settings.ini - wow, that's useability in action!

They wanted to do that for the 1.2 GUI "revamp" but didn't. I think it's a bad idea to have two entirely separate clients but it is a good idea to have different types of accounts. I have long contended this should happen. LL could make a lot of money if they implemented a Linden Certified Developer program... they could do it with several levels of building/scripting certifications and come up with new levels over time, to make more money, challenge us and stimulate innovation.

This a joke, right? Adding advanced options to the settings.ini file increases the ease of usability? *shakes head in disgust*

Actually, moving more settings to .ini file just opens up optuions for the more scriptenabled of us to scribble up an external script that acts as an .ini interface tool. Then that (possibly VB based) tool would serve as a simple settings manipulator, putting all the commonly accessed .ini settings into a gui with checkboxes; all the end-user would need to do is to check the options they want actuvated, the script pulls that together into the correct editation for the .ini file, and poof!, easy-peasy .ini access, even for the lazy or disinterested. Shortcut to this tool on desktop next to your SL shortcut (You DO use icon grouping as an organizational tool for your desktop, right?) and you can change the settings every time you go in if you want to.

This would be a minor tool to script up... in fact, I would be surprised if someone hasn't done it already, by the time I have finished with this post.

even in my short time is SL I'm noticing changes to make SL seem less a technical toy and more a playground. that being said, I also envision a point where I'd have to have two different .ini files saved. one when I want to build and one when I want to play. moving things to be .ini only just seems bizzare. why not have a console "tab" as FPS games have now such as was mentioned earlier. this change is a hark back to the days of MS DOS and somewhat more towards the more modern LINUX. yes, we/some of us are used to editing configuration files directly, but if this is a general trend, I'll quite possible be forced to create my own loader program to have SL load with the right configurations based on what I want to do when I log on, and that's just arse backwards.

Does this mean people wont see the price and name of my items when hovering over them by default? crapola!

your logic is bizarre to me

because they have one section of the UI that is complicated, they shouldn't work on simplifying others? An overcrowded preferences window is highly confusing to most.

But yes, I would still have this stuff done through a UI not the ini file.... don't encourage folks to muck up the ini file.

They should have an easy to use "basic" settings section and an advanced settings section. The advanced would probably best be found through a button on the basic settings user form, not stuck in debug. (i.e. make finding adv settings intuitive, not the result of sticking something on a high shelf on the back left cause you're not sure where it should go.)

Maybe you need an "advanced settings" menu item. Actually, as someone else noted... that's what most people use the debug menu for. Shift stuff *there* if it's too complex. Don't force us to restart for minor changes... we have to relog often enough because of crashes and hangs as it is.

Also, what does "interact with" mean here? Nicole's comment raises that question: does buying count as interaction?

Finally, Strife: what's your external settings editor written in? Something that runs on both Mac and PC?

I turn off "shiny" automatically. If I could make it like 10% of its value, maybe I'd keep it on... but all it does is make some objects look completely wrong and out of place. I don't want "shiny", I want "slightly glossy".

Actually, I'd like to do that for "full bright" too. How about a "gentle glow" setting?

As for infinity... I've been to infinity (or at least MAXINT) already.

One thing I've quickly learned about sharpshooters who can fire things accurately in arcs over a hill is, "Do not confuse the pointing finger with the moon", or this time around:


As much as some of this doesn't make sense today, it likely will in several months. Having been through similar cycles before, it's a matter of time, not just to get acclimated but to be able to appreciate the forest AND the trees here.

What happens to your ini files when you install updates? Not having ever edited one of the Second Life ones I'm curious if they're just overwritten with fresh ones, or if your changes are kept.

I'm not totally sure on this but I did a foot shadow hack, and uhhh my foot shadows in viewerart.ini came back. So looks like it is overwritten? I'll have to test more to be 100% tho.

Oh my goodness Torley, what wonderful imagery! Wouldn't it be great if we could approach everything in life like a baby with a busybox? Well, maybe the drooling, spontaneous diaper filling, and occasionally uncontrollable leg and arm movments could create socially awkward moments. Okay, nevermind ... but thanks for that

You're totally welkies Perse!

I was just going to ask that! With the frequency of client updates, this could be a huge pain.

I just loaded up the new client and tried walking around with the new default settings and it was very odd, like I had lost one of my senses. I am used to seeing the name/owner info on everything in world.

I will be changing my .ini file right away and I hope that it stays during the next update.

I cannot fathom why they did this. I also do not agree with adding more "features" by changing entries in the .ini file. This is a huge step backward to the time when only hardcore geeks could fully realize SL. The further adoption of SL as a platform for the masses will not happen when they have to HAND EDIT TEXT FILES.

(Edited out part about asset server, as it wasn't true)

It was kind of a loaded question I'm afraid, as I fully expected that would be the case. So I have to say again "settings.ini - wow, that's useability in action!"

Did they realize that the ApplicationData folder is hidden by default on Windows machines?

This whole thing sounds like someone high up at LL got a wild hair to get this done and no one bothered to think it out, they just did it because the boss man said so.

Personally I think that they increasingly just take the path of least development. The last few major features that have been added really give me that impression.

Same here.

I finally found my settings.ini.. Yes, Alan, the application data folder is hidden making it hard to find. Btw, nobody responded in Live Help as to where to find my folder. The first time I set it while logged on. It didn't work. After I logged off and changed my settings.ini it then worked fine. Here are the directions from the update in case you missed it:



- To view Hover Tips for all objects (the old default behavior), add the line "ShowAllObjectHoverTip TRUE" to the settings.ini file, found in the following locations:
- Windows: Documents and Settings\USERNAME\Application Data\SecondLife\user_settings
- Mac OS X: Users/USERNAME/Library/Application Support/SecondLife/user_settings
- IMPORTANT NOTE: Be sure to use a TAB character between the option name and the "TRUE" setting. Then, after editing the file, restart SecondLife to see the Hover Tips for all objects.

It held the setting changes with the install of the 2nd new client of the day.

Strife, I just read through the settings.ini file several times and i don't see the axis rotation snap increment. What is it called?

This says there are something like 300 settings, but my settings.ini file has only 121 lines in it, and it seems to be one setting per line. Is there more than one settings.ini file or what?

*ANYTHING* ever removed from the main preferences panel should be automatically assigned to a new 'advanced user' preferences panel that would be brought up via the debug menu. Anything in the ini file not currently exposed via the preferences (and not 'dangerous' to sanity, yours, or the clients') now should also be added to this 'advanced user' preferences

Yes the main user interface needs a SERIOUS spring cleaning... but forcing experienced/advanced users to jump through hoops (especially viz an ini which is going to be CLEARED AND NEED TO BE RESET ON *EVERY* UPDATE) is absolutely atrocious... thats literally just punishing hundreds or even thousands of people totally unnecessarily.

The debug menu is there, an extra 'form' to be loaded viz it is almost trivial to code, and exposing ini stuff for advanced users viz the actual software is SO utterly simple a concept that im almost shocked *no one* at LL has really even brought it up yet...

Seriously guys, the golden principle of ui design is make it simple for new users, and powerful for advanced ones... your 'change' utterly falls flat on its face as yer just tossing the ball as to who you 'punish', not actually fixing much of anything

*cough* erm Kelly, I presume that LL's ideas of what constitutes useability and what doesn't have changed in the last few days? I see we now have these new settings as menu options in the new update - now that's far more user-friendly than a tucked away .ini file.