Forget the one question per thread rule, I have several

How can I pose a prop? What I am trying to do is create a pose so the prop can be placed in several locations of user choice using a pose.

Second question I am trying to create a pose where the figure is in a different location than the original location. I have the pose created and where I wanted the figure to be in the scene I save the pose in the location I want in the scene, but when I come back to test it, the figure stays in the same location. What am I doing wrong?

Third and final question of the hour: Is there a script that can make a ball roll along a walk path? I am working on a 4 lane bowling alley and I want create a pose or have a path for the ball to follow and roll along.

Hi Nyguy!

Just tested your second question:

Check  "Body transformation" when you save the pose (at least that worked for me)

Regards / Jonny

Ps. your first question can maybe take help from a python script, and that can be called from poses menu.

On the first question: a pose will work on a prop if the prop's name is unique,
AND if there is a figure somewhere in the scene. 

If posing ability is important here, you should set up the prop as a CR2 so it can
always take commands from a pose whether or not some other figure
is present.

Third question:  You can probably do this with an animated pose.  Have the
ball parented to the forearm of the figure, and set up a complete animation for the
figure and the ball together.  The figure does the "windup" or whatever it's called
in bowling, and the ball leaves the arm and proceeds to the end.  You could
even include the pins in the animation.

(This would be more elegant in Python, because the ball could truly roll,
accelerate and decelerate, and the pins could drop when the ball actually
hits them....)

About your first question: search for recent posts by the user lesbentley. All the ins and outs of pose files (and then some) you'd ever want to know.

I think I am going to try to use poser Physics with this and see if I can get the ball "rolling". As for the pins, I was looking at creating different morph poses for them, but I notice would not to well with the way the pins are modeled.

Re Question 1. Take a look at my thread "A Compendium of PZ2 Techniques", I think the stuff on poses for props starts on about the eighth post down "Poses for Props", and the next post "Poses for Unparented Props".

Re question 2. If you have P7, follow jonnybode's advice in the second post. If you have an earlier version of Poser, then things are more complicated, and there are several ways you can proceed. The problem with earlier versions is that they don't save pose data for the BODY actor. So if you moved the figure by translating the BODY, the translations will not be recorded in the pose file. Things you can do: 1. Implement the translations in the hip instead of the BODY. This is the quickest and easiest solution.

1. Save your pose file in uncompressed pz2 format. Note down the translations (and or rotations) on the BODY dials. Open the pz2 in a text editor and manually insert a section to pose the BODY actor, eg:

{

version
        {
        number 3
        }

actor BODY:1
        {
        channels
                {
                translateX xTran
                        {
                        keys
                                {
                                k  0  1.257
                                }
                        }
                translateY yTran
                        {
                        keys
                                {
                                k  0  0.100
                                }
                        }
                translateZ zTran
                        {
                        keys
                                {
                                k  0  0
                                }
                        }

                }
        }
actor hip:1
        {
        [etc, etc...]

1. Save a cr2 in the desired pose and use the freee utility "MAT Pose Edit" to extract a pose file that includes translations for the BODY. 4. Rename the BODY actot to some other name, eg "BODYX", this will fool Poser into saving pose data for it. See my post in the thread "Creating a "walking" Pose set?" for more details.