How do I move?
Special thanks to Jeremy Linden, whose content on this topic is being copied word for word with the exception of the next paragraph.
It is day one, the very first day you have logged into Second Life (SL). You look okay after choosing one of the many avatars, available. But, what is next? I mean this is a virtual world, how do you move around, and get to where you need to go? Below are the basics when using the Standard Second Life Viewer. Want more information? Feel free to submit a question for a future blog post. And, like the Famous Astrologer Walter Mercado once said, “May you receive much peace and above all, much, much, much love.”
Walking
Watch this video tutorial to get started, then read on for details:
There are three ways to walk your avatar with the keyboard:
- Arrow keys
- W A S D keys – Inworld must have focus, meaning that the chat bar is closed or you’ve clicked inworld. Otherwise, these keys will type in the chat bar.
- Numeric keypad – Not all keyboards have this.
You can also strafe — walk sideways without changing your camera focus — by holding Shift ? and the left and right movement keys. For example, Shift ?+←. Instead of turning, your avatar will walk in those directions.
Running
Running is done with the same keys as walking. Running is usually a toggle: press Ctrl+R and try moving around!
Jumping and ducking
Tap Page Up or E to jump.
Hold Page Down or C to duck (squat).
Flying
Holding the same key to jump makes you fly.
You can also select Move > Fly from the toolbar at the bottom of the Viewer window.
Double-tap run
If you don’t want to always run, you can make your avatar walk or run with use of your arrow keys. Double-tap and hold the up arrow key to run forward. Tap and hold the up arrow key again to walk. This feature gives a more realistic appearance to avatar movement.
To enable double-tap run:
- Open Me > Preferences to open the PREFERENCES window.
- Click the Move & View tab.
- Check the Tap-tap-hold to run checkbox.
