General Settings

The General settings are accessed from the Settings dialog.

Sound

This section controls the different sounds that you may hear within the browser.

• Play background music: This includes both music from the world's object path, and MIDI files downloaded from other places on the World Wide Web.

• Play sound effects (WAV and MP3 files): This includes both sound effects attached to objects via the Sound Command, and World Sound Effects.

• Play building sounds: These sounds are played by the browser in conjunction with certain building events.

These sound files can be modified outside of the browser. Simply replace the .wav file with one of your choosing. First, make a backup of the .wav file, then paste the new .wav file into the directory, then rename the .wav file to the file that you want to replace. The sound files for these browser sounds are stored in the "\AppData\Local\ActiveWorlds 3D\Default\Sounds" directory of the folder that your Active Worlds Browser is installed in, and can be identified as follows:

delete.wav - object is deleted. odrop.wav - object de-selected. omove.wav - object is moved. opick.wav - object is selected. oturn.wav - object is rotated. tdrop.wav - terrain is de-selected. tmove.wav - terrain height is adjusted. tpick.wav - terrain is selected. tturn.wav - terrain texture is rotated.

• Play telegram sound: This is the telegram.wav sound that the browser plays when telegrams arrive, and the read.wav sound that the browser plays when you click on a telegram. These sound files are located in the /default/sounds directory of your Active Worlds browser's program folder and can be modified in the same way that the building sounds can. Uncheckmark this box to turn the telegram sounds off.

• Mute all audio when in background: To allow audio when the browser is running in background or minimized, if sound is not already muted. This applies to all sounds and audio streams from media commands, except for the telegram sound. Checkmark this box to turn the audio off when the browser is in backrgound or minimized.

Controls

• Freelook mouse: Use this check box to choose what function the mouse will serve when Move Mode is turned on.

• Invert Y-axis when in "freelook" mode: Use this check box to choose what function the mouse will serve when Move Mode is turned on. When the Y-axis is inverted, moving the mouse up will lower your viewpoint, and moving the mouse down will raise it. Some people feel that having the Y-axis inverted is more intuitive, perhaps because it causes the mouse to behave similarly to the yoke on an airplane.

• Head Bob (Camera moves to simulate walking): This will move the camera up and down in an attempt to simulate walking and give a more realistic feel to walking and running.

• Ignore pitch when flying / swimming: When this checkbox is cleared, the user will move in the direction they are looking in as they flying or swimming, but with this box checked looking up and down will have no effect on the movement direction and the user will move along horizontally and need to use the assigned Move Up and Move Down keys (keypad + and - by default) to adjust their altitude.

• Show targeting cursor when in move mode: This checkbox allows you to enable a targeting cursor while in move mode, that will highlight when the user is pointed at an activate object. This is to compensate for the loss of the "hand" cursor that appears when not in move mode.

• Precise Movement: When this checkbox is cleared, the user will coast after moving, but with this box check marked, they will instead come to an immediate stop. This option may be helpful while building.

Sliders

Building Icon Size Slider: Move the slider to the right to increase building icon size, or to the left to decrease building icon size.

UI Opacity Slider: Move the slider to the right to fade screen elements more, or to the left to make screen elements more visible.

Maximum World Content Rating

This section allows you to select your preferred maximum world rating.

If no rating password has been set, simply click on the rating drop-down to change your maximum rating.

If a rating password has already been set, type it into the rating password box and then click on the ratings drop-box to change your maximum rating.

If you wish to set a rating password, click the Set Password button and a dialog box will appear in which to specify the ratings password you would like to use.

If you would like to modify the rating password, first type your old rating password into the rating password box and then click the Set Password button and specify the new rating password in the Rating Password dialog box.

Content Rating

This section helps to define what the content ratings mean. Information here is based off of the rating system created by the Motion Picture Association of America.

• G: These worlds are meant to be accessable to all ages.

• PG: Parental Guidance Suggested – some material may not be suitable for children. The world may have mildly strong language and some violence, but no substance use or physical abuse.

• PG-13: PG-13 Worlds are considered to be appropriate for older children, but not younger ones. Even in the cases of older children, a parent should consider their own stance towards the themes of the world before allowing their child to enter.

• R: Restricted worlds contain adult themes in abundance. They can contain any of the following: violence, sexuality, profanity, or other adult themes.

• X: X-Rated worlds are unmoderated worlds that may contain violence, drug abuse, sexuality, profanity, nudity, and other adult themes.