Installing Virtual Places
To download and install Virtual Places:
1. Go to: http://www.excite.com/communities/chat/download/.
2. Select your computer platform.
3. Click "download the chat software."
4. A "Save As" dialog box will appear. Select a file location (we recommend that you download the software to your desktop).
5. Click Save.
6. Go to your desktop and double-click the "Vp2Ex21132" icon.
7. A dialog box will appear to confirm that you want to install the software. Click Yes.
Virtual Places will install itself on to your computer. Once installed, A yellow Talk! icon will appear on your desktop. The next time you want to chat, double-click the Talk! icon on your desktop or visit the Chat Hub.
An avatar is a small picture (usually of a face) on the chat room screen that represents you online. When using Virtual Places, you are automatically assigned an avatar from the Stock Avatar Gallery. You can choose to use a different avatar or create your own.
The Stock Avatar Gallery, included with Virtual Places, can be expanded to include avatars that you create, avatars sent from other chatters, and avatars downloaded from Web pages.
To change your avatar:
1. Right click on your avatar or click the Avatars menu (top of the VP screen).
2. Choose Edit Identity.
3. Select either Stock or Personal and click Change (personal avatars are avatars that you've created, received from other chatters, and/or downloaded from the Web).
4. Select an avatar from either gallery and click OK. The selected avatar will appear on the chat room screen.
Creating your own avatar
To create avatars for chat, please follow the directions listed below. Please note that the size of your avatar must meet the specifications assigned in these directions, or problems may occur when running Virtual Places.
1. Scan or draw image.
2. Size to 48x64 pixels.
3. Export the image as a GIF.
4. PC users: Save the exported file to Vplaces/exts/gallery. Mac users: save the exported file to Talk/Stock Avatar Gallery.
Your newly created avatar will be located in the Personal Avatar Gallery.
For more information, see saving gestures and avatars.
Gestures
Gestures are small animations of expression used to convey emphasis along with text conversation.
The gesture icon, a yellow smiley face, is located next to the Send button (bottom of screen).
Click the yellow smiley face to open the gesture palette. Click on a gesture and press Send. The gesture will animate next to your avatar.
Saving Gestures and Avatars
When you accept a gesture file or avatar file from another user, please save files in the following directory:
Place gestures in the following directory:
c:\Program Files\Vplaces\Exts\Gestures
Place avatars in the following directory:
c:\Program Files\Vplaces\Exts\Gallery
If you save gesture or avatar files into a different directory, you will experience difficulty locating gestures on the Gesture Palette and avatars in the Personal Avatar Gallery.
WARNING: Malicious users exist and send corrupted avatar and gesture files. Be smart. Don't accept avatars from unfamiliar chatters. When accepting files over the Web, you should always save files to your a: drive first and run a virus scan before saving the files to the specified directory.
If you receive an "Illegal Operation" error message when launching chat, you most likely have accepted a corrupted gesture or avatar file. To remedy, follow the steps below.
1. Delete all files located in the following directories:
c:\Program Files\Vplaces\Exts\Gestures
c:\Program Files\Vplaces\Exts\Gallery
2. Uninstall Virtual Places from Add/Remove Programs in your PC's Control Panel.
3. Download Virtual Places from 3. Save your gesture files to the following folder (or move old gestures into the following file folder from your other gesture file location): c:\ProgramFiles\Vplaces\Exts\Gestures.
To view the gestures in "Gestures2":
1. Choose Tools.
2. Select Preferences.
3. Click the Directories Tab.
4. Locate the Gesture Gallery.
5. Change the file path to the following:
c:\ProgramFiles\Vplaces\Exts\Gestures2.
6. Click OK to close the window.
Use the smiley face gesture button on the chat screen to access the new palette.
Web tours
Start or participate in a Web Tour. The person who starts the tour, the Tour Driver, navigates the "bus" from one chat room to another. The passengers automatically change rooms with the driver (until they remove themselves from the tour.
As Tour Driver, you must first select your mode of transport and the number of passengers you'd like to include on your tour:
To select your mode of transport:
1. Select the Guided Tours menu.
2. Select Set up Tour. A gallery of transportation including a magic carpet, bus, car, and camel will appear.
3. Choose your vehicle and select the number of passengers you would like on your tour: 2 avatars or up to 11 avatars.
4. Click OK. Your selections will be saved automatically.
To start the tour:
1. Select the Guided Tours menu.
2. Select Guide a Tour.
You will be seated in the top left corner of the tour. When you point your browser to a new URL, everyone on your tour moves to the new URL.
If capacity permits, other chatters can move their avatars onto your vehicle to be part of the tour. A Tour tab will appear at the bottom of your (and the tourists') screen. Click the Tour tab to converse with chatters on your tour.
To join a tour: Click and drag your avatar onto the tour icon (located in the People List).
To exit a tour: Click and drag your avatar off the tour icon. To end a tour that you have started, select the Guided Tours menu and click End Tour.
Games
Virtual Places games are multi-player games developed for Windows 95 chat users. Chess, checkers, backgammon, battleship, and Yahtzee are available to play in the chat community.
Prior to playing, you must Back to the top
File transfers
If you're using the Virtual Places on a PC, you can send files, gestures, and avatars to fellow chatters. Mac users cannot send or receive files using Virtual Places.
To send a file:
1. Right-click on a member name (right-side window) and select Send file (from the drop-down menu).
2. Select the type of file to send.
3. Select the file name, then press OK.
The intended recipient will get a private message from you with the file attached.
WARNING: Files can contain malicious programming. Do not open files from people you do not know.
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