How do I build objects?

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This article is part of the Extended Second Life Knowledge Base that includes advanced and specialized information. This information was originally provided by Linden Lab, but is not actively maintained nor guaranteed to be accurate. Linden Lab does not certify nor assume any responsibility for this information.

See the official Second Life Knowledge Base for the most current information.

This page presents a short "crash course" on building in the Second Life® virtual world.

Getting Started

Kb nobuild screenshot.png

You can create objects only on land that permits building. Land that prohibits object creation is marked Building/Rezzing not allowed: when you are on such a parcel, you will see an icon at the top of your screen, as shown in the figure.

Right-click the ground and choose Create to open the Build window. You can also press Ctrl+4 or select the Build button on your viewer.


Kb selectshape screenshot.png

In the Build window, choose the type of basic shape (primitive) you wish to create, then click the location inworld where you wish to build it. The shape appears (typically with a resounding "whoosh" sound).


Editing Prims

Use the build window to move, resize, rotate and otherwise manipulate inworld objects.

Kb buildwindowminimize screenshot.png

Moving

When the Position option is selected, click and drag the red/green/blue axes on an object to move it around. Clicking on the red (X), green (Y), and blue (Z) arrows lets you drag the object only along those axes.

Resizing

Hold down Ctrl+Shift to bring up the sizing box or select the Stretch option from the Build window. Click and drag one of the white corner boxes to scale the entire object proportionally. The object's opposite corner will move in the opposite direction if the editor window's Stretch Both Sides option is checked; it will remain in place if the option is unchecked.

Click and drag the red/green/blue box to re-size a prim's length/width/height without changing the other dimensions.

Rotating

Hold down Ctrl to bring up the rotation sphere or select Rotate from the Build window. Click and drag anywhere within the sphere to rotate the object freely along all three axes. Click and drag a specific ring (red/green/blue) to only rotate the object around that axis.

Entering Specific Values

Click on the editor's More button, then select the Object tab. Enter specific X, Y, and Z coordinates to move, re-size, or rotate the object. Changes to these values are always based on the center of the object (the point where the red/green/blue axes meet).

Linking

This makes the linked object act as one coherent piece (though the object prim count is maintained).

  1. With no object selected in the editor, hold down Shift and click on each prim you wish to link together, one at a time. Make the most important prim and/or scripted prim (root) the last one you select (such as the seat of a vehicle).
  2. Then, go to the Tools menu and select Link, or just press Ctrl+L.
  3. You can select Tools->Unlink or press Ctrl+Shift+L to break the object apart.

There are limits to how large a creation you can link together: No single object may have more than 255 prims, and no physics-enabled object may have more than 32 prims.Minimize the Build Window If you would like to keep your build in edit mode, but remove the Build window from view, select the Minimize option at the top of the Build window.

Advanced Edits

The Object tab offers several additional options for editing based on the basic prim shape. Here are some common examples:

  • Path Cut Begin and End: Takes out a slice of the object along its Z axis. You can specify where the cut starts and finishes.
  • Hollow: Puts a hollow center in the object starting from the center of the shape and expanding out. You can specify what percentage of the radius is hollow.
  • Twist Begin and End: Puts twists into the object, warping its shape as well as texture alignment.
  • Taper: Reduces the size of the top or bottom sides (x or y axes, negative or positive) of the prim.
  • Top Shear: Shifts (shears/skews) the top surface of the object away from the bottom. You can shift the X and Y axes separately.
  • Dimple Begin and End: Cuts a hole in a sphere from ring of latitude (you specify the percentage) to the top or bottom of the Z axis. The dimple cuts straight to the origin of the object (leaving a cone-shaped hole).