What follows is an introduction to and translation of the buttons, controls, and dialogs you will encounter on the HiPiHi interface when you first enter the virtual world.

Some of the dialogs that will appear when buttons are clicked will lead to new buttons and new dialogs. This discussion will at first deal with the top level (first dialog you see after clicking a button), but as time permits I will flesh out the remaining details of the subsidiary dialogs.

Top of Screen

From left to right, at the top of your screen:

1. Speed Numbers

This displays real-time data about frame rates and similar information which is interesting but not terribly useful unless you are discussing connection issues with support people.

2. Location

This is a set of coordinates indicating your avatar’s current location in HiPiHi.

3. Action

This shows whether you are standing, flying… I am unsure how useful this is because I can usually tell which action I am performing!

4. Online

This shows the number of people online. Left-click on it to open the list:

Left-click on a name in the list to select it, then click on the Details button at the bottom of the dialog to open this dialog:

This shows on the default tab, information about the person whose name you selected from the list. The second tab shows information about any communities this person may belong to. Use the “Invite” button to invite the person to a chat. The “visit his/her home” button instantly transmits you to the home. The to his/her side button takes you to wherever the person is in HiPiHi. The last two buttons are “add to friend list” (adds the person to your list of friends) and “IM him/her” (send the person an Instant Message).

5. Time

This shows the current time in HiPiHi (China has a single, nationwide time zone).

6. Real-Time Map

Left-click this button to open and use the Real-time map:

7. Data Speed

This shows the speed of data being transferred between your computer and the HiPiHi servers, from slow (only left bar illuminated) to fast (all bars illuminated).

Bottom of Screen

From left to right, at the bottom of your screen:

8. Chat

There does not seem to be an option other than “Regional” in the drop-down menu at the left. Typing a message in the field and clicking the Send causes your message to be broadcast locally (similar to Chat in Second Life).

9. Action

Click this button and a pop-up menu appears with multiple choices:

10. Social

Click this button to open this dialog:

This by default opens to the Friends tab and lists anyone who has accepted friendship from you. The second tab in the dialog, Community shows communities you belong to and information about their membership numbers and the founder. Select an entry in either tab and click the button at the left bottom of the dialog to get details about the person or the community, and optionally to communicate with them (the dialog which opens is shown in 4 above). The update button refreshes the list in the dialog, while the delete button lets you remove a friend’s name (select the name first), or community.

11. Create

Click this button and a pop-up menu appears with three choices:

These options will only work on land you have claimed, or on land where the owner has set the land permissions to allow community members to use some of the Create tools.

12. Backpack

Click this button to open this dialog:

More information on using the backpack to upload textures can be found here.

13. Map

Click this button to open the World Map:

On the right side of the map are these controls:

Select the Large Centers checkbox at the bottom right of the map to change the map to a view of the major centers in HiPiHi:

14. Individual Settings

Click this button to open this dialog:

15. Search

Click this button to open this dialog:

Use this to search for individual Users or Groups within HiPiHi. You can select an entry in the results window and click the Detailed Information to get additional information about the user or group, and then send messages or perform other actions.

16. Snapshot

Click this button to take a snapshot of the content of your HiPiHi window. The snapshot will open in a dialog like this:

Use this dialog to rename the picture if you want. The picture will by default go in your Backpack, but you can also choose to upload it to your computer. Note the controls along the bottom of the dialog for browsing pictures you have taken, as well as the option to delete whichever picture is displayed in the dialog window.

17. System Settings

Click this button to open the System Settings dialog. It will default to the System tab where one of the options is to set flying as your default state!

The next tab is where you can tweak how you see the environment. The settings shown are the defaults, in case you need to get back to them!

The next tab is the Voice tab, which currently works only for music and ambient sound:

The next tab is where you adjust your viewer interface. The resolution on mine is set to the monitor on which I usually run HiPiHi:

The next tab is where you control how the Snapshot button takes its pictures and where they should be saved on your conmputer:

The next tab is where you can assign functions to shortcut keys or key combinations. I will translate the fields RSN (“real soon now!”):

18. Exit

Click this button to exit HiPiHi.

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