I am new to poser and I want to start working on a project right away and learn about the details later on. I want to know how to create poses where two or more human figures make contact (ex. hugging, wrestling, carrying, pulling). I'm trying to find a way to get the job done without taking a lot of time to look at lengthy tutorials that are irrelevant or go over more detail than I need at the moment. I need some sort of instruction to learn the basics that will help me achieve my current goal in the shortest amount of time. 

Below are a few questions that I have. Please include any other information that you think will be useful in helping me complete my project.

How can I zoom in? How can I zoom out? 

How can I move a figure from one place to another and avoid moving a body part instead? How can I select the entire figure? The figure Andy is already selected but I don't know how to select the other figures. 

How can I move the camera from one figure to another? I can only bring the camera around Andy but I cannot focus it on the other figures. 

How can I remove Andy and use figures that look more human?

Feel free to suggest any ways that I can do this job quicker and explain the basic requirements that I need to know for this task.

Thank you!

And I have one basic question for you, did you read the manual?  Not to sound insensitive, much of this information is covered in the digital reference guide.  For anyone to adequately answer any of your questions, they will assume that you are familiar with the application.  If not, descriptions or posted references may not make sense. 

So my other question, how familiar are you with Poser 8 before we proceed?

Sorry Sir, but in an app like Poser there are no short and fast lanes.

Read the manual.
Yes, It is a pain in the ; ; ; when someone says that, but realy, it is the ONLY valuable solution in the long run.

Poser and everything that goes with it takes time.
I do not talk days here, I do not talk weeks either.
More like months, and even years.

Those that say they "mastered" Poser in a year, well, good luck to them.

Some of us have been doing this from Poser1 more then 15 years ago, and still discover new ways and procedures.

PS, this answer also covers your other question.

"Feel free to suggest any ways that I can do this job quicker and explain the basic requirements that I need to know for this task."

Poser top menu Window > Quick Start.

If you do not have the patience to do that then for the quickest result I suggest that you use the top menu Scripts > Wardrobe Wizard > Python Scripts Window > Utilities > More ... and click the forth button from the top.

If you haven't seen it, I posted a link to the Quick Reference in your other thread.

The camera controls are on the top right of the preview pane...

Quote - If you do not have the patience to do that then for the quickest result I suggest that you use the top menu Scripts > Wardrobe Wizard > Python Scripts Window > Utilities > More ... and click the forth button from the top.

ROFLMAO. Love it, Phil!

In all seriousness, and IMHO, what the OP is asking is impossible. There is no such thing as a "quick start" with Poser and then "learn the details later." The details are what make Poser work. I was perhaps, a year into my Posering before I came up with anything remotely acceptable.

Here is the quickest way I can suggest to get up to speed.

Practical Poser 8 is also an excellent expansion for the Poser Reference Manual, easily the best of the lot for additional material. Maybe I'm Weird, but I enjoy instruction manuals.

...Great one PhilC!

Quote - > Quote - If you do not have the patience to do that then for the quickest result I suggest that you use the top menu Scripts > Wardrobe Wizard > Python Scripts Window > Utilities > More ... and click the forth button from the top.

ROFLMAO. Love it, Phil!

In all seriousness, and IMHO, what the OP is asking is impossible. There is no such thing as a "quick start" with Poser and then "learn the details later." The details are what make Poser work. I was perhaps, a year into my Posering before I came up with anything remotely acceptable.

Here is the quickest way I can suggest to get up to speed.

I am not asking to learn how to use poser in a day. I just wanted to know how to use the basic controls. When it's a program that I am familiar with, I at least know about the basic controls that need to be used for a specific purpose.

In poser, I am looking to find out things like selecting the figure that I want to work with. The program selects Andy by default and I don't know how to select the full body of any other figures. I also want to know how to move one figure from one place to another, turn it around or on the side. 

I already have tutorials by the instructor Stephen Burns. They are useful but a lot to get through and it takes too much time to learn the basic things that I want to learn at the moment. Also, sometimes the tutorial shows how to do something, but when I try it on my computer it doesn't work. Maybe I missed something because not everything is explained entirely and the screen doesn't always show what he is clicking on. 

The manual
The included quick start video's
And ???

"Tube-you" :-)

Quote - The manual
The included quick start video's
And ???

"Tube-you" :-)

I already know about the manual and tutorials, but is it so hard to explain how to do the simple things that I ask? 

-Selecting the full body of a figure that I choose 

-Moving a figure from one place to another 

-Turning a figure around or on the side (the figure itself, not the camera view)

-Selecting the full body of a figure that I choose 
In the parameters palette, select the body.

-Moving a figure from one place to another 
With the body actor selected, move the figure over the X,Y, or Z (translate dials)

-Turning a figure around or on the side (the figure itself, not the camera view)
With the body actor selected, rotate the figure over the X;Y;Z with the dials.

this is in the manual, is in the quick start video's.

Quote - -Selecting the full body of a figure that I choose 
In the parameters palette, select the body.

-Moving a figure from one place to another 
With the body actor selected, move the figure over the X,Y, or Z (translate dials)

-Turning a figure around or on the side (the figure itself, not the camera view)
With the body actor selected, rotate the figure over the X;Y;Z with the dials.

this is in the manual, is in the quick start video's.

Thank you! That was useful information! I tried it out and it worked even though it's a bit difficult to work with the little controls at the parameters. There are several more things that I want to learn how to do right now but I am not exactly sure how they are done. I don't need many details on their numerous functions, but I need to know how to locate the tools necessary for the job and know if there's any special requirements/procedures to be able to use them.  

I need help figuring out how to... 

-Zoom in and Zoom out 

-Create poses where the figure lays down on the back, belly, or side 

-Change position of the camera. Sometimes I have this problem where the figures are on one side of the screen and their heads are mostly cut off from view. I want to change the camera view so that the figures are in the center and nothing is cut off from view. 

-Apply hair to bald figures 

-Change skin tone 

-Change eye color 

-Put on clothing or change clothing 

-I also downloaded several props but I don't know how to add them to my poser library. How do I know which files are compatible with poser 8 (what extension) and how can I upload them to my poser library? 

-How can I change the gray background into sky, grass, or the inside of a room?