Just as a propdump is an ASCII representation of all the property in a world, an atdump is an ASCII representation of the various attributes in a world. World attributes include things like world features, world rights, and world lights. Since there are only a few dozen different world attributes total, atdump files are usually small.

The most common use for an atdump file is for moving a world from one world server to another. An atdump combined with a propdump from the same world together contain a complete description of that world.

To create an atdump file for a world, simply select the world in the world list and then select Save Attributes... from the File menu, or right-click on the world and select Save Attributes... from the pop-up menu.

In the dialog box that comes up, choose a folder and file name for the atdump file and press OK. The attributes will be saved to the file.

Uploading an atdump

Once an atdump has been generated, it can be uploaded to any world. Uploading an atdump to a world overwrites any current attribute settings in that world with the new settings in the atdump.

To upload an atdump to a world, simply select the world in the world list and then select Load Attributes... from the File menu, or right-click on the world and select Load Attributes... from the pop-up menu. In the file dialog that appears, choose the file to load from and press OK. The new attributes will be loaded to the world.

As with propdumps, a world does not need to be stopped in order to upload new attributes, and it may be done while users are in the world. Any users in the world will see the effects of the new attributes immediately.

Server atdumps

It is also possible to generate atdumps of an entire world server, using the separate atdump utility included with the server installation. To generate an atdump in this manner, the server process must first be stopped. An atdump might then be placed in a file using the following command:

atdump > atdump.txt

Atdumps generated in this form are generally only useful for reloading again using the atload utility. There are really only two possible situations in which you might want to do this:

• When an entire world server and all of its worlds is to be moved to a server on a different OS platform (e.g. from Windows to Unix).
• When the world server database has suffered some form of corruption and needs to be rebuilt.

Server atdumps are different from world atdumps in that they contain the world attributes for every world in the server, not just a single world.