Couple of building questions

1. I have an object with 2 other objects connected to it. One of them is very small. I have a really hard time selecting that small object so I can edit it. Is there some way to rotate through the objects in a linked set? Some hot key or something? Some way to select them by name rather then needing to click on them?

2. If I have an object in my inventory that I then drop on the ground and edit - when I save it, is it modifying the one in my inventory or only the one on the ground? In other words, do I need to pick it up and rename it or can I just destroy it as the one in my inventory will reflect my edits?

1. Try ctl-0 to zoom in closer. Also, alt-click-move can move your camera closer.

2. The semantics are a little crazy, and I might not get this right.

No copy object:

When you drag it to the ground, it leaves your inventory. When you take it, is goes back. Take Copy is not allowed.

Copiable object:

When you drag it to the ground, it creates a new copy. When you take it, it takes the copy, so you now have two, the original and the copy. In inventory, the top one in the list is the newer of the two. If you Take Copy, you have two in inventory, and one on the ground. Three separate instances.

Unfortunately, no, you can't select objects by name. For starters, SL has no interface for text-based command entry. Also, every object by default has the same name, "Object", until and unless you choose to name it something else. And even then, there's little chance that name would be unique. In order to identify an object via text, you must know its database UUID.

Also, no, there's no way to move the selection through the link sequence with a keystroke. SL has only two methods for selection. You either click directly on an object, or you drag a selection box around it. That's it. There's no hierarchical hypergraph to draw from, or anything like that.

As Lee said, the key is in the camera control. Use the alt-mouse controls to zoom, pan, and orbit your view in order to get a clear line of sight to the object you want to select. Sometimes it can be tricky, particularly if one object is inside another, but there are tricks for getting to just about anything. To see inside an object, for example, alt-click on another nearby object and then pan the camera over to put it inside the first one.

You'll also find that switching to wireframe view (ctrl-shift-R) can be very helpful. Hide Selected is very useful aswell (ctrl-alt-D brings up the debugging menus, then go Client -> Rendering -> Hide Selected).

I'll disagree with Lee on using ctrl-0 for this purpose. You might find you like it, so give it a try if you want, but I definitely don't. It can be problematic, particularly if you're working indoors, as it shortens the appearance of depth. Objects that have great distance between them can appear to be right next to each other, including the wall behind you and the wall in front of you. The slightest camera movement can pull your point of view right out of the room, even a very large room.

The reason is that contrary to Lee's description, ctrl-0 doesn't actually zoom in on anything. What it does is it scales camera's focal length. Ctrl-0 makes it more orthographic, ctrl-8 makes it more fisheyed, and crtl-8 returns it to normal. With the exception of the occasional funky screenshot, or for performing crude on-screen measurements, I find there's never any benefit in changing the camera's focal length. Leaving the focus at the default allows you to move the camera around with the greatest possible fluidity.



What you're asking is whether the one on the ground is an instance of the one in your inventory, or a copy. It's the latter, a copy. And like any copy, what you do to it does not affect the original in any way. SL has no capability for creating instances.

Of course, as Lee said, if you do not have copy permission for the object, then you'll be working on the original the whole time. In that case, you'll notice that when you drag it to the ground, it's no longer listed in your inventory, and won't be again until you take it. Be careful with no-copy objects. If you break one, or misplace it somewhere in the world, there's no going back. Once it's gone, it's gone.

Objects you create entirely by yourself will never be no-copy for you. You always have full permissions on your own stuff (barring the occasional system hiccup). Objects created by other people, or containing assets created by other people (textures, scripts), might be no-copy, depending on how the creator set it up.

For number opne click Edit Linked Parts and then instead of trying to click the small object use shift-click on all the ones you don't want .. that will leave behind the small one.

You may not be aware that each prim has its own stack of undo's. In the situation that you describe, I like to move the outer or bigger prim out of the way. I make my changes on the smaller or inside prim. When I am done I select the prim I moved out of the way and do a ctrl-z and it goes back to its original position. Very handy.

I also use this technique, it makes manipulating smaller prims much easier.

I didn't know that Sylvia .. thanks!

Generally, SL's undo is fantastic. You do have to be careful with it, though. If you lose your connection, crash, or suffer a memory hiccup, or relog, undo will fail. Usually it's safe, but just be aware that accidents do happen.

Oh, and in case anyone didn't know, redo is ctrl-Y.

I picked up this trick from one of Torley Linden's wonderfully manic video tutorials. I highly recommend them, chock full of useful stuff but never a dull moment.