Summary

The Places directory is composed of Servers, Neighborhoods, Homes, Chat rooms and "Connections list" (Chat channels). To view the contents of an item, click once on it. To see other options, right-click on it. Plus Account users have use of their home.Username.####. Lite Account users will see "home.Username.####" in the list but it is only accessible if they upgrade to a Plus Account.

To connect to other users in the Places directory, you must join a Chat room or "Connections list" (Chat channel). Open the Room or "Connections list" (Chat channel) and press the Join button that appears. When you join a Room you are automatically connected to everyone else in it. When you join a "Connections list" (Chat channel), your name appears so that other people may request 1:1 connections or send messages to you. To connect or send a message to someone in a "Connections list" (Chat channel), click once on their name. Then choose "Connect" or "Message".

When you join a "Connections list" (Chat channel), you can chat with all participants in the "Connections list" chat window. Anyone else in the "Connections list" may request a connection or send a message to you for as long as you remain in the "Connections list". When you leave the "Connections list"(s), no one can call or message you unless they know your permanent calling code (the 4-digit number after your username). However, if you request a connection or send a message to someone else, then your permanent calling code is revealed to them and they may call or message you at any time in the future. So, you may accept incoming calls (or join rooms), without revealing your calling code, but if you initiate a connection or send a message, then your code is revealed to the recipient. To block unwanted calls from a certain user click on their name to open their window and choosing "Block" from the pop-up menu to the right of their window.

The server supports a new type of object called a "Contacts List." When you are joined to a Contacts List, you remain a member even when you are not logged on. Currently, only the server administrator can create Contacts Lists. If a List is Contacts, the Join button will say "Join Contacts List" and those members who are online will show green dot.

You may be joined to only one Room at a time. However, you may join up to 6 places, 5 "Connections lists" and one Chat room at a time, or 6 Connection lists. When you logoff you will automatically leave any place you have joined.

You can save shortcuts to places you frequently visit by right-clicking (Option-Click Mac) on the home, neighborhood, or room and choosing "Save Shortcut". This will save a direct path to that place in the Places section of your address book. You can also type a shortcut directly into the address book, using the text entry area at the bottom. For example, you could type in "ivisit.net/Friends/Tim's Place" and press "Enter" (Return on the Mac). In order to enter a shortcut manually, you MUST be viewing the top directory of ivisit.net in the Address Book > Places.

A neighborhood or home in the public directory may sometimes become invisible, either because it is empty, or because the owner has chosen to hide it. If you have a shortcut saved, you may still visit, even when it is not visible.

All Plus user homes have a permanent address of the form home.username.code. If you know the permanent address of someone's home, you may enter it into your address book (e.g., home.tim.1234). This will allow you to visit their home, even if there are no links to it from the public directory. Shortcuts that you save from the public directory remain valid only as long as that pathway exists. If a home is removed from a certain location, a shortcut following that path will no longer work, but the permanent address will always work.

If you save a lot of shortcuts, you may wish to organize them into sub folders. To create a folder within the Places section of your address book, type any name beginning with a "/". You can then drag and drop other items into that folder. To drag an item out of a folder, drag it out of the main display area, onto the back arrow path at the top.