HOME / TECHNICAL ISSUES / PREFERENCES GUIDE
HOW TO CHANGE YOUR PREFERENCES
This guide explains the many settings available in the Preferences menu. You can click on the Preferences button at the Second Life login screen, or open the Edit menu and select Preferences while logged into Second Life. This guide details what each setting does and how changing settings may impact performance.
Click on one of the below to learn more about the preferences you can edit:
GENERAL
Login Location:
This setting determines where you will arrive in the Second Life world after logging in. My Last Location will place you at the location you last logged out at. My Home will place you at your home location. If you have no Home, you will arrive at the Welcome Area. Most Residents select My Last Location.
Show Names:
Never will hide the names of other avatars. Show Temporarily will cause avatar's names to display briefly as they first appear. Always will cause avatar's names to always be displayed over their head. Default is Always.
Hide My Name On My Screen:
Check this to prevent your own name from appearing over your head, regardless of your Show Names setting. Other Residents will see your name based on their own personal settings.
Small Avatar Names:
Check this to show avatar names in a smaller font size.
Color For My Effects:
Selects the color used for avatar particle effects (most commonly seen when you chat or edit an object). This setting is not avatar-specific and will affect all users on the same computer.
Away Timeout:
If you do not use the mouse or keyboard for an extended period of time, Second Life will mark your status as AWAY. This setting determines how many seconds elapse before you are placed in AWAY status. Maximum value is 600 seconds (10 minutes).
Print Online Notifications:
Checking this option will show a visible pop-up window stating Person Name is online/offline whenever one of the Residents you have a calling card for logs on or off. Residents with many calling cards frequently turn this off; Residents who only have calling cards for their closest friends often turn this on.
Rotate Mini-Map:
Checking this option causes the mini-map (toggled with Ctrl-Shift-M) to rotate as your character moves, so "up" is always the direction you are facing. Unchecking this option causes the map to remain static, so "up" is always north. Check the option to show the world relative to your movement; uncheck the option to show your movement relative to the world.
Notify when money (L$) spent or received:
Check this option to show a visible pop-up window whenever you receive or spend Second Life Linden Dollars, or L$. Uncheck this option to suppress these windows.
Automatically report crashes:
Check this option to automatically send Linden Lab a crash report if Second Life quits or fails unexpectedly. Crash reports are useful for Linden Lab to troubleshoot any problems you may have, or to fix errors within Second Life. Uncheck this option to avoid sending crash reports. Residents frequently check this option to aid in technical support; Residents occasionally uncheck this option to avoid a delay in Second Life's crash process.
Auto-detect graphics hardware on next startup:
Check this option to have Second Life analyze your hardware the next time it is started. Uncheck this hardware to skip hardware detection. Residents frequently enable this option when they change system hardware; Residents occasionally uncheck this option to speed up the startup process, or to ignore error messages related to possibly incompatible hardware or out-of-date drivers.
Use default system color picker:
When you change the color of something (objects, clothes) in Second Life, a menu comes up to help you choose and mix the color you want. If you're more comfortable with the default color picker your operating system (Windows or MacOS) uses, check this box.
Reset Dialogs:
Second Life includes pop-up tutorial windows that appear as you explore Second Life. These windows have an option to show or suppress the message the next time that action is taken. Click this button to re-enable all tutorial windows.
Mouse Sensitivity:
Changing this value affects how far your character turns in mouselook mode when you move the mouse. Moving the slider to the right causes your character to turn faster with the same movement.
Invert Mouse:
Check this option to invert mouse movement in mouselook mode: moving the mouse up moves the view down, and vice versa. Uncheck this option to retain normal mouse movement in mouselook mode: moving the mouse up moves the view up, etc. The default is to leave Invert Mouse unchecked. Flight-simulator fans and some first-person-shooter players check this option; most Residents leave it unchecked.
Fly/land on holding up/down:
Check this option to automatically start flying when you hold down the Jump/Fly Up key (PgUp or the E key), and automatically stop flying if you touch the ground by holding down the Crouch/Fly Down key (PgDn or C). Uncheck this option to only start/stop flying by pressing the Fly key (Home or F). Default value is checked.
Camera Springiness:
This value affects how closely the camera duplicates your actions, following you as you move around. Higher numbers result in the camera acting more "loose". Default is 2.
Automatic Edit Camera Movement:
When checked, the camera automatically moves to center on the object you're editing. Uncheck this to leave the camera where it is. Default value is checked.
Automatic Appearance Camera Movement:
When checked, the camera automatically moves to center you when you enter Appearance. Uncheck this to leave the camera where it is. Default value is checked.
NETWORK
Maximum Bandwidth:
Move this slider to the right to increase the download rate for data within Second Life. Decrease this slider to reduce download rates. Higher numbers may result in objects and avatars appearing more quickly. However, very large values may tax your computer and provide reduced performance. Residents often set this value to slightly less than their upload rate, or find the maximum value that does not result in excessive packet loss. Default value is 300.
Disk Cache Size:
This setting indicates how much hard drive space is used on your computer to store Second Life data textures, etc). Increasing this value may cause textures and objects to load faster in frequently visited areas. Decreasing this value may reduce hard drive usage while playing Second Life. Default value is 200MB.
GRAPHICS
Anisotropic Filtering:
Textures in Second Life (and most 3D applications) blur (bilinear filtering) as they move farther away from the viewer. Checking this option smoothes this blurring process. Many Residents don't notice the difference in visual quality and leave this setting unchecked. Performance hits vary depending on your graphics card.
Local Lighting:
Checking this option causes light-material objects to cast a visible glow (light) on the objects around them. This can affect performance greatly depending on the number of lights around you. Some Residents leave this unchecked to improve performance.
Shadows:
Checking this option adds a shadow effect to surfaces based on the direction of the sun. This has a minimal impact on performance. Some Residents leave this unchecked to improve performance.
Disable Far Clip:
Checking this option causes objects to be rendered at a further distance. This improves visibility but may affect performance. Many Residents leave this unchecked.
Shiny Objects:
Checking this option enables metallic "shine" on objects, as well as detail "bump" maps. Many Residents check this option for aesthetic reasons.
Avatar Rendering:
Normal causes avatars to be displayed normally without special detail.
Bump Mapped causes avatars to be displayed with additional detail (wrinkles in clothing, etc.)
Bump Mapped & Cloth causes avatars to be displayed with additional detail. Hair and loose clothing will shift with the wind.
Terrain Detail:
None displays minimal terrain detail.
Some displays a moderate amount of terrain detail.
Full displays terrain at full detail. This may have a small performance decrease on certain configurations.
Gamma:
Increasing this number makes the overall display brighter. Decreasing it makes the display darker. The default value is 1.0.
Nighttime Brightness:
Moving this slider to the right increases the brightness of the environment during nighttime hours. Moving the slider to the left increases the darkness of nighttime hours.
Display Resolution:
Specify the resolution you wish to run Second Life in. Higher resolutions provide more detail; however, text windows will decrease in relative size, and certain configurations may have reduced performance with exceptionally high resolutions. Select Run in a window to run Second Life in a standard resizable application window, allowing you to shift focus to other applications like a standard program. You can also toggle between windowed and fullscreen mode by pressing Alt-Enter.
Fullscreen Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen monitors have a 16:9 (1.777) aspect ratio; standard monitors have a 4:3 (1.333) screen ratio. Most Residents should leave this option at 1.333 with Auto detect checked.
ADV. GRAPHICS
AGP Graphics Acceleration:
Checking this option enables your computer hardware to use the faster AGP mode for your graphics card. This option is not available for all configurations, including those with PCI video cards (and some PCI-Express cards). Checking this option improves performance for most configurations.
Graphics Card Memory:
Decreasing this setting will reduce the amount of texture memory used by Second Life. This may result in blurrier textures. Not all values are available on all configurations. Most Second Life Residents set this value to the amount of texture/video memory on their graphics card but SL will automatically select the recommended amount.
Object Detail:
Moving this slider to the right causes objects in Second Life to more closely imitate their geometric parents. For example, a spherical object will resemble a sphere much more accurately, especially from a large distance. Moving the slider to the left causes objects to reduce their detail. Many Second Life Residents move this slider to the left to improve system performance.
Tree Detail:
Moving this slider to the right causes trees in Second Life to display more detail. For example, a tree will display more branches and more detailed leaves. Moving the slider to the left causes trees to reduce their detail, especially from a distance. Many Second Life Residents move this slider to the left to improve system performance.
Avatar Detail:
Moving this slider to the right causes avatars in Second Life to render in a more detailed fashion. For example, body shapes and facial details will remain distinct even from a distance. Moving the slider to the left causes avatars to reduce their detail, especially from a distance. Many Second Life Residents move this slider to the left to improve system performance.
Avatar Vertex Program:
Checking this option changes the method by which avatars are rendered. Many configurations with newer graphics cards will benefit from having this option checked. Certain configurations (including some new graphics cards) may display avatars incorrectly with this option checked. Many Residents uncheck this option if they are having incomplete or corrupted avatars. Some configurations (most notably all Macintosh systems as of version 1.5.x) may not be able to select this option.
Show Avatar in Mouselook:
Check this option to make your avatar visible in Mouselook. You will be able to look down and see yourself, just as you can in real life. Uncheck this option to make your avatar invisible to yourself while in Mouselook. Many Residents check this option, particularly while using guns in Second Life.
Draw Distance:
Increasing this number causes Second Life to show more of the world (out to a farther distance). This has a dramatic impact on performance, as there are more objects to both render and download to your computer. Many Residents leave this option at 128 or lower.
Fog Distance Ratio:
Lowering this number causes the fog in Second Life to be thicker and appear at a closer distance. Increasing this number causes fog to be thinner, which increases visibility (and makes your Draw Distance much more apparent). Some Residents lower this number to hide their draw distance, while others increase it to improve visibility. Changing this value does not affect your performance in any way. The maximum value is a 4.0, which almost eliminates the fog at the minimum draw distance of 64m, but a setting of 10 would eliminate it completely. However, this is only possible by editing the settings.ini file (but it will reset back go 4 if the preferences are changed at all).
Drop Draw Distance if FPS <:
Set this value to the minimum frames per second (FPS) you wish to achieve. If Second Life falls below this number, it will gradually reduce your Draw Distance until the desired framerate is achieved. To disable this function, set this value to 0.
Bumpiness Draw Distance:
Changing this value affects the distance at which detail "bump" maps are displayed. Increasing the number causes bump maps to appear at a further distance. Setting this value to 0 disables bump maps. Note that Shiny Objects, under Options, must be enabled for bump maps to be displayed.
Max Particle Count:
Changing this number alters the maximum number of particles you see on the screen at once. If too many particles are displayed, the oldest particles will be removed as new ones are rendered. Lowering this number may improve performance on certain configurations, particularly in particle-dense situations. The default value is 4096 and the maximum is 8192 (but can be increased in settings.ini and won't reset if preferences are changed).
Outfit Composite Limit:
Changing this setting alters the number of avatars onscreen that are composted, or changed dynamically. Avatars that are composted will show any change they make to their avatar (such as altering sleeve length, etc.); avatars that are not composted will not show changes until they are committed (such as saving an outfit). Lowering this number may improve system performance. Setting this number to 0 disables composites and renders avatars grey.
AUDIO/VIDEO
Mute Audio:
Checking this option disables all SL sound effects.
Mute Audio When Window Minimized/Hidden
Checking this option causes Second Life to stop playing all in-world sound effects (including music) when it is minimized or hidden.
Play Streaming Music When Available:
Checking this option allows your Second Life client to connect to a live audio stream, when your avatar is on land that has a streaming server listed. This is a direct connection from your computer to the audio stream's server, and does not go through the Second Life service.
Play Streaming Video When Available:
Checking this option allows your Second Life client to connect to a live video stream, when your avatar is on land that has streaming media listed. This is a direct connection from your computer to the media stream's server, and does not go through the Second Life service.
Note: Streaming media servers are generally owned and operated by third parties, and not by Linden Lab. Many Residents check this option to watch streaming music and video. Some Residents leave this option unchecked to prevent the Second Life client from making connections to a third-party media server.
System Volume:
Moving this slider to the right increases the overall volume of sounds in Second Life; moving the slider to the left decreases overall volume.
Wind Volume:
Moving this slider to the right increases the volume of wind in Second Life; moving the slider to the left decreases wind volume.
Footsteps Volume:
Moving this slider to the right increases the volume of footsteps in Second Life; moving the slider to the left decreases footstep volume.
UI Volume:
Moving this slider to the right increases the volume of the user interface in Second Life; moving the slider to the left decreases UI volume.
$ Change Threshold:
If a L$ transaction that is equal to or greater than this value, the UI will play a money sound.
Health Change Threshold:
If you take damage equal to or greater than this value, the UI will play a pain noise.
Moving this slider to the right increases Doppler effects (sounds raise in pitch as objects move faster towards you, and lower in pitch as the object moves faster away). Moving this slider to the left decreases Doppler effects (sounds change in pitch less).
Distance Factor:
Moving this slider to the right decreases the distance at which you hear sound effects (i.e. you will no longer hear sounds that are further away).
Rolloff Factor:
Moving this slider to the right causes sounds to decrease in volume more rapidly as they move away from the listener. Moving this slider to the left causes sounds to remain louder as they move away from the listener.
Default U/L Bitrate:
When you upload an individual sound file to Second Life, you select the quality it is encoded in. (Larger numbers mean higher quality, but a larger file size, which means the sound takes longer to download and/or play). If you batch upload multiple sound files, this value will be selected automatically.
CHAT/IM
Chat Font Size:
This setting changes the size of the chat text that appears in the lower-left corner of the screen. It does not affect text in any window (including the Chat History).
Chat Color:
These settings change the colors different forms of text use in your chat window. includes server messages (such as "you have been rated"). Users includes other Residents' chat. Objects includes any scripted object in-world. Bubble includes the chat bubbles that appear over people's heads as they talk. Default values are a light blue (204/255/255) for System, white (255/255/255) for Users, a light green (178/229/178) for Objects, and black (0/0/0) for Bubbles.
Chat Console
Increasing the value causes chat text to remain longer on the screen. In areas with frequent chat text, this will cause chat to take a larger portion of the screen. Decreasing this value causes chat to fade more quickly, giving you less time to read it. You can also change the (# lines) value to alter the total number of lines shown. Opacity changes the transparency of chat. These values do not affect Chat History (which always shows all chat). Chat History can be opened or closed with Ctrl-H.
Busy Mode Response:
If you enter BUSY mode, this message is displayed to any Resident that attempts to IM you. This setting is not account-specific, and applies to all accounts used on this computer.
Chat uses full screen width:
Checking this option causes text to wrap at the right edge of the screen. Unchecking this option causes text to wrap partway across the screen. This setting does not affect Chat History.
Close chat after hitting return:
Checking this box causes the Chat bar to open when you press Enter, and close automatically after you type your chat and press Enter again. Unchecking this option causes the Chat bar to remain open after you type your message. Unchecking this option allows you to type more chat without pressing Enter; checking this option allows you to move around and use shortcut keys after you've chatted without having to manually leave the Chat bar. Many Residents check this option.
Arrow keys move avatar when chatting:
Checking this option causes the arrow keys to move your avatar while in the Chat bar. Unchecking this option causes the arrow keys to move the cursor within the Chat bar. Most Residents have this option unchecked, especially if they have Close chat after hitting return checked.
Show chat bubbles:
Checking this option causes chat bubbles to appear; when someone says something, it'll appear over their head instead of in the chat console. Turning this on makes chat more resemble a comic strip, making it easier to see who said which line. Turning this off makes chat more resemble a transcript, making it easier to see the order in which things were said. You can also change the opacity of these bubbles.
Send IM to E-mail:
Checking this option causes you to receive an email for every IM sent to you while you are offline. This includes instant messages sent to you as well as inventory offers and ratings. You will be able to reply to the email sent to you within a short period of time; your reply will be sent to the other person as an IM. This allows you to use email to converse with someone who is currently in Second Life. This setting must be changed after you have logged in; it cannot be changed at the login screen. This setting is specific to the account currently logged in, and is never specific to the computer being used.
Include IM in Chat History:
Checking this option causes instant messages (except your text) to be included in-line in the Chat History window. Unchecking this option causes IM messages to not appear in Chat History. IM messages always appear in the normal Chat view.