To pose the Mannequin click one of the yellow (fig.1 M) or red (fig.1 L) buttons on the HUD which will turn green (fig.1 K). Yellow buttons indicate joints having zero values for all three axes. Red buttons indicate at least one axis has a non-zero value and are considered "locked". This is important when making a pose which includes a zero reference frame (which SL uses to interpret the data in a file). When a zero reference frame is included, joints must be locked to be part of the pose. When creating a still pose without a zero reference frame SL ignores the values for Root-Pos (the square yellow button near the middle of the HUD) and Hip (the larger round button above the square). All other joints are part of the pose whether it is locked or not.

When working with vehicles and an Avatar is close to the ground it is necessary to use a zero reference frame and lock all joints to be included as part of the pose (see Advanced >> Vehicles for set up). To include/exclude the zero reference frame, toggle the button (fig.1 D) next to SAVE POSE. To lock a joint adjust at least one of the axes by 0.1 degrees.

There are many different way to pose the Mannequin. Select a joint either by clicking a joint button on the HUD or clicking a part of the Mannequin and, then:
1) Click the small arrow-shaped buttons under the corresponding decimal place (fig.1 O); or
2) Click the numbers and drag the mouse up/down to increase/decrease the values; or
3) Click on a ring (fig.2 C) and drag your mouse up/down to increase/decrease the angle. Arrows on rings indicate the direction a joint will rotate when moving the mouse up/down; or
4) Click the X, Y, or Z button next to the numbers then enter the value you wish to set in the dialog box. This method also supports basic mathematical operations such as addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Example: click on the X then type 30/10. The X value would be set to 3. If you wish to increase/decrease the value type a plus/minus in front of the number.

Please note: Rotation of U-Poser axis rings are different from rotation of SL's edit tools. U-Poser does not limit joint movement in any way and is, therefore, not limiting the Mannequin to human-only movements. Exercise caution when adjusting values to create realistic poses because bending an elbow the wrong way will appear unrealistic.