Creating a Custom Action

Any DAZ Studio script can be used to create a custom action to allow you to automate tasks and place them in the toolbars. For example, if you use Victoria 4.2 a lot, you can create a custom action that will allow you to click on a button to load her into the scene without having to search for her.

To create and use a custom action:

1. Locate the item you want to make an action for. This can be a figure, material file, pose file, etc., as long as it is in the DAZ Studio script file format.
2. Right-click on the thumbnail and choose Create Custom Action from the menu. You will not get any messages indicating that the action has been created.
   
   
   
   If you choose the same menu item again, you will get two error messages, one that indicates the file already has a custom action and the second that indicates the action already exists as a menu entry in the Customize dialog.
   
   
3. Choose Edit > Customize from the menu to open the Customize DAZ Studio dialog.
4. Click on the plus sign (+) next to the Custom label and the custom action just created will be listed.
5. Right-click on the action and choose Edit Custom Action from the menu.
   
   
6. The Edit Custom Action dialog will come up. The Menu Text will show the same file name as the thumbnail and along with a generic Description.
   
   
   
   If needed, edit the Menu Text and Description.
   
   
7. Click on Accept to accept the changes to the action or on Cancel to abort the operation.
8. Right-click on the action again and choose Change Icon from the menu.
   
   
9. A default load dialog will come up. Locate the JPEG or PNG file to use as the icon and click on Open. This can be an image you create or the same graphic used for the thumbnail in the Content tab.
   
   
10. In the Activities tab in the right hand pane, select which toolbar to add the action to, for example to the Load, Pose / Animate, or Render tab.
11. Click on the plus sign (+) next to the selected toolbar and then on the one next to the Actions label.
12. Select the action in the left hand pane and drag it to where you want it to be on the toolbar.
    
    
    
    Result:
    
    
13. Click on Accept to accept the changes or on Cancel to abort the operation.
14. Activate the toolbar where you added the action and there will be a small icon with the image you selected as the graphic in the location you placed it. If you did not add an graphic icon, the space will be blank. Hover over the icon and the Menu Text and Description you entered will be visible.
    
    
15. Click on the button and the figure will load into the scene. If the action was a preset that applies a material, pose, etc., make sure the figure is loaded and selected.