Needs help with windows

Hey all. I dont know if this thread should be in here, in texturing tips, or in scripting tips. I have a 7 prim wall (two windows, upper wall, lower wall, etc.) I tinted my windows using the paski script. I'd like to have an actual window sash and frame. If I use a texture then the whole window including the frame will tint. Is there a way to avoid that besides adding more prims and biulding the whole thing? Is there anything I can do to the script to tint only the glass of the texture and not the wood?

What's "the paski script"? Your use of the word "the" implies you you expect others will automatically know of it, like THE Mona Lisa or THE Thinker or THE Colosseum. If this particular script is famous, its celebrity certainly hasn't traveled far enough to reach my neck of the woods. The only paskis I know of are a kind of cheese, and a professional female pool player (and that's only because I just Googled the word). Somehow I don't think either of those is what you meant.

Is Paski a person? The author of the script, perhaps? Or is it the name of the script itself? Either way, what does the script do?




How about just making a texture that has the colors you want in it? That would be the most sensible thing to do. Is there some reason you don't want to do that? Or am I missing something?



If the glass and the wood are the same surface, no. You'll have to change the texture.

If they are different surfaces, then yes. You could recolor one or all surfaces either by hand or via script.

Paskis Robinson. (Kevo likely misread "Paskis' Window Scripts" as "Paski's...".)

Otherwise, good reply.

Yes, it is Paskis Robinson. I've heard him mentioned a few times in posts so naturally assumed he was heard of in most peoples neck of the woods. I have seen in some model homes where the windows click from light tint to complete black for privacy. These windows' frames didn't change with the tint. I'm wondering how.

Well like Chosen said, either:

1. Have a single surface that switches back and forth between a partly-transparent and an opaque texture.
2. Have two surfaces, one for the frame, and one for the glass in/behind it (this could be pulled off with one window texture and one hollowed prim). The glass can be set to an opaque black (or other colors I suppose) when you click it.

If I were given a teleport to see it, I'm pretty sure I would be able to figure out which.

Ok. that gives me an idea or two. I'm not inworld right now but when I get home tonight I'll look you up. It'll be around 8:30 slt. Thanks for the replies and suggestions guys.

I make a lot of window textures. It's one of my more popular items..

There are several approaches to privacy scripted windows.

The simple approach changes the tint or opacity of the texture on the window prim itself, but doesn't change the texture. This method is most suitable to a "picture window" effect, where the window is a single pane of glass, and the frame is a seperate prim. It's fairly easy to script, and you can technically have an infinite variety of stages of opacity. But it is lacking in window detail.

A more complex approach is to use multiple textures, and a script that swaps textures on command. Here, the part of the texture that is the frames and sashes remains the same in each texture, but the opacity of the window panes themselves changes from texture to texture. You are doing nothing to change the transparency of the prim itself. Instead you are swapping in different textures, by using a script. And it can be different textures for the inside and outside!

The really cool part with this second approach is that it isn't limited to just darkening or lightening the glass panes. You can also do textures that have curtains that are closed in one texture, and open in another. Or that have a set of venetian blinds in various states... (Take a look at the Greek Window sets that I sell at TRU, which have the window frames with the plain inside and outside textures, as well as with curtains that are drawn or are closed, as sen from either side.)

Another privacy approach is to script a solution that re-sizes and possibly re-textures a prim curtain or other cover, which uses a non-alpha texture on this cover. Think of an opaque roller blind. When it is up, the window isn't blocked, and you see a cylinder at the top. When unrolled, it covers the inside of the frame with an opaque fabric layer. Just make sure you do NOT use a 32-bit texture on this curtain prim! (See below for why...)


You mentioned one thing that people try, but it won't get the result you expect:

If you place a scripted and tintable flat prim behind, inside, or outside a prim that has a window frame texture with clear panes and your sashes and wooden pane dividers on it, you'd think that would work... But the alpha sorting glitch kills you. Sometimes you see the flat tinted layer behind the window frame, like you wanted. Sometimes you see it in front, and the whole window tirnd a single tinted shade, losing the frame. Bleah... You get the same problem if you use a textured prim in front of a window prim to do curtains. If both the window prim and curtain prim have an alpha texture, it screws up part of the time.

Ceera, I'm actually using a window that I bought from TRU. I added the script which allows me to change between 2 or 3 states. And for each different state, I can change the texture. I need to tinker with that some more I guess. My scripting knowledge is minimal. By using the multi texture technique that you desciribed, Am I still using just one prim for the window itself and then adding the curtains, blinds, or tint in the different states of the stript?

Yes, still just one prim.

Example 1:

State Open: Texture shows clear panes and open curtains.
State Closed: Texture shows curtains in closed position.
State Open/tint: Texture shows tinted panes and open curtains.

Example 2:

State Open: Texture shows clear panes and open roller blind.
State Closed: Texture shows roller blind in closed position.
State Open/tint: Texture shows tinted panes and open roller blind.

With most window textures, it's fairly trivial to take one that has clear panes, export it to your graphics program, and change the greyscale value of the alpha masking (or simply re-save as 24-bit to make it completely opaque) and then upload that back into SL for your own use. So I don't usually bother to sell "tint variations" for my window panes in my window sets.