4
 
  Using ".ini"- tweaks
 

In the Activeworlds program , there are some limitations, which you can change yourself manually by going to the aw.ini - file. Some of the tweaks you are very useful: Increase the maximum visibility , increase the maximum number of objects you can select simultaneously , increase the maximum number of screenshot pictures , ...etc.

You can read more about the .ini tweaks on the SWCity Builders Academy webpages of the SWCity.net website : http://www.swcity.net/academy/index.php?n=Main.INITweaks

Also in the AW Wiki pages : http://wiki.activeworlds.com/index.php?title=Guide:INI_Enhancements

How to open the .ini file

Search on your computer for the map of the Activeworlds program. An easy way to find the map is by making a screenshot with the screenshot icon, then a window will open and shows the location where the aw program is installed on your computer. (normally under Appdata>Local>Activeworlds3D )
There you will find several submaps, but directly under Activeworlds, you will find also a few "aworld"- files. By selecting another icon size for the file names, you will also see an icon with a kind of wheel (see picture) , when you right-click and choose properties, then you will see that this is the aworld.ini file.
Open this aworld.ini file, and a notepad text file will open with a large range of standard settings, which you can change here manually . The list consists of several groups of settings, the titles for each group of settings are typed between square brackets.

 

 
 
Open the aword-file with this icon. You will see text in the Notepad document. Now we will see which items we can edit and are useful for us.

 

Bot information

For those people which are using bots in a world, this is the port number you need to use if you want to activate the bot. If you want to use a bot in another universe (e.g. Activeworlds Europe), then you will see that you will have to use another port number, then just open the ini file of the AW-Europe program and you will know the host and port number.

 

[universe]
host=auth.activeworlds.com
port=6670

 

Visibility increase

Now we will edit or add new blocks of information in the text file : adding new text lines and add/edit the information, titles must be typed between square brackets.

If you want to make screenshots or make a video in Activeworlds, then it often happens that the objects in the background aren't loading, because they are further than 200 meters. This can be fixed here : Visibility will be possible for 500 meters instead of 200.

Edit this text in the .ini-file :
 
[visible]
range_limit_float=250
range_limit_fixed=500

Important note !!

After having modified the visibility range in the aworld.ini file , then when starting up next time the Activeworlds program, you will see each time this message . Then you say "no", otherwise you will have to re-enter the visibility range again in the .ini-file.

Object selection increase

If you want to move an entire building set of objects a few cells to the left, you can be ennoyed that you can only select a maximum of 128 objects with the Shift and Ctrl , instead of selecting all objects and doing it in 1 move. You can solve this in the .ini tweaks : Object selection will be possible for 1024 objects instead of maximum 128 objects.
Copy and paste (or edit) this text in the .ini-file :
 
[special]
max_pick_count=1024

Repairing "Remember location on exit"

In the Activeworlds program, you have the possibility to choose in the menu : Teleport - Remember Location on Exit, but there is no possibility in the AW-program to desactivate this. Fortunately, you can solve this in the ini-file , search in the txt file for the word [start] and there you change use_last=1 into use_last=0 ,and you delete the world name and location info. Next time when you log in, you will enter again into the AW Landing Zone.
Search for these text lines :
[start]
world_last=aw
location_last=2035.008N 7000.588E
use_last=1
Now delete the world name and location and :
Edit use_last text into zero.
use_last=0

Deleting again your stored password

When you log in into Activeworlds, you can choose to save your password, if you have stored it by mistake, then you can undo this by going to [citizen] , where you will find the text pw= followed by encrypted text, just delete the encrypted text so that you have only pw= . Save the .ini file and when you reenter Activeworlds, you will have to type your password again.
Search for these text lines, and delete the text that follows after these words , and leave it blank.
[citizen]
pass=
install_pass=
password=
pw=

Increase the number of screenshots

When you want to make a lot of screenshots by using the screenshot icon, then there you won't be able to take a 100th picture : the 99th picture will be overwritten, so all screenshots taken after the 98th picture will be lost !!!

You can increase the number of pictures to 1000 or 10000, so that you won't have this problem so suddenly.
Search for this text :
[Screenshot]
prefix=image
max_images=100
Modify this into :
max_images=1000

Screenshot pictures into a seperate folder

When making screenshots, you will see that the picture files are stored directly under the aw program and not into a seperate folder. You can change this :

For this you first need to create a new folder in the AW program , for instance : pictures. Then you go to the aworld.ini folder and there you go again to [Screenshot] , where you change prefix=image into prefix=pictures/image

Restart the AW program ,and when you take screenshots ,you will see in the chat window that the picture files are stored in the pictures folder.

Don't forget : if you have more than 1000 screenshots, you will have the same problem , so you should regularly move these images into other folders on your computer.

 

 

 

[Screenshot]
prefix=pictures/image
max_images=1000

Don't forget...

* If you re-install the program of Activeworlds, then everything in the Activeworlds program directory will also be uninstalled : the map with the printscreen picture files, the cavs , but also the modified ini commands. When re-installing AW, you will need to remake these ini tweaks again.