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:

1. Choose Build menu > Build from the top of the Viewer window.
2. The Build Tools window opens, with the Create tool active and the Cube primitive type selected.
3. Click the ground anywhere to create a new cube primitive inworld.

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:

1. Create a new object, as described above.
2. Right-click the object and choose Edit from the contextual menu.
3. Click the Content tab of the Build Tools window.
4. Click the New Script button.
5. A script named "New Script" appears in the object's contents, and the object says "Hello, Avatar!" in Nearby Chat as the script starts running.
6. Double-click the script to examine and edit it.

See also

• How do I build objects? - A brief introduction to inworld building.
• LSL Portal - Descriptions of all LSL commands, scripting tutorials, and lots of resources contributed by Residents.
• Knowledge Base - Contains extensive information about building, scripting, and clothing creation such as these categories:
  • Building Objects
  • Coding Scripts
  • Making Clothing