Bright Toolbox

Multi-function HUD: manage inventory, rez tools, browse web, get info & more!

DESCRIPTION

The Bright Toolbox is a multi-button, multi-function HUD brimming with features to make life in Second Life *easier* and *more fun*!

* FLYING CHAIR: Fly non-physically, through prims, for building, or to avoid griefers

* REZZER: Store your favourite items, and rez them instantly

* WEB BROWSER: Surf the web on your HUD's pop-up screen

* FINDER: List the 16 nearest objects within 96m, and get detailed info about them

* AVATAR INFO: List the 16 nearest avatars within 96m and get detailed info on them

* GIVER: Keep useful giveaways in your HUD, and give them easily to anyone near you

* CAMERA CONTROL: Change your camera distance, angle, and movement!

* TELEPORTER: Keep your favourite landmarks and teleport to any of them

* SOUND PLAYER: Drop in your favourite sounds and play them anywhere

* CLOCK: Get the UTC/SLT/UNIX time, time in +/-n hours, & convert UNIX to UTC time

* CHAT MACHINE: Chat on any channel (even negative), under any name, at any volume

* PLATFORM: Rez a builder's platform, with its own range of features

* PARCEL WALLER: Instantly build a wall round the borders of any parcel you can rez in

* TEXTURE DISPLAY: Show textures from your toolbox, or for any UUID, on a pop-up screen

* PARCEL INFORMATION: On any land: report the owner, access, permissions, prim usage...

* PERFORMANCE MONITOR: Display current/average time dilation & FPS - measure that lag!

Access these any of three ways!

* Click an icon

* OR Click the main button, and choose from a menu

* OR Type "/8 (command)" into chat - eg. /8 CHAIR

All of these are packed into a single HUD, with a gorgeous, easy to use interface!

* Detailed, built-in help on every function!

* Minimises to a single button when you wish to save screen space

* Opens scrolling icon dock with buttons for each function

* Pops-up intergrated screen for web pages and other information displays

* Screen can be made opaque or semi-transparent, resized, and zoomed

And the HUD is incredibly configurable!

* Minimises to a single button, or pops up a display screen when needed

* Instantly, and without editing, change your HUD size to suit your screen

* Change your command channel to avoid clashes with other gadgets

* Drop in objects to rez, textures to display, landmarks to go to...

* Easily reorder or remove icons - or add your own!

* Link functions to gestures, so you can trigger them with a single function key!

* Complete with API if you are a developer and wish to add your own scripts!

Perfect for...

* BUILDERS: chair, platform, textures by key, any-channel chat, UNIX time maths...

* LAND OWNERS: check prim use, performance, parcel info, build walls...

* TRADERS & HOSTS: check avatar info, give free gifts & landmarks...

* DRIVERS: rez vehicles, set camera position, find crashed cars, monitor lag...

* ANYONE!

Powerful, endlessly configurable, and easy to use: the Bright Toolbox is a must for the serious Second Lifer!

INSTRUCTIONS

To unpack, drag your "Bright Toolbox boxed" from your inventory onto the ground to rez it. Right-click and "Open" to display the box's contents window, and click "Copy To Inventory" at the bottom. This will create a new folder in your inventory called "Bright Toolbox boxed". Then delete the rezzed box, but *keep the one in your inventory*, just as a safe copy.

Find the "Bright Toolbox" in the new folder, right-click it, and click "Wear". It will attach itself to the top left corner of your screen. If you want to wear it somewhere else, select "Attach to HUD" instead, and choose a location, but remember that the "pop-up" screen opens downward and to the right, so the top-left is probably the best place.

USING THE HUD

Each function can be accessed in any of three ways. To rez a building platform, for instance...

1. Click the "platform" icon in the row of icon buttons: quick and easy.

*OR* 2. Click the main "Bright Toolbox" button for a complete menu of functions, and choose "PLATFORM": perfect if you've minimised your toolbox to a single button to save screen space.

*OR* 3. Type the chat command "/8 PLATFORM". Perfect if you don't want to take your hands off the keyboard.

The HUD comes with 18 icons, 10 of which are displayed at a time. Under "ADVANCED TOOLBOXING", this manual later describes how to remove those you don't want, change their order, and even add more. But for now, you can open and close the icons display by clicking the "eye" button above the main button, or scroll through them by pressing the left and right arrow buttons below it. The second page has two "blank" icons, as there happen to be 18 icons and 10 are shown on each page. But the toolbox will handle any number of icons, creating as few or as many pages as are required.

The icons are colour coded: RED icons rez things, GREEN icons open a "pop-up screen", and other icons are BLUE.

Each icon is described below, along with its corresponding "command version", which allows you to use the same function by typing a command into chat. These commands are typed on channel 8 (eg. "/8 CHAIR"), but the channel number can be changed using the settings menu (see CONFIGURING YOUR TOOLBOX below). Note also that some command versions allow additional information to be specified: for instance, "/8 WEB" opens the pop-up web browser exactly as the "WEB" icon does, but "/8 WEB secondlife.com" opens Second Life's website. The added information is always optional, but where it is allowed, the description below explains what information you can add, and what effect it has.

CHAIR

Click this icon to rez a flying chair for you to sit in. Note that this chair is *not physical*, and when your avatar sits in it, you too become non-physical, and move non-physically. This has two advantages...

Firstly, it moves very precisely. When you press your arrow keys to move, you will move in jumps of exactly 1m (or 4/5/10/50m, you can configure its speed) in your current direction, and when you turn, it is by exactly 45 degrees (or 15/30/60/90 degrees, again, you choose your turning speed). This is often a far more convenient way to move around a large build, as flying can be imprecise. Also, you can't fly through prims - but the chair will fly through them as if they weren't there.

Secondly, it is griefer proof. While you are in your chair, you can't be pushed or moved, because you are non-physical. Sitting on an object is the easiest way to deal with someone aggressive - but it means you can't move. In your chair, you are protected, but can still move! And if your griefer attempts to sit on your chair, they are automatically unseated!

When the chair is rezzed, you will see the following message...

1. Click me to sit down.
2. Press your movement keys to fly.
3. When seated, click me for menu.
4. When done, just stand!
I am a temp prim and will disappear.

The chair is a single, temporary prim: single, to use up the least possible prim space, and temporary, so that when you have finished with it, it is not accidentally left as litter.

Click the chair to sit in it. If you don't sit in the chair within about a minute, it will simply disappear (and you can, of course, rez another). Once you are seated, the chair will remain rezzed until you stand up, when it will disappear.

Once seated, press your movement keys to navigate: left and right arrows turn you 45o at a time, up and down move you forward and backwards a metre at a time, shift-left and shift-right move you left and right, and page up and page down move you up and down.

Click the seat for the following menu...

Text display: OFF
Speed (m/press): <1> 4 5 10 20 50
Turn (deg/press): 10 15 30 <45> 60 90

Current pos: 193.42/32.63/3995.98
Last pos: 193.42/28.63/3995.98
Home pos: 193.42/28.63/3995.98
Z-rot: 0deg (North)

[Move faster] [Move slower] [Text on/off]
[Turn more] [Turn less] [Goto X/Y/Z]
[Ground level] [1km down] [1km up]
[Set home] [Go home] [Go back]

[Move faster] and [Move slower] control the distance you move with each keypress. Your speed will range from 1m, 4m, 5m, 10m, 20m and 50m press. (4m is included as the land is divided into 4m x 4m squares - 4m jumps can be useful while measuring out parcels.)

[Turn more] and [Turn less] adjust how far you turn when pressing left and right. Turns can be 10, 15, 30, 45, 60 or 90 degrees.

[Text on/off] switch "floating text" on and off. While switched on, this will float text over your head showing your current region and position, your rotation (and which compass point you are facing), and your movement and turning speeds.

[Goto X/Y/Z] allows you to jump immediately to any point in the region. Clicking this button will display a text box with the following prompt...

Please enter new X/Y/Z coordinates:
Blank coordinates remain unchanged
eg. 10/20/ (X=10, Y=20, current Z height)
Limit X & Y to 0-255.99, Z to 0-4095.99
Current position: 193.42/32.63/3995.98

Enter your new coordinates, and press "Submit". To leave a coordinate unchanged, leave the space blank. For instance, to jump to altitude (Z) 1200m at your current X and Y position, enter "//1200".

The chair will then jump to the chosen position, or as close as it can get. If the coordinates lie in an access controlled parcel, or are above the maximum build ceiling (4096m) or below ground, you will be taken as close as possible: but otherwise, you will instantly find yourself precisely at the new position.

[Ground level] [1km down] and [1km up] move your chair vertically, without changing your X or Y positions. Ground level leaves you 1m above the ground level at that point, and 1km and 1km down move you in jumps of 1000m.

[Set home] resets your "home" position. When you rez your chair for the first time, it remembers its position as "home", and clicking [Go home] at any time will take you back there. Clicking [Set home] moves this home position to your current position, so that you can move away from it, but get back to precisely the same point easily.

[GO BACK] can be used after [Goto X/Y/Z], [Ground level], [1km down], [1km up], or [Go home], to return to your previous position. It can then be used again to take you back to your position before you clicked [GO BACK].

When you have finished using your chair, simply click your viewer's "Stand" button, and it will disappear.

Command version: /8 CHAIR

REZ

Click this icon to display a menu of objects stored inside your toolbox, and choose one to rez. To provide an example, we include two items in every toolbox, which you're welcome to keep and enjoy :)...

*** REZ
[1] Ball chair
[2] Painting

[1: Ball chair] [2: Painting]

Just click the button which corresponds to the item you wish to rez, and it will appear, 2m in front of your avatar.

Although Second Life's inventory can "remember" which way up an object was last rezzed, and so rez it the same way up the next time, it isn't possible for gadgets to do this automatically. Objects are therefore rezzed at "zero rotation", which is the most common orientation, but some objects may need to be rotated after rezzing.

Some object names will be too long to appear in full on your menu's buttons - but their name will always be shown in full in the text above.

NOTE! Please bear in mind that to rez an object you have to have (a) copy rights to the object and (b) have permission to rez in the current parcel. If you have to have a particular group "active" before you can rez, even if *you* change active groups, it is a peculiarity of Second Life's group system that your attachments will remain set to the group you had active when you put them on: you may therefore have to detach and reattach your toolbox, so that they are set to the appropriate group, before you can rez.

Command version: /8 REZ - If you specify , the menu will only show objects with ...... in their names. If only one matches, the item menu will be skipped altogether. eg. /8 REZ CAR displays a menu of all objects in the toolbox with "...car..." somewhere in their name, or if there is only one, rezzes it immediately.

WEB

This icon pops-up a web browser screen below the toolbar, showing the Google web page.

You can use this much the same way you use any browser. Click in the search box, type in a search word, and hit Enter, and Google will find related pages. Click on links to navigate to them.

There are no "back" or "home" buttons: simply press the backspace key on your keyboard to return to the previous page, or click the "WEB" icon again to return to google.com.

As in any browser, most pages will be too long, and some too wide, to fit on the screen. Use the scroll bars on the right hand side or at the bottom if they appear.

If the screen is cramped or difficult to read, use the buttons at the bottom to change your view, see "USING THE SCREEN" below.

Note that occasionally, a page will fail to display, particularly if it is accessed very soon after another page. It's hard to know if this is a Second Life bug, or a deliberate "throttle" to prevent overuse of resources, but if it happens, just try again and the page will usually appear.

Command version: /8 WEB <128|256|512|1024> - if is not specified, google.com is displayed. eg. WEB 512 brightcorporation.net

The number before the is optional, and sets the "virtual" screen width. For instance, 512 causes the page to be displayed as if it were on a 512 pixel wide browser. As the default is 1024, this has the effect of increasing the text size, but either causing the text to wrap more, or forcing the page to overflow sideways and displaying a horizontal scroll bar.

Once the page has been displayed you can change the "virtual width" by "zooming" in and out using the (+) and (-) buttons under the web page. (See "USING THE SCREEN" below). Note that 128, 256, 512 and 1024 are the only permitted widths - Second Life will only render widths which are powers of 2.

WEB (brightcorporation.net)

This icon opens our website - brightcorporation.net - on the pop-up screen. It is included as an example of how to add your own icons to the toolbox, which can open your favourite websites, or rez a particular item, or do anything the toolbox can do - see "ADVANCED TOOLBOXING" below. We also thought you might enjoy it :)

Command version: /8 WEB 512 brightcorporation.net

HELP

Click this icon for help. It will...

1. Open the pop-up screen with a picture guide to the toolbox buttons.

2. Display the following text...

*** HELP ON BASICS
To access a function...
EITHER 1. Click an icon
OR 2. Click 'Bright Toolbox' main button & choose from menu
OR 3. Say /8 ()
The possible commands are: AVATAR CAMERA, CHAIR, CHAT, FIND, GIVE, HELP,
MONITOR, PARCEL, PLATFORM, REZ, SOUND, TEXTURE, TIME, TP, WALL, and WEB
Choose from the menu, or type /8 HELP for information on each.

3. Display a menu...

Please choose a command for detailed help.

[MONITOR] [PARCEL] [PLATFORM]
[FIND] [GIVE] [HELP]
[CAMERA] [CHAIR] [CHAT]
[<] [>] [AVATAR]

Click on a button for detailed help on any command - or click "<" and ">" to page through the commands.

Command version: /8 HELP - if is not specified, this has the same effect as clicking the help icon. If it *is* specified, displays specific help for the chosen subject. eg. /8 HELP CAMERA displays help on the camera function.

FIND

Displays a menu of the 16 nearest objects within 96m, generates detailed information on the one you choose...

*** FIND
[1] LBF Inviter Sensor v1.6C - Fermi/128/128/0020
[2] TOTEM - Light Blue Board Shorts w/ Tan Stripe
[3] Kboots DEMO
[4] Black Hole V-10.7-Eject-Fermi
[5] Stop All Animations (unDeform Mod)
[6] Eucalyptus 1
[7] Object
[8] AX-001 Basically Girl AO
[9] Cypress Tree 2

[7: Object] [8: AX-001 Bas] [9: Cypress Tr]
[4: Black Hole] [5: Stop all ani] [6: Eucapyptus]
[1: LBF Inviter] [2: TOTEM - Li] [3: Kboots DE]
[<<] [<] [>]

Click a button corresponding to an object for a report as follows...

*** OBJECT INFORMATION
Object: Cypress Tree 2
UUID or 'key': 05f6750f-82a6-1318-406d-5d635aae48ac
Description: Large, brown cypress
Owned by: Arthur Fermi
Created by: Eric Linden
Set to group: Fermi Designs

*** POSITION, SIZE AND MOVEMENT
Position in region: Teleport to Fermi (100,135.25,22.88)
Rotation in degrees: X=0, Y=0, Z=0
Instantaneous velocity: X=0, Y=0, Z=0
Mass in SL 'lindograms': 7965

*** RESOURCE USAGE
Prim 'equivalence': 1
Scripts: 0 scripts, 0 of which are running
Script resources: 0 bytes of memory and 0 CPU seconds
Virtual 'cost' ratings: Server=0, streaming=0, physics=1

Note that coordinates given next to "Position in region" are a highlighted, clickable teleport link: use them to travel to the objects position.

Command version: /8 FIND

AVATAR

Displays a menu of the 16 nearest avatars within 96m, and provides a detailed report about any of them...

*** AVATAR
[1] Shan Bright
[2] Sean Tremor
[3] mirko1 Acer
[4] FionaLovelace Resident
[5] RoverLilly Resident
[6] Hennora Resident
[7] Reny Alex
[8] stefanodea Allen
[9] Saberwind Saarinen

[7: Reny Alex] [8: stefanodea] [9: Saberwind]
[4: FionaLovela] [5: RoverLilly R] [6: Hennora R]
[1: Shan Brigh] [2: Sean Tremor] [3: mirko1 Ace]

Note that your own name will be the first listed on the menu, to allow you to see your own report if you wish.

Choose an avatar to display their world.secondlife.com profile page on the pop-up screen, and the receive a detailed report...

*** AVATAR INFORMATION
Avatar: Sean Tremor (username "sean.tremor", display name "Sean Boy")
UUID or 'key': 2e7e1459-f6c0-4979-8530-650c64b5fb2a
Born: 2009-01-23, status 'No Payment Information'
Preferred language code: en-us
Current mode: Not away, not busy

*** POSITION, SIZE AND MOVEMENT
Position in region: Teleport to Fermi (128.38,155.39,22.9)
Rotation in degrees: X=0, Y=0, Z=99.25
Height: 1.44 metres
Animations: Base system animation 'Standing', with 2 animations active in total
Other states: Not sitting, not in 'mouselook'
Instantaneous velocity: X=0, Y=0, Z=0
Mass in SL 'lindograms': 1.2

*** RESOURCE USAGE
Attachments: Yes, and they are scripted
Scripts: 22 scripts, 22 of which are running
Script resources: 999,424 bytes of memory and 0 CPU seconds
Virtual 'cost' ratings: Server=0, streaming=0, physics=1

*** USEFUL_LINKS
To interact with Sean Tremor, click a link below...
See their profile: Sean Boy (sean.tremor)
Open their IM window: IM Sean Boy (sean.tremor)
Offer them a teleport: Offer Teleport to Sean Boy (sean.tremor)
Pay them money: Pay Sean Boy (sean.tremor)
Request their friendship: Friend Request Sean Boy (sean.tremor)
Mute or 'block' them: Mute Sean Boy (sean.tremor)
Unmute or 'unblock' them: Unmute Sean Boy (sean.tremor)
Display their 'Info Dialog': Sean Boy (sean.tremor)
...but CLICK CAREFULLY: be sure you click the link you need.

Command version: /8 AVATAR

GIVE

Click give to offer an item from your inventory to someone else.

First, it will display a list of items in your toolbox...

*** GIVE
[1] Adultshop, Bright Corporation
[2] Ball chair
[3] Cartoon sound
[4] Dayglo hand
[5] Elvis sound
[6] Fluffy sound
[7] Megashop, Bright Corporation
[8] Painting
[9] Test card

[7: Megashop] [8: Painting] [9: Test card]
[4: Dayglo han] [5: Elvis sound] [6: Fluffy soun]
[1: Adultshop,] [2: Ball chair] [3: Cartoon so]
[<<] [<] [>]

Choose an item to give, and then a menu of up to the 16 nearest avatars within 96m will appear...

*** AVATAR
[1] Shan Bright
[2] Sean Tremor
[3] mirko1 Acer
[4] FionaLovelace Resident
[5] RoverLilly Resident
[6] Hennora Resident
[7] Reny Alex
[8] stefanodea Allen
[9] Saberwind Saarinen

[7: Reny Alex] [8: stefanodea] [9: Saberwind]
[4: FionaLovela] [5: RoverLilly R] [6: Hennora R]
[1: Shan Brigh] [2: Sean Tremor] [3: mirko1 Ace]
[<<] [<] [>]

Choose someone to offer the item to, and it will be given to them. Remember that you will need copy and transfer rights to give an item to someone else.

Note that your own name will be the first listed on the menu, to allow you to offer the item to yourself, ie. copy it back to your own inventory, in case (for instance) you have lost the original.

Command version: /8 GIVE - If you specify , the menu will only show items with ...... in their names. If only one matches, the item menu will be skipped altogether. eg. /8 GIVE PAINTING displays a menu of all items in the toolbox with "...painting..." somewhere in their name, or if there is only one, jumps straight to the menu of avatars to whom it might be given.

CAMERA

Your "camera" viewpoint is the position from which you see the world, and it is normally positioned slightly behind and above your head, so you watch your avatar's back in centre screen as you walk around.

Clicking the camera icon displays a menu which allows you to *change* this viewpoint...

*** CAMERA
NORMAL: normal SL camera behaviour
LOCK/UNLOCK: lock/unlock the camera position
VNEAR/NEAR/FAR/VFAR...
...set camera distance to 3/10/25/50m
BELOW/LEVEL/ABOVE/OVER/BIRDSEYE...
...set angle to -45/0/15/45/90 degrees

[NORMAL] [LOCK] [UNLOCK]
[VNEAR] [NEAR] [FAR]
[VFAR] [BELOW] [LEVEL]
[ABOVE] [OVER] [BIRDSEYE]

Click VNEAR (3m), NEAR (10m), FAR (20m), or VFAR (50m) to set its distance from you. Choose BELOW (-15o), LEVEL (0o), ABOVE (15o), OVER (45o) or BIRDSEYE (90o) to set the angle between you and the camera - so for instance LEVEL looks straight ahead, level with your head, while BIRDSEYE looks directly down from above.

If you LOCK your camera's viewpoint, it will stop following you around and remain in a locked position, though it will still turn to keep you in view as you move, like a spotlight following an actor on a stage. The effect is quite strange - it is like watching another avatar moving around - but sometimes useful. For instance, it makes it easy to see how that new outfit looks as you walk around, and if you walk towards the camera, you can see your front, as other people see you. You can then UNLOCK it.

Choosing NORMAL resets the viewpoint to the one Second Life usually uses, and releases any LOCK.

If the camera doesn't seem to move when you've chosen your options, tap your escape key. This is because if you have positioned your camera manually, using your keyboard and mouse keys to "zoom", "orbit" or "pan", escape releases the manually chosen camera position so your new chosen position can take effect.

Command version: /8 CAMERA - specify none, one, or more of the options above on the chat line to move the camera immediately. eg. /8 CAMERA LOCK NEAR ABOVE

TP

This icon displays a list of all the landmarks in your toolbox. We've included a couple of our own in the toolbox by way of example...

*** TP
[1] Adultshop, Bright Corporation
[2] Megashop, Bright Corporation

[1: Adultshop,] [2: Megashop,]

Choose one, and a teleport map to its destination will be displayed.

Command version: /8 TP - If you specify , the menu will only list landmarks with ...... in their names. If only one matches, the landmark menu will be skipped altogether. eg. /8 TP MEGASHOP displays a menu of all landmarks in the toolbox with "...megashop..." somewhere in their name, or if there is only one, displays a map to its target location immediately.

SOUND

Displays a list of all the sound items in your toolbox, so you can choose one to play. We've included a few by way of example...

*** SOUND
[1] Cartoon sound
[2] Elvis sound
[3] Fluffy sound

[1: Cartoon so] [2: Elvis sound] [3: Fluffy soun]

Choose one, and your toolbox will play it.

Command version: /8 SOUND | - If you specify , the menu will only show objects with ...... in their names. If only one matches, the sound items menu will be skipped altogether.

If a valid or 'key' is specified, then the sound corresponding to that key will be played immediately: you need not have the sound item in your toolbox, or even in your inventory. This is useful to scripters as sound keys are often hard-coded into scripts: this command allows you to quickly hear a sound from its key, even if you don't have the sound itself. eg. /8 SOUND 67cc2844-00f3-2b3c-b991-6418d01e1bb7 will play Second Life's IM notification sound.

TIME

Displays the current time and date in UTC/GMT (world time), SLT (Second Life time), and Unix time (the number of seconds since 1970-01-01)...

*** World time (UTC/GMT)
21:49:25 Saturday, 18th February 2012
*** Second Life time (SLT)
13:49:25 Saturday, 18th February 2012
*** UNIX time
1329601765

Command version: /8 TIME <+n>|<-n>| - optionally allows you to enter a specific time offset such as +2 or -0.5 for two hours ahead or thirty minutes behind, in order to see UTC and UNIX time at that offset, or a UNIX time (eg. 1298635093) to see the corresponding UTC time.

For instance, /8 TIME +2 yields...

*** World time (UTC/GMT)
21:50:08 Saturday, 18th February 2012
*** Second Life time (SLT)
13:50:08 Saturday, 18th February 2012
*** UNIX time
1329601808

*** World time offset by +2 hours
23:50:08 Saturday, 18th February 2012
*** UNIX time offset by +2 hours
1329609008

And /8 TIME 1329609008...

*** World time (UTC/GMT)
21:50:57 Saturday, 18th February 2012
*** Second Life time (SLT)
13:50:57 Saturday, 18th February 2012
*** UNIX time
1329601857

*** World time when UNIX time is 1329609008

23:50:08 Saturday, 18th February 2012

CHAT

Clicking the chat icon displays a text entry box...

(channel) (volume) ("name") message
volume=WHISPER/SHOUT/REGION
eg1: "Philip Linden" Hi, I'm Philip!
eg2: SHOUT "SHOP SPEAKER" Welcome!
eg3: -7 REGION message-to-my-script

[____________________________]

[Submit]

At its simplest, if you type in "Hello!" and click "Submit", your toolbox will say "Hello!". But you can change the way your toolbox says your message by prefixing it with...

(-)nnn - A channel number. Channel numbers are like radio frequencies. Normal chat, which avatars can hear, is on "channel 0". But scripted objects can hear on any channel. If you put a number at the beginning of your message, your toolbox will repeat your message on the channel you choose. eg. -1 Hello! says hello on channel -1. This is useful because while avatars can speak on positively numbered channels by saying "/1 Hello!", they cannot on *negative* channels. If you want to (for instance) test a script which is listening on a negative channel, this is a way to do so.

WHISPER/SHOUT/REGION - Normally, anything you say, and anything you say through your toolbox, will be heard up to 20m away. If you want to speak more quietly, prefix "WHISPER", which can only be heard 10m away, or if more loudly, "SHOUT" gives you a range of 100m. "REGION" is a bit special, as it can be heard *anywhere* in the same region, but nowhere outside it - so even 2m away from you across a region border, you would not be heard. NOTE: You cannot speak at REGION volume on channel 0 - this restriction is built into Second Life, probably to prevent people spamming entire region-full of avatars. However, you can use REGION on numbered channels, so any listening *objects* in the region will hear you.

"pseudonym" - When you speak, your name appears next to your message in chat, as in "Shan Bright: Hello!". When your toolbox speaks for you, its will also use your name. But by putting a name in quotes at the beginning of your message, you can get your toolbox to speak using *any* name. eg. "Philip Linden" Hello! says "Philip Linden: Hello!". This can be fun for roleplaying (Superman: Hello citizen!), or to "throw your voice" as if a nearby object is speaking (Bed: Get off, you're too heavy!).

So a few examples:

-1000 REGION "TEST SENDER" TEST MESSAGE - any script inside any object anywhere in the region will hear "TEST MESSAGE" as if it came from something called "TEST SENDER".

"John Wayne" Get off your horse and drink your milk - other avatars nearby will hear "John Wayne: Get off your horse and drink your milk".

WHISPER "Your adoring boyfriend" I love you - someone close to you will hear "Your adoring boyfriend: I love you".

Command version: /8 CHAT "" : same as clicking the CHAT icon, but allows you to specify the entire message without using the text box.

PLATFORM

This icon rezzes a building platform.

The ground of your typical sandbox is crowded, and it is often easier to fly up into the air and build there. But once in the air, there is nothing to rez your build against. Clicking the "platform" icon causes a 20m square platform to be rezzed under your feet, which you can then land and build on in privacy.

The platform is 20m square. At the centre is a set of prim arrows, showing the positive X (red), Y (green) and Z (blue) directions. The surface (which can be changed) is initially a grid, with lines showing a 1m square grid, and circles showing metre distances from the centre. Around the edge is a low fence, with "Bright Toolbox Platform" plates in the centre of each. Click any of these plates, or the arrows in the centre, to display the platform's settings menu...

Please choose a setting...

[Surfaces]
[Float text] [Timer] [Snap to grid]

[Surfaces] displays a further menu of surface textures. Choose from "Grid", "Sand", "Grass", "Carpet", "Wood", "Planks", "White", "Black", "Shiny" (high shine), "Clear" (100% transparent), and "Translucent" (50% transparent). You can use this both to choose your favourite, and to see how your build looks against different backgrounds, alphas and shines.

[Float text] offers a choice of "floating text" over the arrows at the centre of your platform. Choose between "None", "Time & place" (your region and coordinates, how long since you rezzed the platform there, and how long your timer has to run if you've set one - see below), "Avatars" (a scanner-like list of nearby avatars), and "Objects" (also a scanner like list of the nearest objects). You can also set the colour in which the information is shown by clicking "Yellow text" or "Black text".

[Timer] displays a menu of times between 1 hour and 10 hours, and a "No timer" button. Clicking a time starts a timer, which is useful as many sandboxes have an "auto-return" period, after which your items are automatically returned to your inventory's "Lost & Found" folder. To avoid having your items returned, set a timer to expire *before* the end of the auto-return period, and it will remind you as the period expires. All you need then do is briefly take and rerez the items you are working on (and rez a new platform!) to avoid their return.

[Snap to grid] moves the platform's centre slightly to the nearest whole number X, Y and Z coordinates. This can be useful, as the platform was deliberately designed so that the position of the root prim is exactly level and in the centre of the floor of the platform, so if you rez a 0.5m cube on that floor, and the floor is at (say) 987m high, the centre of your new prim is at exactly 987.25. In general, it simplifies the calculation of the relative positions of prims, and lines up the grid lines on the building surface with the whole-metre grid in the region.

Command version: /8 PLATFORM

WALL

If you click this icon, the following menu will appear...

Do you wish to rez a wall around this parcel?
[YES] [NO]

If you say yes, your toolbox will instantly rez prims 5m high, 0.01m thick, and position them just inside the borders, creating a continous wall all the way around.

It will use as few prims as it can: prims can be up to 64m long, so walls up to this length will be made from a single prim. Longer walls will be divided - the longest possible border is 256m, which will take four prims to wall.

The walls are useful to give you a crystal clear view of the size and shape of the parcel. If (for instance) you want to position your skybox but want to avoid rezzing it so that it sticks out over your neighbours parcel, build a wall to show you exactly where the borders are.

Click any prim in your wall to be offered to see this menu...

Please click...
FIX: Remove scripts and fix walls in place.
DIE: Remove all walls.
[FIX] [DIE]

[FIX] will remove the menu scripts inside *all* the wall prims, leaving the prims there permanently (unless you manually delete them). You own the prims with full permissions: you can then retexture them, edit them, or incorporate them into your build.

[DIE] will cause all the walls to disappear.

Command version: /8 WALL

TEXTURE

Displays a menu showing all the textures in your toolbox, and displays one on your pop-up screen. We've included a couple by way of example...

*** TEXTURE
[1] Dayglo hand
[2] Test card

[1: Dayglo hand] [2: Test card]

Choose one, and it will be shown on the pop-up screen.

Command version: /8 TEXTURE / - if is specified, the menu of textures will be limited to those with ...... in their name, and if only one match is found, that texture will be displayed immediately.

If a valid or 'key' is specified, then the texture corresponding to that key will be displayed immediately: you need not have the texture in your toolbox, or even in your inventory. This is useful to scripters as texture keys are often hard-coded into scripts: this command allows you to quickly view a texture from its key, even if you don't have the texture itself. eg. /8 TEXTURE 89556747-24cb-43ed-920b-47caed15465f will display the "plywood" texture Second Life applies to prims when they are created.

PARCEL

Clicking this icon will pop-up a screen showing the world.secondlife.com information page for the parcel you are on. (If it is cramped or difficult to read, use the buttons at the bottom to change your view, see "USING THE SCREEN" below.)

It will also generate the following detailed report...

*** PARCEL INFORMATION
Parcel containing point 126.4, 78.3 in region 'Help Island Public'
Name: Help Island Public
Description: Want to learn more about Second Life? Learn to script, learn to build, pick up Freebies on Help Island Public!
UUID or 'key': d31beceb-dbcb-9881-6bc2-a52938626bf8
Privately (not group) owned by Governor Linden
Set to group: Maintenance

*** SECURITY AND PERMISSIONS
Access is open to anyone.
Owner allows: running scripts, flying
Owner does NOT allow: inflicting 'damage', pushing, object creation (unless in group), object entry (unless in group), terraforming
Avatars on this parcel CAN be seen from other parcels (and vice versa).
Sound made here CAN be heard in other parcels (and vice versa).

*** RESOURCES
Area: 22832 square metres
Parcel supports 5225 prims
Owner holds more land in the region, supporting 15000 in total.

Prim usage...
1547 prims rezzed, of which...
...1244 belong to the owner
...302 are set to the group
...0 are not owner's or in group
...1 are selected or sat on
...0 are temporary

Across all the owner's land here, prim usage is...
3015 prims rezzed, of which...
...2531 belong to the owner
...465 are set to the group
...0 are not owner's or in group
...19 are selected or sat on
...0 are temporary

*** USEFUL LINKS
About parcel: Help Island Public
About owner: Governor Linden
About group set: Maintenance

Note that in your view, the links at the end of the report will be highlighted and clickable.

Command version: /8 PARCEL

MONITOR

Pops up a screen showing a continuously updated measure of *time dilation* and *server FPS*.

These measures are both relevant to measuring "lag". Lag has many different parts: the speed of network communication across the internet, and the speed at which your viewer is coping with the information Second Life is second it, can both create a feeling of unresponsiveness and "lag".

But these two measures - time dilation and server FPS - will tell you something about the performance of the region you are in - or more accurately, the server computer or "simulator" which hosts it (and probably several other regions).

"Time dilation" in a well running sim is 1.0. When the server begins to struggle with the workload, it falls - and all the scripts in the affected regions run more slowly to reduce the strain. It follows that the lower the time dilation setting is, the harder time the server is having. On most sims, time dilation will flicker between 1.0 and 0.9something. But if it is often below 0.9, performance will be visibly affected, and below 0.8 or lower and the server is struggling.

"Server FPS" is the "frame per second" rate generated by the server (not to be confused with the rate managed by the viewer running on your own computer). This is capped at 45: again, a server FPS persistently lower than this indicates the server is experience performance problems.

The display is updated every two seconds, and shows the "instantaneous" time dilation and FPS at each update, and the *average* values since the monitor was started.

Command version: /8 MONITOR

USING THE SCREEN

A number of functions above use a "pop-up sceen" to display information.

At the bottom of the screen is a row of buttons: [+] Bigger screen [-] Smaller screen (+) Zoon in (-) Zoom out :+: More opaque :-: Less opaque <- Reset screen ^ Close up screen.

Some web pages can look a little cramped on a pop-up screen. If they do, try clicking [+] to make the screen larger, or (+) zoom in.

Also, by default, the screen is partly transparent, to stop it entirely blocking your view. Click :+: to make it more opaque and easier to read, or :-: to make it more transparent.

Normally, your screen will open automatically when it is needed, and will be closed by clicking the ^ close button. But it can also be opened manually by clicking the v button under the main toolbox button, or by entering the command "/8 OPEN" (in which case it will display the buttons help guide). It can also be closed with the command "/8 CLOSE".

ADDING ITEMS TO YOUR TOOLBOX

A number of the functions above - like REZ, GIVE, and TP - work with items *inside* your toolbox. To be useful, you'll need to add your favourite items.

Because of Second Life's "permissions" system, there are two ways of doing this.

1. For "full permission" items: which don't have "no modify", "no copy", or "no transfer" next to them in your inventory: Right-click your toolbox, click "Edit" to display its edit window, click the "Contents" tab, drag the items into the contents list from your inventory, and close it.

(Most landmarks, textures and notecards are "full permission", plus anything you made yourself, and many other items.)

2. For other items: Right-click your toolbox and click "Detach". Then drag it from your inventory onto the ground to rez it. It will detect that it has been rezzed, deactivate itself (so it will not respond to clicks or commands), and grow larger, to be easier to see. Then right-click the rezzed toolbox, click "Open" to display its "Contents" window, drag the items into this from your inventory, and close it.

Finally right-click the toolbox again and click "Take". This will remove the toolbox from the world and create a *new* copy in your inventory. Right-click this and wear it. It will look huge for a moment, but then detect it is being worn and get small again.

(When you "take" the toolbox, you will have *two* toolboxes in your inventory. Make sure you wear the new one. If you've accidentally put the old one back on, detach it, delete it, and wear the other.)

CONFIGURING YOUR TOOLBOX

Click the "cog" button to display the Bright Toolbox's settings menu...

Button panel open: Yes
HUD height: 8cm
Command channel: /8

Please choose an option:
[Open/Close] [Size] [Channel]

[Open/Close] displays or hides the row of icons to the right of the main toolbox button.

[Size] displays a menu showing sizes from 5cm to 20cm. The toolbox, as delivered, is 8cm high: but how much of your view this covers depends on the resolution of your computer screen, and therefore varies from resident to resident. If you feel it is too large, you can scale the toolbox down by choosing a smaller height: or if you'd prefer bigger buttons, choose a larger one.

[Channel] displays a menu offering a choice of "command channels". Normally, toolbox commands are entered on channel 8, as in "/8 PLATFORM". If you have another gadget which uses this channel for commands, or simply have a different favourite number, choose one from here.

Please note that detaching and reattaching your toolbox resets these settings to their factory defaults. This is because the settings are saved in the object's "description" field, and Second Life resets this when you detach any attachment. Be sure to reselect the height and channel settings you want if they are not the defaults.

ADVANCED TOOLBOXING

The three ideas below all require a little skill with Second Life. They are all entirely optional, and you can skip them if you don't need or understand them - the toolbox will work exactly as described above without them :)

1. Adding, removing and reordering icons

Every icon on the toolbox is created from a texture inside the toolbox called "~nnn command". For instance, the chair icon there because there is a texture called "~010 CHAIR".

You can remove icons from the toolbox by deleting the corresponding texture (though their command versions will still work), or reorder them by changing the numbers so they run in a different sequence.

You can also add icons by dropping in new textures. For instance, if you'd like a new icon to immediately rez your favourite car, drop in a new texture called "~001 REZ Amiga", and drop in your "Amiga" car object.

(An example of a customised icon is included in the toolbox as delivered: you will find a texture called "~04 WEB 512 brightcorporation.net", which opens our corporate website using the WEB command described above.)

2. Linking functions to gestures

Gestures are part of Second Life itself: and are items in your inventory. Each can have "trigger phrase" (like "/yay") and a "shortcut key" (say, F6), and a list of sounds, animations, and chat messages, and can be set "active" or "inactive". If active, whenever you include the trigger phrase in something you say in chat, or press the shortcut key on your keyboard, the gesture will play its sounds and animations, and chat its messages.

For information about gestures, try http://community.secondlife.com/t5/English-Knowledge-Base/Using-gestures-and-animations/ta-p/700069

Because gestures can say things in chat, they can give toolbox demands. So for instance, if you create a gesture which says "/8 CHAIR", and is triggered by F6, then you can rez a flying chair simply by pressing F6!

And because gestures can say any number of things, you could run a whole sequence of commands. For instance, you could create a gesture to get you ready for building, by rezzing your flying chair (/8 CHAIR), preparing your builder's platform (/8 PLATFORM), and finding out how many prims were available on the land (/8 PARCEL) - and then when you were ready to build, do all this by simply pressing (say) F8!

3. Adding your own scripts

This bit is *strictly* for experienced scripters.

If you are one, you can add scripts to support new command words.

Let us say you wish to add a new command called "HELLO" which shouts "Hello world!". Just create a script with a link_message handler like this, and drop it into your Toolbox:

link_message(integer sender, integer number, string message, key uuid)
{
if (llToUpper(message) == "HELLO")
llShout(0, "Hello world!");
}

That's it! If you now type the command "/8 HELLO", your toolbox will shout "Hello world!", and if you'd like an icon, drop in a texture called "~001 HELLO".

To support "command line parameters", you'll need to parse them from the "message" variable. Remember that this link_message() handler will be called whenever *any* function is used, so it must only respond to the specific command you have in mind.

If you'd like to open and use the pop-up screen, add the line "llMessageLinked(LINK_THIS, 0, "SCREEN", NULL_KEY);". The link number of the screen prim is passed to you in the "number" parameter, and face 4 faces the user. You can also display floating text in the screen by adding the text to the end of the "SCREEN" message, as in "llMessageLinked(LINK_THIS, 0, "SCREEN Hello there!", NULL_KEY);".

ALSO NOTE! This particular feature is provided "as is". Because there are so many things scripts can do, it would be easy to write one which would stop the toolbox working properly, and we cannot provide technical support for this. But if you'd like to have a go, keep your original boxed toolbox safe just in case, and have fun! And if you create a good script, and would like to see it included in future versions, why not drop us a copy?

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT...

Shan Bright
Chief Executive Officer