User:Lum Pfohl/How to use the MAKE OUTFIT button to save their current appearance

How To Use The MAKE OUTFIT Button To Save Their Current Appearance

To my knowledge, this is the most overlooked topic in all of SL. No newbie tutorial discusses it, no Orientation HUD mentions it, no helper recommends it. This is something I take the most time teaching, but I only have to teach it once. Then they can apply it every time they acquire an outfit.

By the time we encounter them, newbies may have spent considerable time editing their appearances and are often quite proud of what they've achieved. As seasoned residents, we simply put on a different shape and skin. Newbies don't yet have that luxury.

They are also very curious about putting on other avatars (such as a Darth Vader outfit). Then they realize they're stuck! They can't go back to what they were wearing earlier because they haven't saved it off. They scramble through their inventory but can't remember what it was they had on.

Give a man a fish, he'll eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he'll eat for a lifetime.

Mentoring a newbie on this topic will take about 20 - 30 minutes.

I compliment the newbie on their looks, especially if they have customized it in any way. Often I can tell they have spent more than just 10 minutes on it. I ask them if they'd like to be able to save that "look" so they can return to it at any time, in case they run into trouble. They all say, "yes!"

Make Outfit Dialogue

I start my explanation with a picture of a menu. I have a texture called MAKEOUTFIT which I send to them, and tell them to let it display on their screen until it is no longer fuzzy. It is the same picture as the one shown on this page. (Right click this image and open it in another window or tab, to follow along).

I explain to them that when they reach this window, they are to provide a name for their outfit which they will type into the textbox. Their outfit will be stored in the INVENTORY -> MY INVENTORY -> CLOTHING folder with that name. I let them choose their outfit name.

Next I tell them to CHECK EVERY CHECKBOX they can. The ones that are whitened are the ones they should check. Make especially sure to check the 4 on the left (Shape, Skin, Hair, Eyes). Then they must UNCHECK the RENAME CLOTHING TO FOLDER NAME checkbox. They should not have anything automatically renamed.

I tell them to double check their work, making sure they checked all the checkboxes except for the lower left. Then they are to click the SAVE button and exit Appearances.

I ask them if they have any questions at this point. The reason I show them this first (and I've tried other ways, believe me) is that if they are on a PC and they enter this Make Outfit Dialogue, they cannot chat until they dismiss this window.

Once they feel they are ready, I coach them:

Right-click yourself and select APPEARANCES
On the new window press the MAKE OUTFIT button at the bottom
The window we discussed will appear. Give your outfit a name. Check all of the checkboxes that you can, including the 4 at the left (Shape, Skin, Hair, Eyes). Make sure you UNCHECK the bottom left one. You do NOT want to rename your clothing to folder name.
After double-checking your work, click the SAVE button and exit Appearances.

Once they are done with their Make Outfit steps, I have them open their Inventory.

Open your INVENTORY and navigate to MY INVENTORY -> CLOTHING. Do you see the folder in there which you just made?
Open that folder. Do you see your Shape, Hair, Skin, Eyes and all the clothing in there?

Then it's time to have fun! I give the newbie a series of folders: DARTH VADER, DIVINE TECH BY DAITENSHI KATO, KOOLAID MAN BY BEBOP VOX, HALO AVATAR BY PARTY PUSSYCAT. They are geared towards male avatars, but I give them to the female newbies too.

I coach to find these folders in their inventory:

Open your INVENTORY and click the RECENT ITEMS tab.
Find the folder DARTH VADER and right click the folder (not the contents) and select REPLACE OUTFIT

They'll "wooo" and "whoa" and "ahahahhaa" for a few moments. Most of them say, "Lum, I am your father!" or something and we'll have a laugh. This step is very important, as it will completely change the newbie's shape, skin, eyes, clothing - everything.

The Big Test

Replace Outfit Steps

Then comes the crucial part of this whole exercise. The litmus test of whether I did my job correctly. I tell them to put their original outfit back on.

Open your INVENTORY. Navigate to MY INVENTORY -> CLOTHING folder and find your folder in there
Right click your folder, and select REPLACE OUTFIT.

If they missed anything, you'll know immediately. Their skin is still black, or they're missing their shoes - or they're bald. Better it happens now with YOU, than on their own.

If they have missed something, help them to find their missing pieces and get them looking normal, and coach them through the steps again to make another outfit. Or you can show them that once they find their missing items, they can copy / paste it into their New Outfit folder. Then confirm that they've done it correctly by having them change into some other outfit and back.

At this point, they'll want to learn how to look at themselves from the front. Explain that there are several methods, but show them the quickie way:

Press and hold the ALT key
Use the ARROW KEYS on your keyboard (or the WASD keys) to pan / zoom around themselves
Press the ESC key a couple of times to reset the camera

Merits Of Saving Outfits

It bolsters confidence in the newbies. They've learned something cool and useful, which they can apply all the time. If they've messed up their looks, they can always return to something familar and start over.
It's wicked fast! Replacing Outfits involve a lot less effort than picking/choosing items from your inventory, one at a time.
It's an invaluable troubleshooting tool. I will discuss on another page why this is so.
It will ensure that a resident will be able to look EXACTLY the way they wish to, as defined by the contents of the folder.

PointsTo Keep In Mind: When creating outfits, SL will attempt to make copies of the clothing and put them in there. However, items that are NO COPY will be moved from their current folder into the New Outfits folder. Many dresses are that way. If they make multiple outfits, the NO COPY items will end up in the last outfit they made.

Prim and Flexi Hairs are often copyable so they will show up in every folder.

If you place several attachments that attach to the same spot (such as different hairs, or bangles and bracelets and gloves - all which attach to the same hand), the REPLACE OUTFIT method will attempt to attach each object, one-at-a-time onto that spot. It is always random, as to which attachment will last be attached.

If you are missing an item or wish to add to the outfit, do not create a new folder. Rather, simply copy/paste the item you wish to add to the outfit, into your outfit folder. Otherwise, you'll fall into the trap of many folders, each with slightly different configurations and you'll quickly forget which is which. Then being afraid to delete any, your inventory count will get out of control.

Happy Mentoring!