These are some basic functions to handle the object you want to skin.

With this button, you select the object you want to skin.
The object must be an EditablePoly (if not, it will be converted) and it must have a SkinModifier (if not, one will be applied). There should be no other Modifiers on the stack!
If you start SoD with an object selected, this object will be used.

This button shows the number of bones assigned to the object.
Press it to open the "Add/Remove Bones" window.
If there are no bones assigned to the object, this window will open automatically.
After the bones are added, you should reset all bones to remove the default weighting and the envelopes created by the SkinModifier.

Toggles the Skinning Mode On/Off.
This should normally be set to 'On'. Most functions will only work while in Skinning Mode.

Opens the Interactive Information Window.
This window shows the currently selected bone, the number of selected vertices, the number of bones affecting the selected vertices and the average weight of the selected vertices.
RightClick in this window will open a menu to toggle interactive modes and view the weighttable.
It is good to have this window open, because it will also update the QuickweightSpinner with the average weight and the BoneSelector.

Enters the EditSkeleton Mode. Here you can change the bone skeleton of the character without affecting the mesh.
This is useful for quickly fixing joints that are not in the right position.