NEWBIE Question: PLacing objects

Hi everyone,

I am a so called newborn and have searched the forums with my question but didn't find an answer. It probably has to do with my searching skills but asking a question thats probably asked a zillion time before is my last resort.

How can I place e.g furniture at the exact place I want them? I have tried to do it with the edit option and the move and turn tool offered there but unless you have a very steady hand its almost impossible. Is there an easier way or are there tools to do this.

Thanks already for your patience with me.

Yori

Hate to say this, but practice makes perfect.

Practice on something non-critical.

Search the knowledge base for some editing-related video tutorials.

Seek-out and hook-up with an in-world mentor.

Visit a sandbox and (courteously) watch someone experienced do it.

Hi Yorinde,

Welcome to SL! Amras is right, basically just use the little arrows and rotate tools. To make life easier, you can turn on the "grid" (it's a checkbox in the main edit window) but I generally don't use it. Some swear by it.

You can also use the edit window to place an object exactly: go into the "Object" tab and change the values for rotation and position there. You can get extremely exact in this window.

Tnx Oryx. I am one successful builder who swears by the grid.

There is a wonderful Torley Linden tutorial available in the knowledge base that will enlighten you to its strengths.

You don't even need to use it when it is enabled if you work **between** the grid delineations.

One little trick I learned -- my furniture was always appearing a foot or so off the floor or ground. If you have permissions you can click the box marked "Physical" under the object tab, and it will plonk down on the ground saving time trying to line up the Z direction. You have to remember to click this off again or you'll scoot the sofa across the room when you try to sit on it. Of course, you don't always get permission to try this trick, but usually you can if it's modifyable. -- KC

There are a few ways to do it. One way is the manual way, using the "handles" for each of the axes that pop up when you edit and click the "position" radio control button. You can also edit the positions numerically by opening the "more" blue button to expand the edit window, and then clicking on the "Object" tab -- you'll see coordinate numbers there for the axes and you can simply input the numbers you want, or click the arrows to move them in (very very) small increments.

Whatever you do, though, you want to get very good with the camera -- you'll want to reposition the camera on the piece of furniture and zoom in, out and around to see *exactly* where you are placing it in relatipm to other pieces, walls, the floor, etc. Mastering the camera is extremely important even for placing objects effectively -- it gets even more important for things like building and linking prims to build objects yourself.

Personally for object placement I mostly use the manual handles (it does get a lot easier to use them with the appropriate "touch" with some practice) and scroll and zoom all around with the camera for the fine tuning.

Thank you all for your help. I will practice my camera and editing skills. It would be great though if there would be collision detection with floors and walls. Is there a wishlist somewhere to post this but you guys probably have wished this before me.