About a year ago Kelly Linden debuted HTML HUD’s. See: #SL Server Update Week 34 for my first mention of HTML HUD’s in 2011. We have not seen many of these being used. The advantage of HTML HUD’s the reduction in scripts and prims needed to make a working interface.

Darien Caldwell is one of the creative types making such HUD’s. He has pointed out that these JIRA’s are a problem:

VWR-29448 – HTML (Shared Media) HUD objects exhibit Unintuitive Focus and Control Behavior. This is about how the HUD’s work and look within the viewer. Most floated in the viewer go transparent when they lose focus. We know that we have to shift focus to the panel, by clicking it, before we can click buttons in the Panel. HTML HUD’s do not go transparent when losing focus. This means we click buttons in them, probably expecting something to happen, and nothing happens. That nothing is deceiving. The first click shifts focus. A second click will activate the button.

This JIRA is about removing that confusion and providing a consistent interface behavior. See the video at the beginning of this article.

VWR-29449 – HTML (Shared Media) HUD objects Behave Badly in conjunction with the Mouse Scroll Wheel. The problem is described as: The Scroll wheel has two major uses in SL, zooming the 3D view in and out, and scrolling text areas that have scroll bars (which is also true for 99% of browsers and text editors). However, The SL viewer does neither when a Shared Media HUD has focus. Instead, it shrinks the HUD view, as if the user was editing a HUD with the Build Tools.

This JIRA is also about removing that confusion and providing a consistent interface behavior.

There is a conversation about using HTML HUD’s in the SLUniverse Forum:  Would you use HTML on a prim?

You’ll start to see the term HOAP, which is similar to MOAP. HOAP = “HTML On A Prim”.  You can see an example of what Darien has made in the SL Market Place: [H]arsh FLEX Control HUD.

Darien’s is a good example of what HTML HUD’s and dialogs can do and how they can be used.

Teacup

To help use the new HTML supporting LSL (Linden Scripting Language) functions a type of server has been devised by Void Singer et al. If I understand correctly this will let you create a web server that runs within Second Life. See: Teacup.

CORRECTION: Darien is a she. Sorry.