Depending upon the Palace you choose to visit, you'll find that Palace talk is a lot like party or pub conversation. Every imaginable topic is discussed. As you become familiar with the people, you'll find yourself drawn to those with similar interests and you'll begin to visit specific Palaces with that in mind.

This section of Studio Dust's TPV Guide will take you from the very basics of holding a conversation, to the features that make Palace the best chat on the net!

Scroll down or choose a link from the menu below to get started.

 

 

When you enter a Palace for the first time it can be a bit confusing. Click on an empty spot in the room to move there, then just sit back and watch for a moment. Often another visitor will greet you by the name you've chosen. When you're ready, simply click in the input box at the bottom of the TPV screen:

Type hello and hit the enter key on your keyboard. Your hello will appear in a word balloon beside you avatar on the screen. That's all there is to it! You've just greeted the entire room!

[Up to Talking Menu]

 

 

The log is a running transcript of everything that is said by all visitors in a Palace room. Keeping your log open is a good way to keep up with the conversation if the room is very busy. It's also helpful when you leave your computer for a minute or two. When you get back, you can scroll through the log to catch up on what you've missed.

To open your log, click on the toolbar icon at the bottom right of your TPV screen:

The toolbar opens and you will see the log icon:

Click the icon to open your log. This window, like all floating TPV windows, can be resized and moved out of the way so that you can keep it open throughout your visit.

Use the scroll bar on the right side of the window to scroll back and forward through the log. There are 4 commands available in the log by clicking on "Options" at the top of the log window:

OPTION	What does it do?
Copy Text	This option is not available at this time. Look for it in an upcoming upgrade.
Clear Window	This option clears all the text from the log. If you are saving the log to a file on your hard drive, this will not affect the file.
Log Preferences...	Clicking on this option will open the preferences window. We'll talk more about this further down on this page.
Start Recording	This option is used to save a copy of the log to your hard drive. When you click on this option a "Save as" window will open, allowing you to choose a folder and name for the log file on your hard drive. Recording starts immediately and ends when you close TPV or when you click "Stop Recording" (The "Start Recording option changes to "Stop Recording" when you begin to save the log.)

Certain parts of the log text may appear in different colors. You can set the preferences for the text color of whispered speech and words spoken by moderators. We'll talk about setting preferences a bit further down the page. For now just leave them at the default setting.

If someone says the address of a web page in conversation, you can click on it in the log window and a new browser window will open to that page. If the new window covers your TPV screen, just minimize or resize it to move it out of your way.

[Up to Talking Menu]

 

 

Although whatever you say at Palace is seen by everyone in the room by default, you can also hold a private conversation. When you choose the name of an individual from the "Chat Target" menu, your words will only be seen by that particular person.

To access the menu, click on the "Chat Target Selector" button at the left side of the input box:    The menu, with the names of everyone in the room listed, will pop up:

Click on the name of the person you want to speak privately with. The menu will close and you will be in "Whisper" mode. Just type in the input box and hit enter as you normally would. Only the person you selected will see your words.

You can also select "Operator" from the "Chat Target" Menu. This will allow only the operators, moderators, or "wizards" as they are sometimes called, to hear you if you want to ask a question or request help.

To help you recognize when someone is whispering to you, whispered conversation shows on the screen in a different color than normal speech. The colors can be chosen in the preferences dialog box. We'll get to that in a moment.

Remember to select "Everyone" from the target menu when you are done whispering.

[Up to Talking Menu]

 

 

When you use TPV to visit Palace you can use special speech "balloons" to give the impression of different "types" of speech. There are 4 types available.

Normal Balloon	By default your speech will appear in a normal balloon.
Shouting Balloon	This balloon is used when you want to show everyone that you are excited, amused, upset, etc. This is the one place you can freely use your caps key!
Thinking Balloon	This one will make your words appear to be a thought, spoken only to yourself, but everyone will see it.
Sign Balloon	The sign balloon will stay on the screen until you move to a new location or until you speak in another type of balloon. Among other things, It can be used if you step away from your computer or are otherwise occupied. For example, just say "brb" (be right back) in a sign balloon and everyone will know that you aren't available.

There are 2 ways to use special balloons when you visit Palace through TPV:

First click on the "Toolbar" button at the bottom right of your TPV screen :
The toolbar will open and you will see the "Preferences" icon :

Click the icon to open the Preferences window :

Set your preferences by using the drop down menus for font type, sizes and color. You can pick from 9 fonts, 4 sizes and 13 colors. Notice that the top half of the window pertains to your "on screen" text, and the bottom half pertains to the text in your log.

It's best to leave the buffer size at the default of 600 lines for a start. The buffer determines where the log will begin when you save it to your hard drive. In this case it will begin up to 600 lines of the text logged before you hit the save button.

There is one other option available in the Preferences window, "Bounce into room". If this option is checked, when you enter a room you will appear to bounce down and back up. To everyone else in the room you seem to be "landing" in one spot, they won't see you bounce. This is helpful when entering a busy room because you can immediately see where your avatar is located.

Click "Save" when you have your preferences set the way you like. That's all there is to it.

[Up to Talking Menu]

 

 

When chatting at Palace, just like in any chat room, visitors use acronyms to speed up the pace of the conversation.

Acronyms are abbreviations, or, words made from the first letters of other words. They can be used in general conversation as well as typed in sign balloons to serve as temporary announcements.

Below is a list of the most common acronyms you'll see when you visit Palace through TPV.