Little Creator’s Secrets: Loving LBB! (Local Bitmap Browsing)

I’ve told enough people about this so often now, and I keep repeating it, I think it’s a bout time I start revealing a few of my “Little Creator’s Secrets” to building in SL.

Today I want to talk to you about LBB, or Local Bitmap Browsing. This is what I learned it was called, so this is what I’m calling it. I’m not sure if any other viewers have this, but I use the Firestorm Viewer, so that is what I am going to show you with.

So… you’re making a texture for something and you’re constantly re-uploading to see your revisions? STOP NOW!

1. Go to the Texture tab of the Edit window, where you would normally apply a texture.
2. Click the texture preview little square box thingy. (srsly what is it called?)
3. Another window pops up showing the same square preview box thingy a bit bigger. Below that there is Inventory and Local. Swap it to Local.
4. Click the Add button and find the texture you want to see in-world on your hard drive. Select it, and it will be in the list on the right hand side of the smaller window. Click the texture name in there, and it will be applied to whatever prim/face you have selected.
5. Now just go back to your texture editing software, and edit the texture how you like. When you would like to see how it looks in-world, just SAVE OVER the same texture you set up in LBB. The change should happen within moments. (and without having to pay 10L$ for every revision!)

*Notes:

• You will still need to upload the texture as normal for anyone else to see it, or to sell anything with it applied. (You can also select the texture in the right hand listing, and hit the Upload button under Add.)
• The texture will ONLY be visible to YOU. Everyone else will see a grey unloaded texture.
• To be SURE that you don’t still have a LBB texture on an item you deem “finished” be sure to REMOVE all of the textures in the listing at the side using the button below Add. (Or relog. relogging clears all those textures too.)

So there you have it. How to easily (and cheaply!) check your textures in SL without having to upload every single time.

Firestorm Wiki on LBB

Happy Building everyone!

~Charlie