Digital Art Zone

A new FAQ thread for the new DAZ Studio 4. The old DAZ Studio FAQ is HERE - it is full of ancient issues so it seemed a good time to start afresh.

If you spot an error, or have a suggestion for an alteration or addition, please post here http://www.daz3d.com/forums/viewthread/959/

GENERAL DAZ STUDIO 4 QUESTIONS
How do I install DAZ Studio 4 on a Windows computer? click here
How do I install DAZ Studio 4 on a Mac computer?  click here
What different versions of DAZ Studio 4 will be released and what is the difference between them? >>>
I have a 64-bit machine, which version supports 64-bit OS? >>>
If I already own DAZ Studio 3 Advanced, will there be an upgrade price for DS4 Advanced? What about for updated plugins or the FST? >>>
Do I have to uninstall previous versions of DAZ Studio before I install DAZ Studio 4? >>>
Will my DAZ Studio 3 plugins, shaders and scripts work in DAZ Studio 4? >>>
Can I use my old content and scenes in DAZ Studio 4? >>>
Do I need to download all of the plugins again for DAZ Studio Pro orAdvanced 4.0.2.55? >>>
Where is the DAZ Studio 4 manual? >>>

WHAT IS GENESIS™?
Overview of the new Genesis series of figures >>>
What is Auto-Fit? or, Can I use my Victoria 4, Michael 4 or Kids 4 stuff on Genesis? >>>
What is the difference between Victoria 5 and Genesis? >>>
Is the Genesis series compatible with Poser? >>>
Some older poses deform the Genesis figure >>>
I keep getting Duplicate Formula errors - what is happening?>>>
Why have some of my morphs and shapes disappeared from the Shaping pane in DAZ Studio 4.5?>>>

CONTENT MANAGEMENT SERVICE (CMS) QUESTIONS
What is the CMS? Why is it always on? >>>
Can I bring my DAZ Studio 3 Content Database into DAZ Studio 4? >>>
How do I add a content directory in DAZ Studio 4? >>>
How do I decide which content directory will hold my “\data” folder? >>>
What is the “Smart Content” tab, and why doesn’t most of my content show there? >>>
When I try changing settings I get only a set of content thumbnails! >>>

D-FORM QUESTIONS
I can’t apply D-Forms to the Genesis figure! >>>
My saved D-Form presets aren’t working on Genesis >>>

INTERFACE QUESTIONS
Can I make the interface elements smaller? >>>
Where did the View menu go? >>>
How do I stop objects flashing green as I move my cursor? >>>
Where have “Add Level of Detail…”  and “Convert to SubD…” gone? >>>
Where are the Copy and Paste buttons for surface settings? >>>
Why aren’t the full-body morphs showing up in the Parameters list of fitted clothing? >>>
I can’t load more than one Genesis figure!
Why does loading a jacket steal Genesis’ shirt? >>>

OTHER
Why does DAZ Studio 4.5 ask me for a file name every time I save? >>>
Why am I prompted to save changes when I try merging a saved Scene into my current scene? >>>
Why do I get this error message: “This action requires an item within the scene to be selected”? >>>
I can’t load figures, I just get an error message >>>
How do I create a high-resolution image? >>>

INTERFACE QUESTIONS
Can I make the interface elements smaller? >>>
Where did the View menu go? >>>
How do I stop objects flashing green as I move my cursor? >>>
Where have “Add Level of Detail…”  and “Convert to SubD…” gone? >>>
Where are the Copy and Paste buttons for surface settings? >>>
Why aren’t the full-body morphs showing up in the Parameters list of fitted clothing? >>>
I can’t load more than one Genesis figure!
Why does loading a jacket steal Genesis’ shirt? >>>

OTHER
Why do I get this error message: “This action requires an item within the scene to be selected”? >>>
I can’t load figures, I just get an error message >>>
How do I create a high-resolution image? >>>

Do I have to uninstall previous versions of DAZ Studio before I install DAZ Studio 4?
If you have a previous version of DAZ Studio 4, then we STRONGLY recommend that you uninstall that version prior to installing the latest version of DAZ Studio 4.

If you have a version of DAZ Studio 3 or DAZ Studio 2 installed on your machine, you do NOT have to uninstall it before installing DAZ Studio 4 SO LONG AS YOU INSTALL DAZ STUDIO 4 TO A DIFFERENT FOLDER.

The last version of DAZ Studio that you have installed will be the one that opens when you double-click a .DAZ file or a DAZ Studio specific preset.

Will my DAZ Studio 3 plugins, shaders and scripts work in DAZ Studio 4?
Aside from items loaded into a scene, there are three types of add-on for DAZ Studio:

Plugins are listed in the Help > About Installed Plugins… dialog. They typically have separate installers for Mac and Windows, and for 32 or 64 bit versions. These will need to be updated before they can be used with DAZ Studio 4. DAZ 3D has stated that where a new version of a plugin published by DAZ 3D, that is showing DAZ 3D as the vendor, is functionally the same as the previous version, the update for that plugin will be free, provided it is owned by DAZ 3D.

Shaders are typically responsible for new Lights (i.e. UberSpot) and Materials (i.e. pwSurface 2). Shaders need to be updated to work with the new version of 3Delight. Most of the pw and omniFreaker shadrs have already been updated, adn can be downloaded by resetting the item in your order history. pwSketch will not be upated for contractual reasons. Please check the product page or, failing that, with the creator for the update status of other shaders.

Scripts in general should work, as there have been no global changes to the underlying engine and many of them do not rely on files in the application folder. Some scripts, however, may need to be updated to account for changes to the application that affect the way they work.

Can I use my old content and scenes in DAZ Studio 4?
Yes, simply make sure that all of the content directories you have mapped in DAZ Studio 3 are also mapped in DAZ Studio 4 the same way, and you should not experience any problems using old content.

All Poser-format content should load as it did in DAZ Studio 3.

Several plugins are not yet updated for use with DAZ Studio 4. Any items that require plugins that have not been updated will not load nor save properly within DAZ Studio 4. For example, Heightfield Primitive objects and ParticleFX objects. It is advisable to keep the original versions of scene files containing these items. In DAZ Studio 4, you should save out new scenes using File > Save As… to assign a new name to the DAZ Studio 4 version, so that your old scenes are not over-written. As soon as these plugins are updated and released, then these items from your old scenes will load in and save back out properly.

Any lights created with add-on shaders that have not been updated, will be lost. Any surfaces that use add-on shaders that have not been updated, will render incorrectly, unless you have been able to copy/move the shader support files to DAZ Studio 4.

How do I add a content directory in DAZ Studio 4?
How do I decide which content directory will hold my \data folder?
To add a content directory the simplest method is to open the Content Library palette (Window>Tabs>Content Library) and to right-click on the top-level folder you wish to add a directory to (DAZ Studio Formats, Poser Formats, Other Import Formats). Next, choose “Add Base Directory/Add Runtime Directory” from the menu. If you want to add multiple directories, or if you want to choose which DAZ Studio format directory is at the top of the list and so will be used for the \data folder with the DAZ Studio 4 geometry files, open the Content Library option menu by clicking the button at the top-right corner (top-inner for a docked palette) or right-clicking on the palette’s tab label and click on “Content Directory Manager”.

Can I bring my DAZ Studio 3 Content Database into DAZ Studio 4?
By fixmypcmike
The default for DS3 is to use the Content Manager database (Category view), rather than the Folder view which shows the files and folders as they are on the hard drive. If you click the little triangle at the upper right of the Content tab in DS3 you can see which option is checked.

When you first run DS4 it should ask you if you want to “Import Mapped Folders” and if you want to “Migrate the Content Database”. You can access these options by right clicking on the tab that says “Content Library” in DS4.

First “Import Mapped Folders”. If you then look at the Content Library tab you can click on “DAZ Studio Content Folders” or “Poser Content Folders” and see the folders as they are on disk.  This is the equivalent to the Folder view in DS3.

“Migrate the Content Database” currently suffers a bug which results in only partial import of the DAZ Studio 3 database: rerunning the command will fill out the import. After you do this, clicking on “Categories” in the Content Library tab in DS4 will give you the equivalent of the Category view in DS3.

According to this bug report, fixing the Migrate Content Database has immediate priority and has been assigned:
https://bugs.daz3d.com/view.php?id=42106

In the interim, I’ve found that running “Migrate Content Database” twice will get a lot of the stuff it missed the first time. I actually tried it 5 times. There were still a few items missing, but a small enough number that it was easy to recategorize them.

And, BTW, migrating doesn’t change your DS3 database at all—it’s perfectly safe and nothing will be lost.

http://forum.daz3d.com/postimages/origimage_1_2934990.jpg

What is the CMS? Why is it always on?
The Content Management Service or “CMS” is a new way of tracking information about your content. This service replaces the Content Manager introduced in DAZ Studio 2, providing better performance and greatly enhanced functionality. The Content Management Service relies on a system of metadata that helps DAZ Studio interact more intelligently with content. This is referred to as “Smart Content”. Smart content knows which other assets it is compatible with. This information is managed by the Content Management Service and then shared with DAZ Studio so that relevant content items are presented to the end-user.

The CMS also allows content to be categorized, just as the Content Manager in DS3 did, without moving the files themselves. This allows the same content to appear in multiple categories, e.g. a pair of shoes might be categorized under “Shoes,” “Goth,” and the artist’s name, allowing multiple ways to locate the content. Finally, the CMS allows you to search for content by name, regardless of its location in your file system, as long as the Content directory is configured and scanned.

The Content Management Service is a stand-alone tool that will be resourced from within other DAZ 3D applications, like Carrara.

In order to be available to more than one application, the CMS runs as a service on the end-user’s machine. And because there is no way for a standard application to turn a service on or off, it runs continuously. There are shortcuts in the Start\DAZ3D\DAZ Content Management Service\ folder for Windows users to turn the service on and off, and similar options for MAC users are available in /Library/DAZ 3D/Content Management Service/utilities.

The CMS uses ‘port’ functions similar to network functions to communicate with programs like DAZ Studio, but only within the local computer. Because of the way operating systems handle these port communications, you may need to adjust your firewall software to allow the CMS to connect to DAZ Studio. Not all firewalls will require any user action, as some are able to distinguish between local and external traffic.

The Content Management Service does NOT connect to the internet and does NOT transfer any information from your local computer.

We do not recommend using DAZ Studio without the CMS running as it may cause instability in the application, and will limit the user experience where Smart Content is displayed. If you turn the CMS off, and then wish to run DAZ Studio and take advantage of this tool, you will have to restart the CMS, as “Administrator”, before launching DAZ Studio or DAZ Studio will not function properly.

As long as the CMS hasn’t been blocked by a firewall, and DAZ Studio is not launched, the CMS uses no CPU cycles. Further, regardless of what Task Manager is reporting, the CMS uses only about 40K of RAM. Your Task Manager may report a higher number though, as Windows may initially reserve a larger amount for the service, but will recover that RAM when the computer needs it. The CMS will also move to Virtual RAM and get out of the way in the same way as any other well behaved service when resources are needed so there is little need to turn it off, except for personal preference.

I can’t apply D-Forms to the Genesis figure!
In order to apply a D-Form to a Genesis figure, you must have the root of the figure selected, not a body-part. This is because the Genesis series of figures relies on a new, single-skin mesh. This means that the entire mesh is a single piece, whereas past generations of figures have had their mesh broken up into groups.

A D-Form will affect the whole Genesis figure without needing to add additional nodes as is the case with older generation figures.

A quick way to position a DForm around a body part is to select that part, create the DForm, which will not have any effect. To fix that select the root of the Genesis figure and, in the D-Form pane (Window>Tabs>D-Form), click the “Add node(s)” button. Finally, select the D-Form in the dialogue which opens and click “Accept”.

Can I make the interface elements smaller?
There is an alternate style included with DAZ Studio 4 which uses smaller fonts and is generally more compact. To apply it go to Window > Style > Select Style… and choose Highway from the Style pop-up menu at top-right, then click Accept.

Another style, Darkside, is available with DAZ Studio 4 Advanced and DAZ Studo 4 Pro. It is even more compact and reminiscent of DAZ Studio 3’s popular “Nouveau Dark” style.

Where did the View menu go?
The View menu has become the Window menu, to match the naming of the equivalent menu in other applications.

How do I stop objects flashing green as I move my cursor?
You can change the Selection highlighting mode in the Tool Settings palette (Window>Tabs>Tool settings) to Bounding box only,

What is the Auto-Fit plugin?
or
Can I use my Victoria 4, Michael 4, and/or Kids 4 stuff with the Genesis series?

The Auto-Fit plugin is a stand-alone tool that allows you to use non-Genesis specific content with the Genesis series of figures. Specifically, the Auto-Fit tool will up-convert clothing, hair, and other add-ons designed for the fourth generation of DAZ 3D figures (ie, Victoria 4, Michael 4, the Kids 4, etc). This conversion process will provide basic compatibility with all current, and forthcoming Genesis body shapes.

The exactness of the fit will vary from item to item. Footwear is extremely difficult to match well using an automated solution, and there are some known issues with how well Auto-Fit handles rigid props/accessories such as scabbards, etc. These will be addressed in a future version of the Auto-Fit tool and will be a free update to those who already have purchased the tool.

Clothes for the fourth generation figures can be used if you have the Auto-Fit plugin Auto-Fit Plugin (sold separately) and will work reasonably well depending on how drastic a difference there is between the original 4th generation figure the item was originally designed for and the specific Genesis shape you apply it to. For instance, an item created for Michael 4 and then up-converted using the Auto-Fit tool for use with the default male body shape in the Genesis series should work fairly well the majority of times. However, an item created originally for the Girl 4 and converted using Auto-Fit to work on the Troll Genesis body shape, may not look as “good” when converted.

Hair for the fourth generation figures can be used if you have the Auto-Fit plugin Auto-Fit Plugin (sold separately). Hairstyles will convert rather well using Auto-Fit, however, style and movement morphs from the original hair will not be carried across. This will be addressed in a future version of the Auto-Fit tool and will be a free update to those who already have purchased the tool.

Textures for the fourth generation figures can be used on the Genesis series. By default the figure is mapped to use Victoria 4 textures, to use the Kids 4 or Michael 4 textures you must select the Genesis figure, open the Surfaces palette (Window>Tabs>Surfaces), click on the “Genesis” entry on the left to select all surfaces and under “UV Set” select “Michael 4” or “Kids 4” as required. See screenshot attached below.

Applying a DS/DSA preset to Genesis will reset it to the Victoria 4 UV set, regardless of which UV set is currently chosen or which UV set the preset would apply to a fourth generation figure, for all presets currently in the store (future content utilizing “Smart UV” presets will choose the correct UV set automatically).

Applying a DS/DSA Preset that uses a non-standard shader, like the EHSS shaders in the Elite texture sets, may move the UV set selection pull-down’s position in the Surfaces palette. It is usually near the bottom of the list but will be at the top of the list after applying an EHSS Shader. Presets that use other specialized shaders may also do this. The UV set selector does not go away, it just moves.

The Surfaces palette option menu also has a “Select UV Set” function but this does not work for this purpose with Genesis as it requires an OBJ file with a different UV mapping and Genesis is not supplied with additional object files to do this. You must use the “UV Set” selector within the surfaces tab to change mapping on the Genesis figure.

Morphs for the fourth generation figures cannot be used on the Genesis series of figures as the Genesis series uses a new mesh that is not compatible with prior generations. The GenX utility allows morphs to be converted, but their effect will not be identical on Genesis and the original figure unless you also apply the appropriate legacy shape.There will be many new morph sets released in the DAZ 3D store created to work with the Genesis series specifically.

Where have “Add Level of Detail…”  and “Convert to SubD…” gone?
Several commands from the Edit menu in DAZ Studio 4 have been moved to the Scene palette’s option menu (Window>Tabs>Scene, click the button at top-right, or top-inner if docked, corner or right click the palette’s label) in a sub-menu named Edit. In the default layouts the commands are also available in the Edit menu.

Why do I get this error message: “This action requires an item within the scene to be selected”?
or
I can’t load figures, I just get an error message…
If you double-click on something in the Content tab and get the error message “This action requires an item within the scene to be selected”, or if a dialogue box pops up asking you what you want to apply the file to, then the file you were double-clicking is a preset that is meant to modify something selected in your scene.

Presets are intended to modify an item, and in order to do so, you must have an appropriate item loaded into your scene and selected. In general, actual items, as opposed to presets, will be in the “Figure”, “Hair” or “Props” libraries, if you are looking at a Poser content directory (most content is in Poser format), or if you look at the file information tooltip they will be in files with names ending .cr2, .hr2, .pp2 or .daz. If you can’t see anything like that, check the readme or product page for the thing you want to use and make sure it isn’t an add-on that needs another product (on DAZ 3D product pages there should be a “Required Products” listing on the product page).

Why aren’t full-body morphs showing up in the Parameters list of fitted clothing?
Morphs contained within clothing that are set to auto-follow a morph contained on the underlying figure are hidden by default from the clothing items parameter list. These parameters are hidden so as to avoid confusion by the end-user. You may still access these sliders by selecting “Show Hidden Parameters” from the Parameter tab’s option menu (the button at top-right corner, or top-inner corner for docked tab), however any values adjusted on these sliders will essentially create an offset value from what is being driven by the underlying figures parameter setting.