the desired object, and the down arrow key to zoom out. Alternatively, you may use the scroll button on your mouse to zoom in or zoom out. Use the other arrow keys on the keyboard as before to get a wide or panoramic view of the room. Clicking the “Esc” key on the key board exits this viewing mode and returns you to the default view.
  5. There is a shortcut for using this zoom feature. You can hold down the “Alt” key on the keyboard and while holding it down, point and click the mouse pointer at the object on which you want to zoom in. Then follow the instructions under b above.

The middle button allows you to move the camera horizontally and vertically around your Avatar. The +/- sliding bar allows you to zoom in and out.