This is a collection of may articles on the Dolphin Viewer.
This is one of the younger third party viewers (TPV). It is similar to Imprudence and Phoenix. The user interface is based on the series 1 viewers. The code is a blend of old series 1 and new series 2.
It has many of the neat features found in TPV’s. The Dolphin Viewer blog is good about explaining the new features in each new release.
A new version of Dolphin Viewer 3 (DV3) is out. This one has a power user feature for inventory, show/hide links. I’ll get to that. The ability to change LookAt is added. There is drama there. New inventory API has been added. This is the one that sort of breaks V1 viewers that have not been upgraded. Subsequent shift-D snapshots save in the correct file format. Plus other fixes.
Dolphin Viewer 3 Look At Beacons
File size is 27mb. Download is fast.
Install seems to have changed and seemed quicker, may be multi-tasking just makes it seem that way today.
Links… these are great. In inventory I often have items that are no-copy. Yes, I try to buy only Copy-ok items. But, some things are just too cute to pass up. Whatever, links allow me to place ‘apparent’ copies of no-copy items in more than one folder.
A new version of the Dolphin Viewer 3 (DV3) is out. This release includes code from the Lab’s Shining branch and version 3.2.6. The fixes from the Shining branch should correct OpenGL compatibility problems for those with newer graphics cards.
Shadows in Dolphin Viewer 3
The compatibility issues have been around since mid 2011 and became a serious problem for those using nVidia 460 cards. See: nVidia Driver GTX 460 Problems. As more people updated to new 400 and 500 series cards we saw more problems. I think since the 3.2.3 versions we have been seeing fewer problems. But, there is supposedly more of the shining fixes in 3.2.6 than any of the previous versions. Whatever the case, I’m not having problems with my GTX560.
This release has a couple of notable changes. The ability to set a default material for prims you rez has been added. The feature is from the Firestorm Viewer code. And the new V3 avatar button now works in Dolphin.
The Dolphin Viewer Forum is here.
The release announcement page and link to the download is in the Dolphin Viewer Blog.
Dolphin 3 Install
The download is typical. The stalled copy panels still appear. But, they now close when you start the viewer. Their failure to close was a problem in my Vista 32. So, the install is nicer.
The viewer performs in the 10 to 15 FPS range, for me. If you have not seen the thread in the SL forum about viewer performance check out: How Fast is Your Viewer? – Second Life. If you haven’t already, add your information.
As best I can tell there are not earthshaking changes or additions to this version. The viewer is advancing at a steady pace.
Lance has a new release of the Dolphin viewer out: 3.2.1.22181. There isn’t much new in this release. The download is the same. Performance is the same.
A fix from Firestorm has been adopted. It has to do with how Tool Tips work in Inventory. Tool Tips are the popup messages we see when hovering the cursor over an item for a few sections. The SL Viewer has an annoying trait of popping up a tip that contains an inventory item’s name and hiding the item below. The colors in SLV are such it can be confusing.
The Firestorm fix limits the popup to long names that do not fit within the inventory window. So, unless an item description runs out the right side of the panel, there is no popup, which is really nice, IMO. Plus the coloring is better.
Lance has included translations. Lance is fluent in German (native) and English. Those wanting other translations will need to help out. If you want to help, post a note in the Dolphin Viewer Forum.
A new Dolphin Viewer version has made it out. I see it has a new build tool, Particle Editor, which is way nice.
Dolphin Viewer Buttons Tool
The file size is about 26mb, on the small side for an SL viewer.
The install process is more like the SL Viewer install now, opening multiple little windows as it installs. These are indicators that files are being copied from a network location. Just like the SL Viewer these windows stall with 0 seconds remaining. One can leave them open for as long as they like. They’ll sit right there on your screen.
Lance has release a new version of the Dolphin Viewer. A problem with it not saving your preferences has been fixed.
This one is a very standard download and install. Nothing new and no gotcha’s to deal with.
I stumbled across the Local Bitmap Browser that has apparently been part of the Dolphin Viewer since version 3.0.9. This feature allows you to work with textures on your hard disc without having to pay an upload fee. This is like the Temp Uploads in other viewers with some nice differences.
Today Dolphin Viewer 3 released version 3.0.7.20437. See the blog: Dolphin Viewer 3 – 3.0.7.20437
This is the second of two quick releases; one on the 26 and one today.
Two new features are in the releases; Area Search and Derender.
Area Search is in the top menu under World. See the image.
Dolphin's Area Search
As much as I use different viewers, I miss lots of the problems. Lance Corrimal, the Dolphin Viewer person, pointed out some of the problems in SL Viewer 3.x. There are a couple of gotcha’s.
SL Viewer 3 and viewers based on version 3.x code are slow. I’ve been using the SL Development Viewer for so long I expect it to be slow. If you are just moving to a 3.x based viewer… well prepare yourself. It affects the SL Viewer and third party viewers based on version 3 code.
We usually see these problems manifesting as problems with alpha layers. If you are wearing multiple layers then an outfit replacement only replaces one layer. That results in layers left behind from the previous outfit.
A work around is to remove the current outfit then add the new outfit. This does leave you nude for a few seconds. So, you need a changing room… or not, if you are an exhibitionist.
If you attempt to teleport more than one person at a time, you have likely run into this problem. Inviting more than one person to tp crashes the viewer.
