Hypergrid Resources Library/Travel Light with a Small Suitcase!

Another unique feature of hypergridding around the OpenSim metaverse is the concept of a suitcase. Unlike Second Life, where you can collect objects in your inventory, your suitcase is kind of a temporary holding place for things that you should eventually add to your inventory. So it's separate from your inventory itself. What's important to understand is that your suitcase is a folder within your inventory. And within that suitcase folder are sub-folders with familiar names like "Objects", "Notecards" etc. This can cause confusion if you're not aware of the distinction.

Your inventory is something that belongs to your avatar. When you leave your home planet and go visit a different one and take a landmark, receive a notecard, or take a copy of an article of clothing, all of those things are added to your suitcase. It can be easy to forget you’re actually away from “home”, and feel like you've lost something because it's nowhere to be found in your regular inventory. What is usually happening is that you are looking for something you know was added to your "Objects" folder, but it's NOT there. You need to open your "My Suitcase" folder and browse for the "Objects" sub-folder.

Unpack Your Suitcase!


As with traveling in the real world, it’s ideal to always regularly unpack your suitcase so that it’s empty and ready for your next trip. The reason this is important is because your suitcase travels with you all around the metaverse, and it's heavy when it's full of stuff!! That heaviness is actual weight and it causes lag on different regions.

How to Find & Move Content From Your Suitcase
First of all, remember that folder that you will be looking for is literally titled “My Suitcase”. It's likely to be found right after a folder titled “Lost and Found”. If you ever have trouble finding your suitcase, don't worry you aren't crazy! Just like with traveling in the physical world, it is possible that your suitcase gets lost due to a grid update somewhere.

To move content from your “My Suitcase” folder, simple click on the item and drag it into another folder in your inventory. The content you will want to move from "My Suitcase" to your regular inventory includes objects, and also things like notecards and landmarks. (NOTE: I'ts important to keep in mind that the sub-folders in "My Suitcase" have the same names as in your regular inventory, which can cause confusion! In the screenshot to the right for example, the the arrow is pointing to an "Objects" folder that is an inventory folder. When the "My Suitcase" folder is opened there be another folder titled "Objects that it a sub-folder of the "My Suitcase" folder.)

So remember to pay attention to your inventory folder system, and remember to travel light with a clean suitcase!

Help, I've Lost My Suitcase!
You're not crazy if you've searched every folder, and it looks like your My Suitcase folder has disappeared. Here's how to get it back in Firestorm viewer:


 * 1) Click on Inventory and then click on the top drop down titled "All Types".
 * 2) Select Custom at the bottom of the menu.
 * 3) Check mark the "Always show folders" option. (You should immediately see your "My Suitcase" reappear in your inventory.)

(Many thanks to Brayla Sana credited at Kered's 3rd Rock Grid blog post for this lifesaving tip!)

Travel with Exportable Avatar & Clothing!
If you buy an  avatar or components, on Kitely market, for example, and those objects are not exportable, you will have trouble hypergridding. You may get an error message or end up with missing clothing or body parts! One solution is to use a Ruth or Roth avatar. Ruth and Roth avatars are full permissions, open source mesh avatars that make traveling from grid to grid easier. "These mesh avatars are fully legal, and the attaching of clothes happens much faster than on non-certified bodies brought in by third parties....The set is created by Nana Fu and Shin Ingen and provided by Austin Tate of the University of Edinburgh." (Kolorov, 2018)

Going through "Customs" with a Passport (Terms of Service Agreements)
Another thing to be aware of is that when you travel to different "worlds" you may have to agree to their terms of service in order to visit. Think of this like having a passport and going through customs. What usually happens is that you will get a pop up when your first arrive that prompts you to click on a link to the terms of service posted on that world's website. Click on the pop up to open a browser and accept the terms of service.

Additional Reading
https://virtualoutworlding.blogspot.com/2015/01/2015-hypergrid-your-suitcase-just-what.html

https://virtualoutworlding.blogspot.com/2015/12/2016-help-hg-case-of-vanishing-suitcase.html

https://www.hypergridbusiness.com/2019/01/new-hypergrid-group-focuses-on-arts-first-trip-this-thursday/

http://opensimulator.org/wiki/Hypergrid_Inventory_Access

https://blog.inf.ed.ac.uk/atate/2018/01/21/ruth-2-0/