Using Second Life - a guide for learners/Moving your avatar and camera control

Before you try to move around, we recommend that you wait to make sure that your computer has all the information it needs. When you first arrive at a place in Second Life it can take a while for all the information to arrive at your computer. During this time your viewer displays the area in gray, and, as the information arrives, the textures that are drawn on the surfaces of the buildings or ground or other objects arrive progressively. You might need to take a deep breath, or get a cup of tea or coffee, while the drawing happens for the first time. This process of drawing the objects in the viewer is also known as "rezzing". When you return to the same location most of this information is cached, like web pages are in a web browser.

Walking, turning around, flying, landing
You mainly use your keyboard to get around in Second Life. You use the arrow keys to move forwards and backwards, and to turn left and right. The Up arrow key moves you forwards, the Down arrow key moves you backwards, the Left arrow key moves and turns you left and the Right arrow key moves and turns you right. For those of you who know standard (wasd) game movement keys, these also work in Second Life. The viewer also provides a graphical interface to move your avatar. Moving in Second Life

Camera controls
Often you need to move the position from which you view the world by moving your camera: Camera controls 1, Camera controls 2.

Maps with zoom
There are a couple of ways to find out where you are in Second Life. The main map lets you view the whole world, the World Map (World map 2)can be used to teleport to different places in Second Life. The mini map lets you keep track of your neighborhood - who and where: Mini Map.

Managing daylight
Second Life has night time and day time like the real world. Occasionally, you arrive somewhere in Second Life to find that it is dark, because for that region it is night time. You can change the lighting for your avatar by selecting one of Sunrise, Midday, Sunset and Midnight from the Environment Settings menu, in the World menu.

Next - How to make your avatar fit with who you are
Personalisation.