06-07-2006 13:22
You've Got Inventory!
An easy guide to the new Inventory Inbox and filtering features, included with the 1.10.2 release

Ever got something from a friend but couldn't find it in your Inventory? Perhaps you just logged on and started digging, only to give up in despair after wasting time because you have thousands of items and lost track of what to search for. Or what about shopping? Ever find it inconvenient to buy something and not have quick access to use it right away?

We've listened to the community about these frequent problems, and delivered - literally! Second Life 1.10.2 introduces a new Inventory "Inbox" which shows recently-received items, and better filtering to help you find what you're looking for.

The New Tabs
As soon as you open your inventory (push the Inventory button at the bottom right hand of your screen or go to View menu --> Inventory), you'll see there are two new tabs titled All Items and Recent Items, just like the tabs in the Instant Message window.

Click on Recent Items to see what you've received since the last time you logged off from Second Life. If there's nothing in there, don't worry, just ask a friend to send you an object or buy something from a store, and voila! you'll see it appear. It can get pretty addictive to watch the list grow, just like checking your inbox in an email program.

Note that you only have one actual inventory. These tabs simply give you the convenience of viewing your inventory in clearer ways, sort of like seeing in the dark with night vision goggles.

Tip: Spend a few minutes a day sorting your inventory. It all adds up quite quickly. Especially now that having an "inbox" makes it easier for you to sort in the first place, don't wait for stuff to pile up, save yourself time and trouble and sort often!

Little Things Make a Big Difference
There are several subtle-but-welcome changes to the Inventory window, including:

* X Marks the Spot - An X, which clears the current query when pressed, appears at the very right of the search bar when it's typed into.

* Sort Folders Always by Name - When you've checked this and you've set Sort menu --> By Date, this forces your folders to be displayed alphabetically, as was the case in previous versions of Second Life. For example, "Animations" will appear ahead of "Clothing". If unchecked, then folders with the newest received items will be sorted by date too, meaning if you just got a shirt in "Clothing", it'll appear at the top of the list. Try it out and see!

* Filters Menu - Lets you modify and reset the current filters. Filters are useful because they let you show and hide types of inventory items for a more uncluttered view, and newly-introduced, you can set a time for which recently-received items are displayed.

Tip: The All Items and Recent Items tabs each have their own unique filter settings. What you filter in one tab doesn't affect the other. While it may initially be confusing, you can use this to your advantage because you can sort inventory with two different views at once by switching between the tabs!

Further Filtering
If you've never used filters before, try this to get a hands-on feel:

1. In the Inventory window, click the All Items tab and open a lot of folders by clicking on the white triangles. They'll "expand" and the arrows will rotate to point downwards, indicating they're open.
2. Select the Filters menu --> Modify Current.
3. In the Filters window, uncheck all the inventory item type checkboxes and watch things "disappear". Don't worry, you haven't lost anything! It's still all there, it's just hidden. Check the boxes and look as they're shown again. It's easy to recognize what type of item it is by its icon (the little picture to the left of its name).

Also, you can toggle all item types with a single click by using the All and None buttons. Below these is Show all folders, which - like it says - displays all folders when doing a search. Unchecking it will only display folders containing matches.

Keep on going and you'll see Since Logoff, which is enabled by default on the Recent Items tab. It's short for "Show me the items I've received since the last time I logged off from Second Life". If that's not good enough for you, alternatively, you can specify a time range. For example, entering 7 days and 14 hours means, "Show me the items I've received since the last 7 days and 14 hours".

Tip: If you ever think you've lost inventory, be sure to check that your filters are showing everything!

Advanced Inventory Management
There are a number of tricks which aren't immediately obvious but are extremely useful for highly-efficient organizing of your inventory:

* Multi-View: An old classic! Try using File menu --> New Window so you have two Inventory windows open at once. Then, you can move stuff back and forth between two folders, and yes, you can have a different view in each one. What's more, each Inventory window has its own set of filters, however, this could be inconvenient because of the amount of screen space it uses. Which brings us back to why the All Items and Recent Items tabs are handy for showing multiple views in a single window.

* Drag and Drop: Try dragging items from one tab to the other, this is very useful if you want to sort your Recent Items. Just click-and-drag any folder or item (hold Ctrl to select multiples) from within one tab to the name of other tab: you'll notice the view switches immediately. Move the cursor over the folder you're looking for, and release the mouse button. You'll see the folders spring back quickly, and your stuff's been moved!

* Filter Master: By altering filter settings, you can actually turn Recent Items into another All Items tab. How? First, click the Recent Items tab, then open Filters -->Modify Current. Then, uncheck Since Logoff and make sure no hours or days are entered. There you go! This functions similarly to having two inventory windows open, but is much more compact. Conversely, you can check "Since Logoff" or enter a time for both tabs, and then you'll have what amounts to two Recent Items tabs. If you're ever unsure of your changes, just reset them from the Filters menu.

Note: Main system folders, meaning the ones with special icons like Body Parts and Objects, can't be moved. Neither can the Library's contents, or the Trash.

What's Ahead
We've already aggregated a lot of feedback from the community; the new "inbox" and filtering features are the first pass in a series of Inventory improvements to come. Hopefully, having these additions today makes putting everything in its right place easier for you. Enjoy!