Click Here for Main Page on our OnP Deluxe Flexi Skirt Maker

Notecard 4: Troubleshooting – if you have a problem

note: troubleshooting for texture spreading is on a separate tab Here - if you need it

PERMISSIONS – SL is complaining about permissions! (also see next item)
Permissions are generally a pop up box right after you rez the cylinder with the software. However, the pop up box can go away. You must give permission for several items such as linking or unlinking (the “kill” command). If you have this issue, go to the Main menu and click “Perm”. It will bring up the permissions screen. You might have to repeat the command you were in since SL might have killed it. But the permission screen if you choose “yes” should take care of this.

PERMISSIONS – I removed the skirt software but SL STILL says no modify no transfer!
SL Permissions are so much fun. This happened also in our testing. When we saved the item and it still objected in inventory to no modify and no transfer – even with ALL of the software out – we found that the fix was to again rez that item to the ground with the made skirt with zero software – and then save a copy or just take it back, and the permission restrictions are gone. We of course do not know why SL does this. It seems it does not change its verdict until it is told again that something is now different and it is forced to check again. Note that simply detaching the skirt from you does not seem to tell SL to check permissions. It must be rezzed to the ground and then software gone, taken back into inventory.

MY MENU WENT AWAY!
Just click the controller or the skirt (if still attached to the controller) to get the menu back.

CRASHES
This is something hopefully I only see when designing the software since it is usually long gone by the time the item is marketed. However, a crash is often either a divide by zero or running out of memory - and of course neither should happen. I have tried to put safeguards in whenever I found a place where a 0 could get entered into the wrong value and could cause a crash, and mostly those cases give you a warning and ask you to change a value. However, if you are getting crashes, it might be due to a badly set value for just out of memory. One thing you can try is to reset the skirt and software - either by taking it into your inventory and then back out, or just choosing "reset" from the main menu.

DO I NEED TO ANSWER YES EVERY TIME SKIRTS ASK FOR PERMISSION? - even for turbo which asks four times?
No.  Permission is required only for making a skirt (linking it together) or for killing a skirt (de-linking it from the controller so you can delete the skirt).  In our new version 3.05 the skirt maker will only ask for permissions if it needs to - such as when you press "make skirt" to link a skirt together, or "kill" which unlinks part of the skirt.

TURBO OPTION DID NOT MAKE THE SKIRT RIGHT
For the turbo option, you must answer "yes" to all four permission requests for the skirt to be made correctly.  Just before you press "Make skirt" ensure the right side of your computer screen is clear.  And then be ready to press "yes" on the very highest dialog permission box first.  When you do that, SL will replace the one you just did with the one below, such that you may not even have to move your mouse much - just click.

TURBO PROBLEMS WITH XY CENTER OPENING
We have now seen this twice.  This seems to be a speed issue where turbo is pushing the sim faster that it can handle.  Most of the time that we have used turbo, we have seen no problems, but twice now we have.  This problem we found one time does not even repeat if we did the same exact thing again with turbo.  But of course when seeing this issue, we do recommend just using the "fast" version as being safer.  The "fast" version does allow the full one second lapse time that SL requests, and we have not seen an error yet on the "fast" version.

WHAT IF I AM IN THE MIDDLE OF TURBO PERMISSIONS AND I MESS UP?
Try to begin to press "no" to the rest.  The first three permissions for turbo are the small helper programs, and there is a 3 second delay before the main large program permission box shows up.  If that one is pressed "yes" then it will try making the skirt, and if not all permissions are answered "yes" to, you might have a problem that some of them will not link.  But if you press "no" on the main one ... the one that is delayed 3 seconds before popping up, the skirt will not be made.  You can then ask it again to "make skirt" and then just get the "yes" answers for the ones you missed.  The ones that are fine will not ask again since they store the answer.  But remember... if the first three are okay but not the main one, remember to wait the 3 seconds and a bit longer to ensure it is not ready to hatch just when you give up.

WHY IS THERE A 3 SECOND DELAY SOMETIMES ON PERMISSIONS?
The last permissions block, the main large program one, is delayed 3 seconds to give you a head start on the smaller 3 items for turbo usage.  If you are using the turbo controller skirt maker and the three smaller programs have had "yes" answers on permission but not the large main program yet, you will have to wait 3 seconds for the main program to ask permissions.

IT SAYS – ITEM NOT IN INVENTORY - ?? – a sample?
Check to ensure that the name of the part that you put in is named “sample” and that you only have one item in the contents of the cylinder that says “sample”. Always remove old ones. And please ensure that via the main menu that you try and tell the software a bit about your item. If it is really custom and not a prism, box or cone, then say it is an “other” and still give the approximate length. IF the item is not a sample – could it be your version of one of our stored items, but that the item name is not precisely the same as the one of the item we had supplied? The name must be identical. For example, if you wish to make your own “cone 0.7” you can, but you must save or get rid of the old and the new one must have precisely the same name.

SL SAYS - TWO MANY DIALOG BOX REQUESTS
This usually means that you have more than one skirt near you, and hence twoor more skirts are trying to give you dialog boxes at once.  You must only work on one at once to avoice confusion. This is of course is yet another good reason to remove software when the skirt is done.

EVEN BEFORE FLEXI ADJUST, I HATE THE THING AND WANT IT DEAD!
Wait till all the linking is done if it is not done yet. It will say “Done” when completed. Then ensure you have permissions set and then press the “kill” button. The “kill” button does not really kill anything but detaches the cylinder with the software brains from the skirt such that after waiting a second for unlinking, just select the skirt piece itself that should be linked together, and delete it. You are now ready to try again. That we believe makes a start over somewhat simple. But please also keep in mind that flexi adjustments and more adjustments at the end can greatly affect the shape.

SPEED OF MAKING A SKIRT- Beginning with version 3.01, we might supply both a fast version and a slow version. After 3.04 we supply a turbo version and a fast version but no slow version. The slow version is the original speed for safety. Our recommendation is to use the turbo version or the fast version unless of course you see issues. If just making one skirt, the fast version is likely the least effort. The Turbo version can be faster but takes more care.

THE CENTER CUT AREA AND THE OVAL DISTANCE ARE NOT EXACTLY RIGHT !
CIRCLES or OVALS  SEEM ODD
Versions 3.01 and earlier (now fixed in versions 3.02 and later) the skirt maker did not give great center and oval center openings for all values of skirt pieces (multiples of 4).  It suggested using values such as 4,8,12,16,20,24,36,60 and 72 mostly.  However, that is now fixed for versions 3.02 and later.  If the ovals still seem odd, well, depending on the material used there may be come oddities at the top, but it should mostly be fine in later versions.

THE SKIRT ELEMENTS ARE NOT LINKING!
The most common source of this problem is if you try and make a skirt while wearing the controller.  SL does not allow linking items to a controller while wearing it.  The skirt maker must be rezzed to the ground.  Also some sims may not allow the creation of parts.  That could be another issue.  If you have verified that neither of those are the problem, but you are using the turbo controller, you might try to use the "fast" controller skirt maker option.  We have not seen issue, but we do believe that as sims become loaded and begin to lag, complex software such as the turbo software can have issues.  Also if using turbo, recall that all four permissions had to be set correctly by answering "yes" for the skirt pieces to link.  If not, then there is not good repair, but it can be a start over ensuring permissions are set to 'yes" for all four permission requests for turbo.  The way we do that is after we press "make skirt" we are ready to press the "yes" button on the highest on the screen permission request box on the right.  After we press yes, SL, will make it go away and the next box will be moved to the same place - such that if you are at screen top, you might never have to move your mouse.  Just "clicl click click click".  If you are fast, remember that the important fourth box is delayed for three seconds.  So wait to set its permissions.  Answering "yes" on the fourth box begins the skirt making.

I WANT THE CENTER PIECE GONE! -
We leave the center piece attached even if invisible since it makes attachment so much easier and simpler. It does that since it is in the exact center and not rotated and those items make pelvis attach trivial. But if you really hate it, use the “kill” command on the main menu. The “kill” command as we said other place really does not kill anything. What it does is to break the attachment of the center piece from the skirt such that if you wish, you can now edit and delete the skirt. But – you can also do the opposite. With the center piece detached, you can now save just the skirt.

I ROTATED MY SAMPLES AND NOTHING HAPPENED WHEN THE SKIRT WAS MADE !
Rotating samples before saving them does nothing. SL language demands that we give the expected rotation of the item in total when rezzing the skirt, so SL just does not care what its rotation was when saved. How does this work? When you pick a stored sample such as cone 0.7 or prim 1.0 or box 0.5 the software of course now knows the type of material being used and also the length. Therefore the software sets itself up to do the proper rotation. Cones (cylinders) and boxes must be inverted upside down, so their flexi part faces down of course and not the upper part. The software will do this if it knows they are cones or boxes. Prism pieces must also be inverted so the flexi end is down, but we also turn them around such that the edge points outward – sort of like a pleated skirt. So prisms are rotated differently than cones and boxes, but cones and boxes are rotated the same way. Now if you are providing your own sample, first of all ensure that the item is called “sample” as you put it into the cylinder contents and that no other item in there is called “sample”. When you tell us about material and say that you have a “sample”, the software will then go to the next screen and ask for information on that sample so that it knows how to handle it. You can choose ConeOrBox (recall that boxes and cones are both rotated in a similar manner), or “prism” – which is rotated in two directions, or “other”. “Other” should not be rotated at all. If you are doing something very custom which is not a skirt flexi piece like a box or cone or prism, you might need to choose other and practice to see how to set your item up best. Note that rotating it will not help. But often you can change dimensions to make it face a different way even without a rotation. I would believe that you can also use multiple prim items. Remember though that multiple prim items likely cannot do flexi, since the flexible side will un-attach from anything there when it flexes. But if trying for something unique, it might take practice. This system is set up for fast flexi skirts.

CHANGING LENGTH OR WIDTH OR DEPTH AFTER THE SKIRT IS MADE TAKES TIME
It sure does at times, and we do not know why. Sometimes our sim shows us the changes right away and sometimes it does not. We have found out that much of the problem is visual display of your change and not the change time itself. If you move the skirt image off the screen using your camera, or use your camera to rotate around it, sometimes SL will show the changed width and depth faster.

CHANGING X or Y or XY Centers or Ovals can give wrong numbers or negative ones
We do recommend changing length by using the length changer under "Adjust" menu for later versions of the skirt maker - since it tried to control other dimensions.  If however you changed the size of the skirt using SL methods of editing the skirt, and using shift and control and moving boxes in (smaller) or out (larger) then please go to the main menu and press "reset" so the software can now get the new sizes and distances. In some other cases of course the center or oval may be approximate and you may need to adjust to a number that seems odd - perhaps less than 0. We do not find that happens lately, but it has in the past. We believe that the center opening has become more accurate over time of us finishing the software - that is, if you use the x and y open or xy open AFTER the skirt is made.

VERY STRANGE ERRORS – not covered by the other items here
If you are getting odd errors, we have seen this at times when we did much at once and confused the software. There is both a "kill" switch in the main menu and also a "reset" choice. The Kill switch does two things - it disconnects the main cylinder from the skirt made which then allows you to edit and delete the skirt but not the cylinder with the software in it. And it also will reset the flexi software program. The "Reset" switch does not do
the kill operation, but will reset both programs. We find the "reset" option a good one to have.
ALSO: Ensure that you do not have more than one skirt maker going at once. This is easy to do. You might be wearing on and making another. One sign of this might be if SL complains that it cannot link. Things must be close to link. So something else might be hearing its commands but be too far away to link. If not that, then double click the main program in your inventory. You might not be able to read it, but press “reset” at the bottom. You might consider doing that also for the flexi program.

THE PRISM HAS A HOLE IN THE BOTTOM –
Yes, it does. When making prism samples I had the choice of making them hollow or solid. I picked hollow since I thought more people would prefer that. Its okay. After the skirt is done, go to “Adjust” and press “Solid” if you prefer the solid look. On the other hand, if you like the hollow view better for cones or prisms, then just press the “Hollow” selection on the Adjust menu.

TEXTURES ADD ODDLY TO THE SKIRTS WHEN DONE
Three items – The skirt maker now has a texture spreader that can spread textures more lifelike from skirt piece to skirt piece.  We highly suggest trying to use that feature.  If not using that feature, recall that the skirts are all treated like individuals when adding a texture. That means that each will get only part of the texture you are using. Also recall that you can change texture settings of the whole skirt at once since that is allowed by SL. Edit the whole skirt. Then go to tab 4 for texture. Then you can adjust how much of the picture each direction, setting x to 1.0 and y to 1.0 is a good starting point. Then note that you can rotate the texture below that point. Then note that you can choose where to begin the x and y direction for the texture and thus move it around. Each of these texture adjustments can bring about a great deal of change to the image you are looking at.

WHY DO WE NEED THE CENTER PIECE? DOES THAT NOT ADD A PRIM?
The center piece adds only one piece, sort of making a 24 prim skirt 25. But what it does do is make the attachment to an avatar more simple since it is the root prim (main item) and is in the exact center of the skirt. It also provides a convenient point for software changes. I had seen one skirt maker that had no center piece. It was horrible to work with. Evenprim hair we make and sell has a center piece for easy alignment and attach.

I MADE THE SKIRT LONG AGO WITH YOUR SETUP, AND NOW I WANT TO CHANGE THE FLEX
No Problem. Somewhere on your computer edit a skirt maker cylinder and remove a copy of the insides of its contents (tab 5 under edit) and store it on your computer. Then if you need to change a finished skirt, put just the software items, 3 programs (over time the skirt maker has gone from 2 to 4 software programs - and there may be even more later), back inside of it temporally. Here is an oddity. It seems that SL will not let you re add the software if wearing the skirt. You must first rez the skirt to the ground, then add the software, then save it to inventory and then wear it to make the adjustments. Now readjust flexi or even some other adjustments as you wish. When done, take the software out. Remember again that permissions can be an issue. After the software is out, you likely will have to rez the skirt to the ground, ensure all software out, and then save it or save a copy to get permissions back to your own full permissions.

YOUR SOFTWARE DOES NOT WORK IN SKIRTS MADE BY SOME OTHERS
It might and it might not allow you to change flexi in other skirts that you have. It depends on the construction of the other skirts. SL language requires us to tell them which are the flexi part of the skirt. In our case it is everything but the cylinder which is the root prim. And so the software says, do not make the root prim flexible, but everything else. If the other skirts do not have a root prim, or have several pieces as root prims, our software may not work in them as well as in our designs – now your designs – with this software.

MAKING THE SKIRT CAN TAKE A LONG TIME
With version 3.01 and later we now give an option for a faster skirt maker - or now in 3.02 and above just make the fast one the standard - that according to our stopwatch takes about 1.25 seconds per skirt piece, more that twice as fast as the old one.  Why even that delay?  SL forces a slow down while linking.  In version 3.05 and above we have added a turbo option that can make skirts even faster, but does require more alertness on permissions, since it will ask for permissions four times.

SEEMING ERRORS ON USING IT FOR NON SKIRT ISSUES
At this time we are confused as well. We did not begin this skirt maker with the idea of rotating the skirt as it is made. We began by using 3 dimensional geometry equations. Those equations mostly worked, but at times, it seemed a little off. Not understanding that, we decided that SL knows best what SL wants, so by rotating the skirt while making it, SL puts the parts precisely where it wants to. We found that that approach made a far more accurate appearing skirt. If it seems to make errors when not used for skirts, we honestly do not know why. Maybe the original trigonometry equations would work better. We did not get into that since this is after all, a skirt maker, and we optimized the software for that. As for SL, we do see oddities. But in general, we are amazed at how well SL does do.

TRANSPARENCY AND SEMI TRANSPARENCY WEIRDNESS
First of all, I want to say that I am extremely impressed with SL (Second Life) and how they do creating a virtual 3D world. But that being said, of course there are limitations. One of the biggest ones I have seen is the difficulty SL has when two items that are somewhat transparent are in front of or near each other. Sometimes it will put the wrong one first, or even make one disappear. A classical case of this would be a ballroom which might have a semi transparent floor in order to be classy or create a mirror effect. Often ladies formal gowns may also have some transparency. And so at times it has happened that I have seen ladies formal gowns disappear when they get near a transparent floor. Now of course the ladies generally wear a skirt slip or pants beneath the skirt so they are still modest, but gone is the beautiful gown. For this reason when I make ballroom floors... and I have made quite a few... I never make them semi transparent. But this same effect may also be there somewhat on clothes you wear. I do believe with later versions of SL this is getting better. But... some of the issues may still be there.

WHY READ OUT FREE MEMORY?
This began as a tool for us since when working with large software, one must be sure they do not grow their program so large that SL will not work with it. We decided to leave the free memory location live. We do not see a problem with it during our testing and usage. However, remember that there are two large programs here – the main one (master) that makes the skirt and the flexi control portion that adjusts the skirt after it is made. Both are quite large programs and of course work together. Both programs had to be optimized several times to keep the size small enough of each program to keep them working. What does matter? If you see either program getting down to 100 bytes or so, you might need to press “Reset” on the main menu or re-rez the program cylinder. If that does not work, double click each program to open it up, and you might not be able to see the program itself, however, there is a reset button at the bottom. Press the reset for each program, but only if you need to. I would not do it until you see a problem or get down to 100 bytes or something similar.

Please recall that Texture Spreading Troubleshooting is under another tab in this reference.

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