Second Life Build Prim

By Xah Lee. Date: .

Object Selection and Linking

Selection

Selecting objects is a major process in building. Here we will detail ways to select objects. While in editing mode:

select tool
The build tool. The various modes of the build tool has keyboard shortcuts.

In addition, several other modes help you in your selection process. Here's what the top few Tools menu's items mean:

Reference: http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Object_Selection_Test

Linking

Complex shapes are build by putting together primitive shapes. (similar to building thing using toy-blocks) You can “link” two or more prims, and they become as one object.

link command

To link 2 or more prims, select them first, then use the menu [Tools ▸ Link].

Two items very far apart (e.g. 10 meters) cannot be linked together.

edit linked parts
Edit Linked Parts.

When you have linked many object, and you just want to edit one of the object, you don't have to unlinke them all to do it. To edit just one prim of a linked object, select the linked object first, then check the box Edit Linked Parts, then click on the prim you want to edit.

Making A Copy of a Object

While in editing mode, hold down shift and drag the position arrows will duplicate the object.

Alternatively, use the menu Edit:Duplicate. (Ctrl+D)

Another way to make copy is to have a object selected, then in the Create mode's window, select the checkbox “Copy Selection”. Once selected, clicking somewhere in-world will rez a copy of the selected object.

If the “Center Copy” is also checked, then clicking on a face of the selected object will rez a copy side-to-side to the original. This is a very handy feature. (but if you click somewhere else in-world, it will create a copy at a weird position (i do not understand what's the position).

The “Rotate Copy” checkbox does not do anything.

build dialog