auto-lease v3.x Setup Guide
From Apez
Contents |
Getting started
Unpacking
When you purchased your auto-lease kit, it came as a single prim package delivered to your inventory. It will have a name such as "Apez.auto-lease 3.0 Kit Package". Rezz the kit package on the ground in front of you and then touch it so that it'll unpack the kit contents into a folder in your inventory.
After the the unpacking is complete, the package will delete itself. Don't worry, there is still another copy in your inventory and also the contents have been unpacked into a folder with a title like "Apez.auto-lease Kit 3.0". If you expand that folder you'll see the various items that are included, such as the auto-lease unit itself, which have the default unit name "Space #1", the stand-alone prim counter, instructions and other items.
Now you're ready to rez an auto-lease unit.
Rezzing
Simply click and drag the auto-lease from the inventory folder (it is called "Space #1") in-world at the approximate position where you'd like to lease the space. The unit will display some text in your chat window to indicate it is functioning. In particular, notice that it displays "Registering with www.apez.biz". This is when the unit contacts the Apez server so that is can be displayed online (more about that below). Wait until the registration is complete and the auto-lease displays "Registered" (or "State downloaded") in chat.
Now the unit is actually ready to be leased! However, all of the things you can set, such as the space's name, the lease rate and other parameters are still set to their default/out-of-the-box values. So, you'll want to set those to appropriate values for the space you are leasing. The first thing we'll do, it to set the name of the location and the space.
A Note about Naming
Every space you lease has two names associated with it: the space name and the location name.
The space name is simply the name of the auto-lease object itself. The default name after rezzing from the kit, "Space #1", is just a suggestion - you can name it anything at all. If you're leasing many spaces at some location, say your mall, you'll want to name each one differently so that you and your tenants can distinguish them and refer to them easily.
Using the name to give a unique number to your spaces using the "#1" style notation is strongly recommended, though not required. For example, if you have several apartments to lease, you might name them "Apartment #1", "Apartment #2", etc. (the #number must be at the end). If you don't use the #number suffix some other Apez.lease devices may not function with your leases - such as the Apez.access kit or the the up-coming lease kiosk and other devices.
The location name is a way to group spaces together. For example, if you have a two malls, you might choose to use two separate location names, "Dollar Mall" and "Plush Shopping". If you have a lot of spaces to manage, they'll be grouped by location online and some settings are location-wide.
To set the name of a space, just use the SL Edit tool (right-click on the unit and select "Edit" from the pop-up pie menu) and then edit the name directly in the SL edit window.
Apez sign-up
In order to use the online Apez.lease service pages to manage your leases, you'll need to sign-up for an Apez account (which is free), if you haven't already.
To sign-up for an Apez account online you need to use one of our many ATM terminals in-world. There is a list of their locations on the site, but there are several at the main Apez Headquarters, which is located in the "Apez Sands" sim. Just search for Apez in the SL map window and TP directly to that sim. You'll see some ATMs located near the TP landing point (there are also more inside the main building if those are being used).
Touch the ATM so that it will display the menu in the top-right corner of your screen (blue). Select the SignUp button. The ATM will now prompt you to enter a password which you'll use to login to the web-site. You could simply enter your chosen password directly into chat and press enter - that would work fine. However, if you did that, anyone within chat range would 'hear' what you entered and would then know your password! For this reason, the ATM provides an alternative chat channel you can use to enter your password (which is different every time).
SL has the notion of chat channels, which are numbered. Usually, when you chat, it is on channel 0. However, you can chat on another channel by using a prefix to what you type. For example, to say "hello" on channel 33, you can type:
/33 hello
Notice the "/" and the channel number are not separated by a space, but the whole "/33" and the chat text are. The ATM will tell you which channel you may use to enter your password. Suppose it says you can use channel 374, then you would chat your password like this:
/374 mypassword123
Be sure to choose a password longer that 6 characters, not starting with a digit and not containing any punctuation symbols. It is always a good idea to include numbers somewhere and not to use a word from the dictionary or anything obvious (such as your name). Certainly don't use your SL login password.
Once you've entered your password as above, the ATM will contact the server and then let you know if the sign-up was successful. Then you can sign-in to the Apez web-site (at http://www.apez.biz) using your full SL avatar name as the 'username' (case sensitive) and the password you just set (without the channel prefix).
Changing settings
There are two ways to change most of the parameters that define the lease (such as price) and settings that control the auto-lease itself - either using the auto-lease menus in-world or using the web-site. In many cases the web-site is more convenient to use, but sometime you just need to change one thing in-world and it is simpler to use the unit's menus instead.
The auto-lease unit menus
If you've just rezzed your auto-lease, touch it to cause the pop-up menu to be displayed. This is a special menu that only you, as the owner, will see. Whenever any other resident touches it they will see a different menu, the User Menu, instead.
On the top of the menu text you'll see a summary of the unit settings and lease. Notice the object name (Space #1 here) is displayed at the very top, followed by the model (auto-lease v3.0 here) and the location name (still the default Shops until we change it; see the section above about naming).
It also shows that it is currently vacant (that is, not leased), the current rate is L$90 per week, the minimum lease time is 2 weeks and the maximum is 6 weeks. The minimum only applies for when the lease is started-in this case a person must pay for at least 2 weeks to start a new lease, but once the lease is active the remaining time can fall below 2 weeks until it expires (or is extended). The lease duration can never exceed 6 weeks.
Once you've touched the auto-lease, it is now in settings-mode. While in settings mode it will also listen for commands via chat. It will display the following chat text:
Space #1: Entered settings mode. Say 'help' for chat commands; 'done' to exit menus. [3402]
To exit settings-mode and the menu, use the done menu option.
Setting the lease parameters
The first setting you'll want to change is the location name. Just select the locname menu option and the auto-lease will prompt you to enter a name for the location into chat. For example, to call your location "SuperMall", just enter that into chat and press the enter or return key.
Let's continue to set things up using the in-world menus and we'll take a look at how to do it via the web-site below. The next thing you want to change is the name of the space for this specific unit to lease (from the default Space #1). Recall the space name is just the name of the auto-lease object itself. So, to change it simply right-click on the auto-lease and select "Edit" from the pie menu to open the SL edit window. On the "General" tab your see a field for the name. Just enter the name for the space there. Touch the auto-lease once more to ensure the change is noticed and send to the web-site (which will usually take 20-30 secs to update).
The most important parameter of interest to potential tenants is leasing time-unit and the price. By default, the auto-lease has the time-unit set to week. Let's set the rate to be L$10 per day. First use the menu to choose "timeunit" and when prompted enter "day" in chat (and press enter/return). Next, use the "price" menu option and enter "10" in chat when prompted. That's all there is to it!
other common parameters
In addition to the location name, space name, time-unit and price, you might also wish to set a minimum and maximum lease duration. The min and max are always in time-units, so to set the min to 7 days and the max to 21 days, either use the "min" and "max" menu options or set the in chat like this: "min 7,max 21".
It is common for tenants not to pay their lease on-time. Rather than evicting them immediately (perhaps returning the contents of their store or apartment) you'll often want to allow a grace period. During this period, the lease will be overdue. The tenant can continue the lease when it is overdue by paying not only enough to being the lease current but for at least one time-unit in addition. So, if you wanted to allow the lease to be overdue for 3 days before being terminated, you'd set the "maxoverdue" parameter to "3 days". Notice that in this case you enter the units explicitly, so, for example, you could also enter "3 days 12 hours" or "1 week 1 day", etc.
While a lease is overdue, the auto-lease displays a "this space is overdue" texture and its size is the same as when it is vacant. Normally, during this period, the lease can be 'taken' by another tenant that comes along and pays it to start a new lease of their own. That is the risk the existing tenant takes by allowing their lease to be overdue. If you wish, you can disable this behavior so that an overdue lease cannot be 'taken' from the current tenant.
Usually, when you're leasing a space you'll want to specify the maximum prim allowance the tenant can use in the space. Just set that using the "prims" menu option or command. This is only informative - due to limitations in SL, it can't be enforced, but the auto-lease will show you how many prims the tenant is using out of the max you set (if you're the land owner).
Online management
Once of the most useful features of the auto-lease system is that you can manage all of your spaces and leases online. Additionally, you tenants can also manage their leases online - including starting and terminating leases and making payments to extend them.
To see a list of all the spaces you've currently managing, go to the lease.spaces page using the top page menu. Each space corresponds to an auto-lease object you have rezzed in-world. Each time you rezz an auto-lease and it registers with the Apez site it then shows in this list. Your page will look something like that shown in the screen-shot.
At the very top of the page is a small table that lists all your location names (in this case only show one - the default "Shops" location name). It also shows the number of spaces and how many are currently leased, and if the location is public or private (more on that below).
There are three ways you can edit settings and lease parameters. Firstly, you'll notice that for each space (each row) several of the fields are directly editable. You modify the name, rate (price), tenant, lease duration, prim allocation, minimum or maximum time-units and then click either of the green "update" buttons to have the changes take effect. This will update the database immediately, but the changes may take a few moment to take effect on the units in-world (normally around 20-30secs, but it can be longer is there are grid or network issues).
There are also some action icons in the right column. If you're not sure which auto-lease unit a row in the table corresponds to, you can click the '?' icon to have it identify itself (it will blink red in-world after a few seconds). If a unit in-world should become out-of-sync with the lease information in the site for any reason (e.g. grid issues, sim crashes or rollbacks) then you can force it to download the current lease state from the site using the 'download' icon (one with the down arrow). The Red 'X' icon deletes the lease information from the site entirely (and you should ensure the auto-lease is not still in-world in that case).
There are many more settings and parameters available than the few fields displayed in each row. Another way to edit them is to click the edit action (the paper/pencil icon) which will open a page where all of the settings and parameters for an individual space can be edited.
All of the parameters are also available at the bottom of the space page. If you scroll down you'll see the apply to selected inset (see figure - click to enlarge it). You can use these fields to modify the settings of multiple spaces at one time. Notice that at the left of each row is a selection check-box. For example, to change the rate (price) of several spaces, you could select them, enter the new rate in into the field and then click either of the green 'apply' buttons. If you leave the fields blank or select 'no-change' then that setting won't be effected for the spaces you select.
All of the settings and lease parameters are described in the reference documentation.
Copying/moving leases
Sometimes it is necessary to copy the auto-lease state from one space/auto-lease to another. For example, with an active lease you might need to move the tenant to another space, or perhaps you just needed to re-rezz a replacement auto-lease that was returned and want to copy the state over to the new one.
Since it is possible to copy the state of one space to many, it is also a great way to duplicate the settings for many spaces when you're first settings up a new mall or apartment complex, for example.
Copying works by first marking a particular space as the source of the copy and then copying to one or more selected spaces. All of the settings and any active lease will be copied from the marked space all of the target spaces.
You can mark a space online by selecting it (click the check-box on the left of the row) and pressing the green "mark" button. If you press "mark" without any spaces selected, it will remove any existing marked lease. Once marked, a space will remain marked until you explicitly clear it. Also, marking is location specific - so you can have a different space marked for each location name you have.
To copy the entire state of the marked space to other spaces, just select the target spaces and press the "copy" button. The effect on the site will be immediate, but it may take a short while for all the auto-lease units in-world to download the new information, depending on how many you selected.
On the auto-lease "Advanced.." menu in-world you'll also notice a "copy" option. If you select that the auto-lease will copy it's state from the currently marked unit in that location. There is also a convenient "copylast" menu option that will copy the auto-lease's state from the last auto-lease rezzed in-world.
Location-wide settings
There are some settings that more conveniently apply to all the spaces in a given location. You can edit the location-wide settings by clicking the edit action in the locations table at the top of the page (the paper/pencil icon).
If you'd like people to be able to find your available spaces easily, you may consider listing them on the Apez site's lease.find page, where people can easily tele-port to your space in-world and can start a new lease directly online. To have all of the spaces in your location listed there, just select the "public" option (checkbox), enter a short description, select the classification (e.g. Residential, Commercial) and upload a picture that will be displayed with your location online.
Note that there is currently a small fee associated with listing (see the page for details).
By default, when touched by a potential tenant, the auto-lease displays some information about the lease in chat (the rate, min and max duration etc). It can also display a one-sentence 'rules line. For example, you might want to specify "Set all objects to our group. Contact the owner with inquiries". You can enter that line in the field provided in this page, or use the "rules" chat command from settings mode in-world (note if updated online the change won't take effect unless the auto-lease is reset, leased or a download is forced - so it is best to enter that up-front before rezzing all your units)).
Ready for leasing
Now that you've setup your auto-lease, it is ready for someone to start a new lease! People can start a new lease either directly online (if you've set the location public), or in-world. They right-click and "Pay.." the auto-lease in-world - in which case they'll need to pay enough for at least the minimum period. People can also use the auto-lease user menu (the menu shown when someone other that the owner touches the unit) to start a new lease by directly debiting their Apez.bank account (if they have one).
Linked account
The default is for the auto-lease to be linked to your Apez.bank 'working' account. So, if someone pays for a new lease or an extension, the amount is credited to your working account. That also includes in-world payments. You'll notice on your SL logs that immediately after being paid by a tenant, the auto-lease will pay the amount to the Apez.bank 'funds-holder' avatar (e.h. Apez Mann) - that is how your account is credited.
It is also possible to set the linked account to the special option "avatar", in which case any payments in-world will not be credited to your Apez.bank account, but will remain with your avatar's SL balance. If you use this option you won't be able to share the lease revenue with anyone else.
You can choose to share your Lease revenue with any number of other people in any percentage ratios you choose. To do that, you need to create an Apez group (using the groups page) and add your share partners, set the percentages and then use that group as the "Revenue sharing group" settings for the space(s). Refer to the reference documentation for details.
Logs
Once a tenant leases your space, the auto-lease will track the remaining time on their lease, update it when the pay for a extension and notify them several times as the lease nears expiration (and during the overdue period, if you've allowed one).
You'll be able to track the activity of your tenants by using the lease.logs page. It will show when new leases are started, when extensions are made and when leases expire or are terminated.
Summary
In short, the steps required to setup a new space for leasing are:
- Rezz a new auto-leae unit in-world in the space you wish to lease
- Set the location name
- If this is the first unit in the location, go online and edit the location-wide settings too
- Edit the name for the particular space (i.e. the name of the auto-lease object itself)
- Set the time-unit (hour,day,week or month)
- Set the price/rate, min and max time-units, prim limit and maxoverdue period (which can be 0).
Alternatively, if you already have a vacant auto-lease setup appropriate for this location and it is marked, just:
- Set the location name (e.g. using the locname chat command)
- Use the copy to duplicate all the settings from the marked space in this location
- Edit the name for this space
Congratulations! - you're well on your way to becoming an auto-lease expert :)
Wait, there's more..
There are many more options to configure how the auto-lease behaves and to save you you time. You can read about them in the reference documentation and the "how-to" pages.
There are also other Apez devices that work with the auto-lease and more will be released soon. For example, the Apez.access kit allow you to key doors/windows/lights in a building to the current auto-lease tenant.
We'll also be releasing an auto-lease kiosk in the future, which will allow tenants to manage their lease in-world from a central location, including adding their own textures to their space.
For scripters and developers, there is an auto-lease add-on kit for integrating other devices with auto-lease and there are also some lease functions available through Apez's web-services API.
Thank you for choosing auto-lease.
