Using Gestures

Another fun way to express your mood and personality

In Second Life, Gestures are customizable, macro-like assets that trigger a combination of animations, sounds, chat text, and visual effects simultaneously. They allow your avatar to quickly express emotions or perform actions—like laughing, clapping, or waving—with a single keystroke or chat command.

Important tip: While these gestures can be a lot of fun, overusing them can become tedious and disruptive for other residents around. Context is key: feel free to use them moderately in informal settings, such as social gatherings with friends, but avoid them entirely in formal or businesses environments. Additionally, while many clubs encourage these gestures, others strictly prohibit them. Please always review and respect local community rules.

1

What is inside a Gesture?

A single gesture is a mini-sequence of events that triggers in chronological order. When activated, a gesture can contain any or all of the following steps:

• Animation: Triggers a visual movement (e.g., your avatar bows or points).

• Sound: Plays an audio clip from your inventory (e.g., a clapping sound or a sigh).

• Chat Text: Automatically types a message into local chat (e.g., saying "Haha!" or "/me laughs out loud").

• Wait Time: Adds pauses between actions to create a timed sequence (e.g., animate, wait 2 seconds, play sound).

2

How to Configure a Gesture

You can create a new gesture from scratch or modify an existing one in your inventory.

Gesture edition panel in Firestorm Viewer

Step 1: Open or Create the Gesture File

1. Open your Inventory Ctrl + I.

2. To create a new one, click the + (plus) button at the bottom of the inventory window and select New Gesture. (Alternatively, find an existing gesture—marked by a small speech bubble icon with a gear—right-click it, and select Open).

3. Double-click the gesture to open the Gesture Modification window.

Step 2: Set the Triggers

At the top of the window, configure how you want to activate the gesture:

• Name: Give your gesture a descriptive title.

• Shortcut Key: Assign a functional keyboard shortcut (like F2, or Ctrl + F2) to trigger it instantly.

• Trigger Text: Assign a text command that triggers it via local chat. For example, if you type /laugh in the trigger field, the gesture will activate whenever you type that exact word into your chat bar.

Step 3: Build the Sequence (The Steps Library)

On the left side of the window, you will see a list of actions (Animation, Sound, Chat, Wait). On the right is your active sequence.

1. Select an action from the left and click Add -> to move it into your sequence.

2. Click on the item in your active sequence to customize it. For instance, if you added an "Animation" step, a dropdown menu will appear allowing you to select which animation file to play (e.g., express_laugh).

3. Use the Move Up and Move Down buttons to reorder the sequence.

4. Check the Active box at the bottom of the window and click Save.

3

How to Use Gestures

Examples of Gestures as seen in Local Chat

For a gesture to work, it must be active. Active gestures appear in your inventory in bold text with (Active) written next to them. If it is inactive, right-click the gesture in your inventory and select Activate.

Once active, you can trigger it inworld using three different methods:

Method 1: Chat Commands

Simply type your designated trigger word into the local chat bar (e.g., typing /applause and hitting Enter). The text will disappear, and your avatar will immediately perform the sequence.

Method 2: Keyboard Shortcuts

Press the function key you assigned to the gesture (e.g., hitting F5 on your keyboard). This is ideal for quick reactions during live events or roleplay.

Method 3: The Gesture Menu / Toolbar

• Official Viewer: Click the Communication menu at the top of your screen, select Gestures, and double-click the gesture from the visual list.

• Firestorm Viewer: Click the Gestures button on your bottom or side toolbar (represented by a speech bubble icon). This opens a dedicated panel where you can browse all active gestures and click Play to execute them.

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What's Next? In the next section, we'll encourage you to begin exploring the virtual world itself. A central element of navigating Second Life is its social landscape, which serves as one of the platform's most vital components.