How to...

0. Select Edit from your Second Life menu bar
0. Select Groups from the drop-down menu
0. Click to highlight Tropical Beach Rentals, TCR Residents, or TBR Suites (depending on which group owns your rental unit)
0. Click the Activate button on the right

Every Tropical Beach Rentals and TCR Residents house operates on a separate channel. These channels are used to issue local chat commands to the house windows to turn exterior tint, or blinds, on or off.

You can find your house channel by right-clicking your house, selecting Edit from the pie menu, and looking for the three-digit number following "TBR" or "TCR." For example, if you right click on your house, select Edit from the pie menu, and see TBR 307 for the house name, then your house is on channel 307. To control your windows, you would local chat (not IM) /307 menu.

If your house says "TBR NC", then it does not use a channel--look for a window controller next to the downstairs front door.

Your security system will allow you to control who has access to your home. Clicking the black security system box (located next to or above your front door) will bring up a blue menu allowing you to select the operating system Mode (Scan Only--displays the names of nearby avatars; Black List--the default mode, ejects people you add to your Black List; All--ejects everyone except people on your White List; and Off--disables the security system).

Clicking the White List button allows you to add the names of people you want to allow access to your home. Clicking the Black List button allows you do add the names of people you want to bar from your home.

The Media Center is pre-loaded with a list of channels. Click the Media Center to bring up a blue on-screen menu, and click through the options until you see the Channels button. You can cycle through the listings to find a channel you wish to watch.

Be aware special movie streams tend to go dead fairly quickly. We try to keep the channels list updated, but if you are not able to watch one station, try several others before assuming the Media Center isn't working. In addition to dead streams, some limit the numbers of simultaneous viewers. If the stream has reached its capacity, then it will not be able to bring up another stream until someone else is finished watching it.

*****NOTE: If you don't get a blue menu when you click the Media Center, then you do not have the right group tag active.*****

You are welcome to use your own media in any Tropical Beach Rentals or TCR Residents rental. Be aware that for media to work on group-owned property, it must be deeded to group. Your media will come with explicit instructions on how to do this, so be sure to read and follow the directions that came with your device. Some part of the device--either the device itself or a controller unit--will need to be deeded to group. Find that device, and set it "Share with group":

0. Right click the item and select Edit from the pie menu.
0. Check Share with group
0. IM a staff member to come deed the object. Please be sure to have the item set Share with group before you do. It's very frustrating to arrive at someone's house to deed items to group and have to stand and wait for the person to first share the item, especially when dealing with multiple items.

*****NOTE: If the item properties do NOT allow you to Resell/Give away the item, then it is NOT the correct device that needs to be deeded to group. Please read the instructions that came with your device to find out how to get it to work on group property.*****

*****NOTE: If you don't get a blue menu when you click the SHOUTcast radio, then you do not have the right group tag active.*****

If you're renting a house or estate, you can find out your total prim count simply by checking the yellow floating text above your rental box. Be aware, however, the prim counter is a script that runs periodically (about every 15 minutes), so if you've just rezzed something, it may not be reflected in the total prim count yet.

You can also check the prims of an individual item by checking the item's properties. Right click the item, select Edit from the pie menu, and look for the "primitives:" count on the General tab.

If you're in an apartment, you may need to calculate your prim usage yourself by checking the prims of each item you've rezzed and adding up the total number of prims.

Having problems controlling your prim usage? A lot of freebie furniture uses an unnecessary amount of prims. Tropical Beach Rentals has created a set of low-prim poseball furniture that can help you control your prim usage. Be sure to pick up a copy at the office in Thetidia. (Check any staff member's profile picks for a teleport.) Or, you might also wish to visit Lok's Low Prim Furniture for reasonably priced, high quality, low prim poseball furniture.

You can only set Home to Here on your own personal land--land you bought, not rented--or on group land for a group in which you belong. Before you can set Home to Here on Tropical Beach Rentals, TCR Residents, or TBR Suites land, you need to be a member of whichever group owns that particular parcel.

Once you are a member of the appropriate group, determine where you want your home location to be, then click World on your Second Life menu bar, and then Set Home to Here.

If Set Home to Here is grayed out, then you are not a member of the group that owns the parcel.

Rezzing objects is as simple as highlighting the item in your inventory, holding your mouse pointer down on it, and dragging and dropping the item on the floor, or wherever you want it.

DO NOT WEAR THE ITEMS FIRST!

You do NOT need to wear items to rez them. Just drag them from your inventory and drop them on the ground.

Once on the ground, you can right-click the item, select Edit from the pie menu, and move the item to wherever you want it.

0. Click the Search button on your Second Life tool bar
0. Click the People tab on the Search tool
0. Enter the name of the person you want to IM in the Find: box
0. Click the Search button
0. Highlight the person's name in the results list
0. Click the Instant Message button

Checking to see who is online can help you receive assistance faster.

Bring up the group information (Edit-->Groups-->highlight Tropical Beach Rentals, TCR Residents, or TBR Sites-->Info button) and double click the Last Login button underneath the Owners & Visible Members heading. This will sort the member list according to the last time the person logged in. Single clicking the Last Login button will sort the list ascendingly; double click will sort it descendingly.

If you need assistance, check to see which staff member is currently online, and IM that person(s). If no staff member is currently online, IM someone anyway, and we will get back to you as soon as possible.