Viewerhelp:Building and scripting
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Second Life provides a powerful set of tools for creating new content and bringing it to life. Every object, house, vehicle, weapon, and piece of clothing in Second Life has been designed, built, and programmed by Residents just like you!
Building
Objects built using Second Life's native building tools are constructed of primitives, often called "prims". Prims are basic geometric shapes that you can resize, stretch, color, texture, and link together to form a complete object. To create your first prim:
- Choose Build menu > Build from the top of the Viewer window.
- The Build Tools window opens, with the Create tool active and the Cube primitive type selected.
- Click the ground anywhere to create a new cube primitive inworld.
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Tip: If you get an error message saying you can't build here, visit a sandbox like Sandbox Island. |
Scripting
Many objects contain scripts, programs written in Linden Scripting Language (LSL). Scripts can make objects behave in a certain way, change color, interact with avatars and other objects, and perform thousands of other tasks.
To create your first script:
- Create a new object, as described above.
- Right-click the object and choose Edit from the contextual menu.
- Click the Content tab of the Build Tools window.
- Click the New Script button.
- A script named "New Script" appears in the object's contents, and the objects says "Hello, Avatar!" in Nearby Chat as the script starts running.
To examine a script and alter it, double-click it in the object's contents.
For complete descriptions of all LSL commands, see the LSL Portal in the Second Life wiki.
For more information
For a brief introduction to inworld building, see How do I build objects?
For more extensive information about building, scripting, and clothing creation, see the following categories in the Second Life Knowledge Base: