Resources: hippoRENT: Door Plugin Features

The door plugin module allows you to connect doors to your rental box that will automatically work for tenants but not for anybody else (tenants can add friends to a door’s access list). Door versions 5.0 and above are able to be connected to multiple rental boxes — allowing you, for example, to setup a door every tenant can use (perhaps the front door of an apartment building, for example).

To setup a door and connect it to a rental box ...

1. Rez one of the two door types that came with your Door Plugin kit — there is a swing type door (that pivots on a hinge to open) and a sliding door (that slides left-to-right to open). The setup procedure for them is almost identical.
   
   
2. Right click the and choose “Edit” (and then “More>>>” if only the mini-build window appears) and then click on the Content tab.
   
   
3. Double-click the _config notecard to edit it.
   
   
   
   
4. Change the settings in the notecard. From top to bottom these are ...
   
   COMMUNICATIONS CHANNEL ... a channel number for the counter to talk to your box. Make it a nice, low number; e.g. COMMUNICATIONS CHANNEL: -5000
   
   COMMUNICATIONS PASSPHRASE ... a passphrase that is used to encrypt communications beween the counter and the box; e.g. COMMUNICATIONS PASSPHRASE: thisisverysecret
   
   UNLOCKED WHEN VACANT ... determines whether when all connected rental boxes are vacant, the door should unlock itself (e.g. to allow potential tenants to look round); to enable this, use UNLOCKED WHEN VACANT: Yes
   
   ALLOW GROUP MEMBERS ACCESS ... if you set ALLOW GROUP MEMBERS ACCESS: Yes then anybody who is a member of the same group that you have set the door to (they must have that group active) will be able to open the door.
   
   SLIDE BY ... on the sliding door, this determines how the door will move when it slides open (and it will reverse the move when it shuts); so, for example, SLIDE BY: <0, 2, 0> would cause a door to move 2m along the Second Life Y-axis when it opens and 2m back again when closing.
   
   SWING DIRECTION ... on the swing door, determines which way the door swings when it opens; your choices are 1 or -1.
   
   CLOSE AUTOMATICALLY ... if set to 'Yes', an open door will automatically close about a minute after opening. If you use CLOSE AUTOMATICALLY: No, then doors will remain open. (They will close, however, if a tenancy ends on a connected rental box).
   
   

   Tip for hippoSECURE Users If you're a user of our security system, hippoSECURE, then you can add the commands HIPPOSECURE NETWORKING CHANNEL and HIPPOSECURE SYNC REMOVALS to the door’s “_config” notecard to setup and control a link between the door and a hippoSECURE unit. See the instructions that came with your hippoSECURE unit for how to make this work. (Requires hippoSECURE v1.5 or higher).

   
   
   
5. When you’re finished, close and save the notecard and the door will automatically load the changes you have made to the settings. (If it doesn't load them, if Second Life is being a bit slow, simply hold down your left mouse button whilst pointing at the door and then choose 'Reset' from the menu that appears after a second or two).
   
   
6. Next, open up the rental box as you did the counter in step 1 and add the PLUGIN_door script from your inventory to the contents of a rental box you wish to connect to this door — do this by dragging it from your inventory to the content list of the box.
   
   
7. Double click the PLUGIN_DOOR script to edit it. Ensure that the door_channel matches the COMMUNICATIONS CHANNEL setting and the passphrase value matches the COMMUNICATIONS PASSPHRASE from step 4. And ensure that the “Running” tickbox is ticked at the bottom left of the script window. So, for example ...
   
   
   
   
8. Close the script and save it. If everything has been correctly, the PLUGIN script will chat readiness to you:
   
   hippoRENT Rental Box whispers: Prim counter plugin loaded and running ok.
   
   
9. Then click the rental box and reset it. Now whenever anybody touches the door, it will check with any connected rental boxes whether that person has permission to open it.
   

Controlling Your Door

If you click the door, it will open (click it again to close). If you hold down your mouse button while pointing at the door, after a second or two you’ll get a menu, like this one:

(Anybody you’ve listed as a manager on any connected rental box can also get this menu)

• Choose Reset to fully reset your door and reload its _config notecard; this will also wipe its access list, if tenants have added friends (more on this below).
  
  
• Choose Users to see a list of everybody who can use the door — this can take a few seconds, as the door will ask any connected rental boxes for current tenant details.
  
  
• Click Unlock to unlock the door so anybody can use it.
  
  
• Click Lock to lock the door again so only permitted users can use it.

You can also, after touching the door, issue commands to effect its access list (the list of people other than tenants etc. who can use it). (The door will listen for 60 seconds after being touched).

• /1 add name will add a person; e.g. /1 add James Bond
  Please note that there is a limit of 50 people on the access list at any one time (200 in version 5.2 or higher).
  -> From version 5.2 you can add multiple people at once; e.g. /1 add James Bond, Jason Bourne, Johnny English
  -> From version 5.5 and above you can pick somebody to add from people nearby; just type /1 add near (or /1 add n) and pick the name from the list of people within 20 metres of the door.
  
  
• /1 remove name will remove a person; e.g. /1 remove James Bond
  -> From version 5.2 you can remove multiple people at once; e.g. /1 remove Baron Greenback, Ernst Blofeld, Doctor Evil
  
  
• /1 list will print out the acccess list
  
  
• /1 reset will reset the access list
  
  
• /1 help will give a copy of the Help notecard, intended for tenant use
  
  
• /1 unlock will unlock the door (like the menu command of the same name)
  
  
• /1 lock will lock the door

How Does a Tenant Use the Door?

A tenant on a connected rental box can click a door to open or shut it. After clicking it, they can also issue any of the /1 commands listed above; e.g. /1 add Friendly Neighbour to add a friend to the access list. It might be useful to copy the instructions on how to use the door, from the notecard provided in each door, to your own tenant information notecards so tenants have them readily available (they can also the /1 help command).

Advanced Configuration Possibilities (v5.5 and above only)

Double doors

It is possible to pair doors together, so they open as a pair. This is great for e.g. double doors. To do this, simply ...

1. Rez two doors next to each and set them up so they each open (swing, rotate) the way you desire.
   
   
2. Edit the prim description of each door so that they're the same (e.g. you might call two doors "Front Door Main Pair").
   
   
3. Ensure that each has the same channel and passphrase set in their _config notecard.

Voila! The doors are now connected and clicking on one of the pair will open the other. (Any names added to or removed from the access list of one door will now be synchronized to its pair.)

(Doors paired this way can be anywhere in the same region, but for most applications you'll probably want doors side by side. Similarly, it is possible to connect any number of doors using this method, not just in pairs).

Sensor Pads

Your door package comes with a simple sensor pad that can be used to make doors that automatically open when a (permitted) person approaches. Simply ...

1. Rez the sensor pad near to the door you want it to control. It's a phantom prim, so you may want to extend it to both sides of the door as people could approach from either side.
   
   
2. Edit the '_config card' inside it and change the channel and passphrase so they match those of the door.
   
   
3. Edit the sensor's prim description so it matches that of the door you want it to control (it mustn't be blank).
   
   
4. If you want to have the sensor tell the door to close again after a time delay, edit that setting in the '_config card'. (Note: the door will, of course, close after about a minute if you've got that option set. But that's quite a long time to have a sensor controlled door open ...)
   
   
5. When you're done, click the sensor and choose "Hide" from the menu, so it disappears. (You can see it easily again by clicking it and choosing "Show", or by using the Second Life "Highlight Transparent" option in the View menu).

Voila! When somebody walks onto the sensor pad, the door will check they're permitted and then magically open.

Extra Plugin Script Options (v5.6 only)

Near the start of the plugin script you'll see this line ...

integer gLockDoorIfTenantIsInArrears = FALSE;

If you wish the door to lock if the tenant is in arrears, simply change this to ...

integer gLockDoorIfTenantIsInArrears = TRUE;

... and save the script. If the tenant tries to open the door when they're in arrears, they'll get a warning that they first need to top up their rent.

Please note that this option requires the latest version of the plugin script (v5.6) --- it doesn't need your doors to be v5.6; so you can just get a new plugin script (either by updating to the latest version of hippoRENT or the door; both sets of cartons contain a v5.6 plugin.