Movement of objects between virtual worlds.

In another forum I recently commented upon my success in moving objects from SecondLife into an OpenSim environment, namely, the one on a second machine in my home. For those readers who wish to experience some of this excitement themselves, I offer this recipe.

1. Build something in SL. Go in to 'edit mode', select all the prims in the object, right-click 'take'. Give the resulting inventory item a name.

2. Log out of SL.

3. Download an alternate viewer which allows for object import and export. I used the Meerkat Viewer. Install the new viewer.

4. Log back in to SL. Go to 'edit mode' again, and then rez the object from step no.1 above. Right-click, 'more', 'more', and then select 'export'. Save to your desktop or whereever; an .XML file will be created.

5. Be patient; the viewer will now download the object's description, and each of the textures associated with the object. A progress message will appear; "23 textures remaining..." or somesuch.

6. Once completed, log out of SL.

7. Now, restart the Meerkat viewer, and log in to the alternate grid of your choice. Or, as I did, log in to your very own OpenSim enviroment at home. N.b.: the installation and configuration of one's own OpenSim system is well-beyond the scope of this writing. I encourage interested parties to read the OpenSim documentation at least twice, possibly with a cuppa to aid in concentration.

8. Now that you are logged in to the alternative grid, simply choose 'import' from the 'file' menu, et voilà! You have imported the build from SL to OpenSim.

Caveats:
1. Meerkat only transfers prims and their textures. No scripts are copied over! Those must be copied-and-pasted by hand.
2. The viewer respects permissions, and will only allow the export of items for which you have 'transfer' permission. This is not copybot!
3. Be patient with the import speed. Despite the horrid performance of the LL servers of late, OpenSim does not yet boast any speed records for asset server function, even on a dedicated single machine.




Here is the result, seen in a snapshot from my local OpenSim recreation of Winterfell Eventide, before I had to give it up in the Great Void Sim Debacle of 2008. The entire structure was imported in a single maneuvre. Still in edit mode, I moved the collection of objects to the appropriate coordinates, then left edit mode. I will need to find trees to replace the wonderful Heart Garden Centre birch trees in SL, and bring over my Tunguska stumps &c. to finish the look. But the proof of concept is sound.

Here are some views of Eventide before my exile:









Anyone wishing additional details may contact me at their convenience.

Regards,

Katya.