AO Confusion - Please help!

Please help a newbie!

Can a "no copy" animation be used in an AO? I bought a walk animation that is no-copy. It works fine from inventory, but I have had no success using it with several different free AOs. In one, which requires calling the animation from a gesture, the purchased animation file name doesn't show up in my pulldown list of animations.

I also tried using it in a ZHAO HUD AO, and followed the instructions to load the animation into the container, copy the file name into the notecard, take the container back into inventory, then attach it. Although the HUD controls appear on my screen, they have no effect.

What am I doing wrong?

Galena,
"No Copy" animations should work fine in any AO out there. I have Many "no copy" animations in My AO (it's a ZHAO too) and they work flawlessly.
make sure you are moving the animation into the "contents" of the AO and also make sure that when editing the Config notecard for the ZHAO, that the name of the animation is spelled EXACT. Once you have ensured all this, you should be able to "wear" the ZHAO and select "Load". you'll get a drop down menu asking what Config card to load. Select the config card that you previously edited...and the ZHAO should set up automatically after a few moments and you'll be set. if you have any other problems, Feel free to IM me in-world (once SL comes back up) and I should be able to help you

Thanks, JC - I'll try that again tonight. Off-hand, I don't see anything that I did differently from your description. I suspect there are some minute details I'm not getting right. For example, the instructions for the AO say to "attach to HUD", not "wear" - any difference? When I move the animation into the contents of the AO, does that mean simply dragging it into the AO container on the ground? Or do I have to drag it into the "Contents" tab of an Edit menu?

The only bad thing is that your AO becomes a no copy object as well and every time you change your outfit you have to wear your AO again. But that's how the cookie crumbles.

Galena. You can _move_ no copy anims into your AO. In other words, once you transfer them, they will be in the AO, not your inventory. You can drag them back from the AO into your inventory whenever you like. Only one copy of these non-copy anims can exist you see? They can't be in two places at once.

The HUD, like your avatar's body, has attachment points. Chances are, this AO's default attachment point is on the HUD. So try 'wearing' first. If it doesn't appear on screen, you can simply unwear, and attach it to a HUD attachment point manually. (Right click it in your inventory, and you'll see HUD attachment points beneath bodily attachment points.)

When dragging animations into your AO, you must first drag the AO onto the floor, then select the Content tab, and drag the animations into there. Modify the notecard according to the instructions, take it back into inventory, wear it, and be sure to issue the reset command (usually ao reset or /1 ao reset) before switching it on (usually ao on or /1 ao on).

The reset command sounds like the missing step! It's amazing how difficult it is to write instructions for a complete ignoramus. I've tried, and it ain't easy.

Thank you all for your help.

The answer turned out to be even simpler than I thought. What I was missing was....
PATIENCE. It turned out that each time I wore the AO, I only waited for a few seconds before concluding it didn't work. In fact, it takes about 5 seconds for the "load notecard" popup to appear and about the same length of time for it to begin working. It works perfectly.

Thanks again for all your help. It is great to know that I can get answers from residents, rather than the non-existent SL help system.

What exactly is an ao reset and what does it do? I've been setting up a custom ao and have been having some trouble with animations not loading or loading late. Would a reset help with this?

In a related question, I have a ZHAO too, and I wanted to override Ground Sit with a kneeling pose ("Basic Kneeling", I got it at NCI). I've been able to set Ground Sit to other poses fine, but this one won't work: when I load it the ZHAO reports the title correctly, but I still sit default-style.

The kneeling animation is no-modify, could that make a difference?

Thanks if you can help...my av just looks weird sitting cross-legged!